The Secret of Personal Growth

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The Secret of Personal Growth

Sometimes the spiritual demands that Judaism makes on us seem a tall order. We may not attain all the spiritual ideals of Torah, but each of us is capable of making significant strides.

Topics:

Conquest of Canaan, Spies, Self Improvement, Shlach

By Ari Shishler

Rabbi Ari Shishler is the director of Chabad of Strathavon, South Africa

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3 Comments

Marivic Joan Joan Laron Philippines June 19, 2020

Thank you, Rabbi, for this very enlightening message. I'm not a Jew; I'm a Noahide from the Philippines. However, I am learning a lot of things from Chabad.org which seem to resonate with all mankind -Jew or not, as long as one is willing to learn. Reply

Ari Shishler August 9, 2015

Good is good Hi Rolando

Thank you for your feedback, much appreciated!

Our belief is that our soul is inherently good. Many of us have a long journey to make before we fully reveal our inner goodness. Until then, G-d expects us to challenge ourselves and to grow consistently.

He does not demand that we become perfect.

"Good" means we are challenging ourselves to take another step to improve. Constant growth and self-challenge is what G-d wants. If He had wanted perfection, He would have only created angels. Reply

Rolando VA August 7, 2015

The statement "no one is perfect" does perfect mean good? If so, the belief that "man is basically good" seems false.
Anyway, I find it interesting to have the Torah as basis or standard for personal growth or character transformation, making success dependent on the truth that man was "made in the image of G-d".
Thank you for this wonderful lesson. Reply