Dear Friend,
Not all actions were created equal.
I have a friend who recently began putting on tefillin. Every morning, with great concentration, he would strap the tefillin on his hand and his head. Then he would soar like an angel as he made his way through the prayer service.
Then it happened. A week became a month, and a month became a year, and it was no longer exciting. The tefillin lost their sparkle, and the prayers lost some of their luster.
What is he to do?
The first thing to remember is that a mitzvah is still a mitzvah, even if we are not super-inspired by it. Still, the tendency to become accustomed to our daily routine is something we can and must overcome. How?
Study chassidic teachings.
Try it and you will see that you will be more in tune with your soul, more open to seeing the inner beauty of the mitzvahs, and more sensitive to the G‑dly rhythm behind our universe.
We are now celebrating 19 Kislev, when the first Chabad rebbe was released from a czarist prison and then began publicizing chassidic teachings more widely than ever before. It is considered the chassidic Rosh Hashanah, the “New Year” of Chassidism. If you can use a good dose of inspiration, I think I know what your New Year’s resolution is going to be!
Rabbi Mendy Kaminker,
on behalf of the Chabad.org Editorial Team
P.S.: Looking for some texts to start with? You can find a wealth of texts here, and lots of classes for every level here.