A Key to Success is…
[Editor’s note: As a memory of my beloved brother Shaya, I would like to continue sending out his pearls of wisdom that he has shared with all of you in the past. For some of you this may ring a bell and for others it may appear to be totally new. May the learning of Shaya’s Divrei Torah inspire us to change our ways and thereby give an Aliya to the neshama of our dear beloved Shaya whom we miss so much. A special thank you to Aaron Friedman for always looking over the divrei torah.]
On each of the six days of creation [with the exception of the second day, see the commentaries as to why,] the Torah says “and G-d saw that it was good.” However, at the end of the sixth day, the passuk says “And G-d saw all that he had made and behold it was VERY good.” What is the reason for this emphasis of “VERY” good for the sixth day?
G-d did not create everything at once; rather, he made the world and it’s inhabitants gradually, and after each day, he was happy with what he created. But at the end of the week, G-d LOOKED BACK at the WHOLE week of creation, and G-d saw all that he made and it was very good.
Perhaps the Torah is teaching us an important lesson. When one embarks on a goal, such as overcoming an addiction or working on a character trait, it takes time to make significant progress. Every day you work at it and make some progress, but it is a slow and gradual process. An important key to success is to take the opportunity after time has passed [a week, a month…], to look back at all that you have done, and then you will realize that you have truly accomplished a lot. That will give you the inspiration to keep pushing forward to the ultimate success.
[Editor’s Note: As I was reviewing Shaya’s Dvar Torah, it struck me that this is a perfect lesson for us. We have just finished the Yom Tov of Succos, which is followed by Simchas Torah. Simchas Torah is the completion of the reading of the Torah, which was read Parsha by Parsha starting with this week’s Parsha. As we celebrate Simchas Torah each year,we should also reflect all that which is in the Torah that we read and learnt that year. I once heard that one reason why Isru Chag is so special is because it is a day to reflect on what we gained from the past Yom Yov and what we will take with us for the coming year.We have almost finished a month filled with uplifting Yomim Tovim. Let us take the time now to reflect on what we have gained from this past month and try to renew our Kaballas that we took on in the beginning of the month; and with this, we will be zoche to greet Moshiach in our days!]
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