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Sweet Simplicity

by Yehudis Golshevsky
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BRI’s NarrowBridge.Org sends out twice weekly inspiration providing a regular dose of hope, meaning and courage. These emails include small doses of Rebbe Nachman’s wisdom, enabling us to get through the week in a more spiritual way. 

If you would like to receive these emails click here.

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov taught…

 

“Rely on nothing and on no one but G-d. This is true simplicity. Anything else means pursuing a complicated course of action.”
(The Empty Chair*, p. 73)

 

What does this mean to me?

 

Rebbe Nachman placed such a great emphasis on simplicity, but the beauty of his approach is often misunderstood in our hyper-sophisticated world. To the modern ear, simplicity is just credulity, and hardly seems to be much of a virtue. In this teaching we learn that relying on anyone or anything other than G-d is “complicated”—it veers from the simple path. When my eyes are turned toward anywhere other than the One above, I get further and further away from the only being that is orchestrating events. The further my focus is from G-d, the more complicated the course of action becomes, because I am tied up with the multiple “effects” rather than the single “Cause.” And in my personal Divine service, certainly there is only one proper focus that will help me reach my goal: on the One that I seek to serve, truly and simply, with all my heart.
 

A prayer:

 

Oh G-d,
teach me the ways
of wholeheartedness and simplicity.
May I be “wholehearted with my G-d”
and perform Your will with devotion,
With a faith that is simple and straightforward,
without cleverness or sophistication.

(From The Flame of the Heart, p. 40)

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Your Comments:

As always perfect timing! Toda Raba !
JD

This is probably the best email I’ve ever received! Today’s inspiration is so powerful and just what I needed today. I will print it out and carry it with me forever… on paper and in my heart. Thank you so much for your emails. They are truly a blessing to me.
RH

Beautiful!

Consistently strong and inspiring!
SC

To view the past emails, click here.

 

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