Keeping a clean Neshamah.

The Dos Zakainim explains that the reason every korbon must be brought with salt is to remind us that just as salt is a preservative that allows food to last longer, so too the sacrifices are permanently ours to cleanse us from our sins.

He then explains why this concept is crucial. If a man sins and gains atonement from that sin, he is clean and will then be guarded against committing the sin again. However, if he couldn’t become purified, once he sinned, he would repeat the act over and over again. It can be compared to man with a beautiful white garment. When he first puts it on, he is careful to maintain its pristine condition. Once his garment becomes soiled, however, he is no longer careful about avoiding additional stains. So, too, if a man sinned and that sin remained with him, he will continue committing that sin over and over again. This is the concept that “Once a man sins, the sin becomes ‘permitted’ to him.” That is why the Torah gave us the process of teshuvah.

From the Shmuz on the Parsha

Making a change in our lives.

There was a study of graduates of Harvard Business School.  They were asked upon graduation if they had specific goals for there future.  13% had goals, 3% had written goals.  Ten years later they found that those who had goals exceeded their goals by double.  Those who had written goals earned ten times what they had planned on making.  The only distinction between them and the rest of the class was that that set concrete goals and set out to meet them.

In our lives, if we want to change things and achieve things we should have written goals.  If we want to lose 20 pounds, it is not enough to say, "I am going to lose 20 pounds" You need to have a daily plan of what you are going to eat and how much you are going to exercise. 

 From a Shiur on Torah anytime:

http://www.torahanytime.com/scripts/media.php?file=media/Rabbi/Bentzion_Shafier/2011-03-08/Amazing_Purim_Shmuz/Rabbi__Bentzion_Shafier__Amazing_Purim_Shmuz__2011-03-08.wmv

These are his words, not mine. 

What ropes are keeping us from attaining what we what to?

How is it  possible for a work elephant's owner to tie the elephant up at night when the elephant is so strong that it could destroy any shelter or rope that confines it.  The answer is:

To train elephants in India they start when they are young. They tie an Elephant to a tree with a chain. The young elephant tries and tries to get away but is not able to break the chain. They struggle and struggle to no avail. They soon learn they can not break the chain and therefore give up  the struggle. When they are older and much bigger the elephant feels something tied around his ankle and he will not struggle and believe they are stuck. An elephant trainer knows this and is then able to tie a full grown elephant to a tree with nothing but a rope. Even though its incredible strength would allow it to easily break the rope and be free. In their head they are bound, they are stuck and do not fight.

We have to look at our own lives and think to ourselves,"what do we want to accomplish that we are not doing? What nonsense is keeping me from achieving my goals?"

from the Shiur on Torah Anytime:
http://www.torahanytime.com/scripts/media.php?file=media/Rabbi/Bentzion_Shafier/2011-03-08/Amazing_Purim_Shmuz/Rabbi__Bentzion_Shafier__Amazing_Purim_Shmuz__2011-03-08.wmv


How many years did I want to become healthy but believe that it could not be done?  How many times did I wish that I could stop eating, but think that I couldn't.  Now that I am BH maintaining an 87 pound weight loss, I realize that it was just a thin rope holding me back.