To believe in the world to come, one needs Emunah. But to NOT believe in THIS WORLD, one needs no Emunah. Look around!!! See how much everybody suffers. See how short and fleeting life is!!
אָדָם יְסוֹדוֹ מֵעָפָר וְסוֹפוֹ לֶעָפָר. בְּנַפְשׁוֹ יָבִיא לַחְמוֹ. מָשׁוּל כְּחֶרֶס הַנִּשְׁבָּר, כְּחָצִיר יָבֵשׁ, וּכְצִיץ נוֹבֵל, כְּצֵל עוֹבֵר, וּכְעָנָן כָּלָה, וּכְרוּחַ נוֹשָׁבֶת, וּכְאָבָק פּוֹרֵחַ, וְכַחֲלוֹם יָעוּף. וְאַתָּה הוּא מֶלֶךְ אֵל חַי וְקַיָּם.
We come from dust, and return to dust. We labor by our lives for bread, we are like broken shards, like dry grass, and like a withered flower; like a passing shadow and a vanishing cloud, like a breeze that passes, like dust that scatters, like a fleeting dream. But You are the king who lives eternal.
I LOVE this tefillah. It just takes all of the "monumental" problems of life and shrinks them to almost nothing. Like - here today, gone tomorrow. It CAN end ANY SECOND and will DEFINITELY end one of these seconds. So - "CHILL, DUDE!!!" 😀😁
I remember decades ago [like yesterday....]: I was in midtown Manhattan [B.C. Before Corona, when there were people on the street]. There was a kind, gentleman of Biblical descent [i.e. Cham] selling walkmans [???? VAT IS DAT????] outside on the street for really cheap. Like 10 bucks a pop or so. He was doing rapid business. He couldn't sell 'em fast enough! I excitedly bought one from him as well. I brought it home, opened the package - but it was broken. AHHHHHH - THAT is why it was so cheap. It didn't work!! 😂😃
THAT is the Yetzer Hara. He sells a package of damaged goods. It LOOKS SSSSOOOOOO GOOOODDDD, SOOOOOO ENTICING. But then when you get it - BUM-MER! It was so not what you thought. The food looks SUMPTUOUS! But then you eat it, it feels good for a few seconds, and then OVER. GONE! Then the SOUL remains malnourished while the body turns the [often unhealthy] food into odious, fecal matter. That is the end of it. The woman looks SOOOOOO good. He fulfills his תאוה and then - nothing. Just some putrid, foul-smelling liquid - and a tortured soul. He wants the house, the car. The Yetzer screams "BUY IT. IT WILL MAKE YOU SOOOOO HAPPY!!!" So he buys it. He takes out a huge mortgage. He is now a slave to the bank for the next 30 years. But no problem. NOW, FINALLY, happiness has arrived. TRUE BLISS!!!! Nu - does it work out that way??? N-E-V-E-R. [I am not saying not to purchase a house or car - just to realize that the yetzer makes it out to be much better than it is.]
So don't listen to that מלך זקן וכסיל!!! He is a foolish but clever character.
LIVE FOR WHAT IS REAL!!!!!👍👍
