Accept the Yoke of Heaven – Fulfill Hashem’s Will Every Moment

Accepting the yoke of Heaven means embracing Hashem's guidance with love, figuring out what Hashem wants from me right now, and striving to fulfill this divine will, even if it seems less important in my eyes.

There are moments when a person strongly wishes to perform a particular mitzvah or spiritual act, but circumstances do not allow it. For example, a woman might want to engage in acts of kindness outside her home or pray in the synagogue on Rosh Hashanah, but caring for her children prevents this. Or a man may wish to study Torah all day, but due to financial difficulties, he must go to work, although he does set aside times for Torah study. Or someone might want to establish a large charitable organization but is busy caring for elderly parents, causing frustration because heavenly circumstances seem to block the preferred way of serving Hashem.

This is a misconception because true service to Hashem is by accepting the yoke of Heaven – not doing what seems grand and magnificent but fulfilling what Hashem wants from me right now, given the circumstances Hashem arranged in my life. This is the greatest and truest service to Hashem.

Embracing the yoke of Heaven means subduing my opinion, for example, thinking that praying in the synagogue on Rosh Hashanah is greater than caring for children and accepting the divine will prioritizing my children's care over my religious preference. When I genuinely fulfill Hashem's desire, I give Hashem the greatest pleasure, achieving true acceptance of the yoke of Heaven.

A woman approached a rabbi and lamented that her husband, once a great man of kindness, sadly became paralyzed and could no longer perform acts of kindness.

Sorrowfully, she asked, "Why isn't he allowed to perform acts of kindness?" The rabbi replied, "A Jew does acts of kindness not because he wants to, but because it is Hashem's will. Now that your husband is paralyzed, it is the time Hashem wants his service through his current condition."

At every stage, we must delve into the essence of the matter and examine what Hashem desires from me here. We see this in the story of Avraham our patriarch, who was a pillar of kindness, performing countless acts of kindness with everyone who passed by. His home was based on selfless giving, but when Sarah saw Yishmael going astray and potentially corrupting their son Yitzchak, she asked Avraham to send him away. Hashem commanded, "Listen to all that Sarah tells you" (Genesis 21:12). Thus, Avraham, the kind-hearted patriarch, sent his son and the boy's mother into the wilderness with scant provisions because he knew he was performing Hashem's will.

At all times, we must seek Hashem's will at that moment. On Yom Kippur, Hashem commands us to fast, so we fulfill His will by fasting. But if someone is ill and needs to eat due to the commandment to preserve one's health, that is Hashem's will at that moment, and they must eat and drink on Yom Kippur with the same devotion to Hashem's will as fasting.

It is told about Rabbi Yisrael of Salant that during a certain year, on Yom Kippur, a severe and highly contagious illness broke out in his town of Salant, prompting doctors to prohibit fasting to prevent weakening and contracting the disease. When the townspeople hesitated to eat on Yom Kippur, Rabbi Yisrael of Salant took wine and food in the synagogue, made Kiddush, ate and drank, and commanded everyone to follow his example.

Accepting the yoke of Heaven means lowering one's head, bending personal opinions to Hashem's will, and performing, at every life stage, what Hashem desires and demands. Thus, we can extract the benefit from each trial, rise above and grow through difficulties, drawing closer to our Creator, and fulfilling our purpose in this world. This approach also alleviates the burden of trials since accepting the yoke of Heaven prevents unnecessary sadness and the false sense of stagnation in serving Hashem.

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