Gateway to Geulah

Each day during the Three Weeks this new web site will post a different story of Ahavas Yisroel. The hope is that these stories will inspire us to to strengthen our own efforts in this area.

The first one is a powerful story:  Gateway to Geulah

By Sara Yoheved Rigler

http://21daysofahavasyisroel.com/index.php

A spiritual kind of hunger.

... A spiritual kind of hunger, the more we feed it, the hungrier we feel.  Because we have been conditioned to respond to lack by feeding it, which works in the physical dimension, we intuitively extrapolate this "solution" to the inner void.  We believe that the way to deal with all desires is to give in to them, to give them what they demand, and then they'll be satisfied and stop bothering us.

However, the opposite is true.  The more that you give in to certain desires, the more desire you feel.  The more that you feed the fire, the bigger the fire rages.

From Battle Plans by Rebbetzin Heller and Sara Yoheved Rigler  page 72

Feeding our spiritual void.

From Battle Plans by Rebbetzin Heller and Sara Yoheved Rigler

According to the Maharal, the spiritual void within each of us is part of the human condition. This spiritual void is different than biological lacks. For example, if you feel hungry because you haven't eaten for four or five hours, and then you eat dinner, your hunger is satiated. But if you feel hungry because you feel unloved or unappreciated, because you just lost your job or your best friend, and you eat dinner, you'll still feel hungry. You'll gobble down two desserts, and a half-hour later you'll be rummaging through the refrigerator again.