Wow! I just read this quote...

↑ poemmom ↓

Thu, Dec 25 2008, 7:26 am

I think so -- I read it as meaning spiritual, transcendent... Having faith that if you view your life as being on a spiritual plane, not just a physical one, Hashem will make that a reality for you. Like the first Israelite (Nachshon???) that stepped into the Red Sea before it looked split.

hadasa

Thu, Dec 25 2008, 9:45 pm

Just to be clear, this is probably not a direct quote of the Rebbe, but an adaptation of his teachings. (I assume by Tzvi Freeman?)

The way I understand it, on the basis of what I've learned, is that if you transcend your own nature by doing things that don't come to you naturally or easily, then He will also transcend His laws of nature for you and send blessings you normally would not have gotten.

↑ poemmom ↓

Fri, Dec 26 2008, 4:03 am

Hadasa,

Thanks for explaining!!! What a beautiful concept!

Also-I had thought it was a direct quote but I looked again and see you're right-- it said "rendered by" Tzvi Freedman and I'd thought that meant he painted the picture next to it! LOL embarrassed

↑ poemmom

Fri, Dec 26 2008, 5:04 am

hadasa wrote:

The way I understand it, on the basis of what I've learned, is that if you transcend your own nature by doing things that don't come to you naturally or easily, then He will also transcend His laws of nature for you and send blessings you normally would not have gotten.

I've been thinking about this more... How do we do that???!!! Can we transcend our own nature by ourselves, or does Hashem need to help us even do that? If so, what is our individual responsibility in the matter -- it can't be enought to just WANT to transcend, since that often leads to nothing... How do we know we are making the right effort? What about when it is just too hard?

In short, how can a person overcome his limitations to become better?

poelmamosh

Fri, Dec 26 2008, 7:39 am

poemmom wrote:

Yes, we can transcend our nature ourselves. In a discourse describing what Chassidus introduced to the world, the Rebbe says that in relation to our service of Hashem it is possible to not only change our natural habits, but also to change our very nature.
How? The "simple" answer:

hadasa wrote:

(you're right, it's not simple)
the lengthier one...sorry, no time now, maybe after Shabbos. Or maybe someone else can help.