When you study Torah, you become G-d’s host. But what about a person who is occupied with his job, raising his family, and helping others, so he doesn’t have much time left to learn Torah? If, when a window of free time opens up, he makes use of the opportunity to study Torah, he proves that he _would have_ liked to spend more time studying Torah. Therefore, G-d considers his aspiration and desire to learn as if he had spent the time occupied with Torah. The Chassidim of the Alter Rebbe approached him with a similar complaint: their work occupied most of their day and they did not have as much time as they would have wished to study Torah. The Alter Rebbe writes, _*The rest of the day, when one is occupied with business matters, can be considered creating an abode for G-d in this world.*_ When you earn money, you can give charity and do other acts of kindness using the resources you have. This makes you the extension of G-d’s right hand, which is His attribute of kindness. Ok, but very often, we are busy just living, and are not necessarily working. How can we create a home for G-d in this world through all that time we spend on casual pursuits? Or even if you’ve taken from your earnings and given charity: let's say you gave not the minimum required sum of 10%, but 20%...❗ It demonstrates your generosity and is very helpful to the recipient, but what about the remaining 80 percent of the money? Nothing holy was done with that part, so does that mean that it remains as mundane as it would have had you not give _any_ charity❔ Here’s wonderful news: _*The part of money donated to charity elevates to G-d the remaining parts*_ The same applied to the sacrifices offered in the temple in Jerusalem. By offering one sacrifice 🦙 on the altar, _*All animals would ascend to holiness 🐥🐟🐄🐑🦌 and all plants ☘️🌳🍃 would be elevated by the single handful 🤏of flour that was offered on the altar*_ What this means is: All your mundane affairs can easily be elevated into holiness, making those areas of your life as holy and G-d-friendly as the parts that you specifically set aside for G-d. When you give charity 👛, donate some food to the needy, or help out another person 🤝, all the food you ate that gave you energy and all the money you earned, become holy and a receptacle to G-d’s presence and light.
This is truly a joyful 💛 and motivating perspective 🤩 to keep in mind!
And yet, feelings of contentment and joy do not contradict simultaneously feeling pain and bitterness.
Pain and discontent stems from the reality of your body and animal soul retaining their attraction and predilection for negativity
Ease, contentment, and joy 💛 because your innate essence, your ⚡G-dly soul ⚡, remains untaintable, pure, and innocent.
Conflict of emotions regarding a single situation is a normal state of being and is due to different aspects of the scenario.
Once, Rabbi Eliezer was taught by his father, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, deep secrets about the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.
Afterwards, he said that he had mixed feelings about the experience:
Immense sadness and great happiness
Sadness about the destruction, especially because now he truly understood the magnitude of the tragedy!
And yet, also joy, because of the incredible secrets of the Torah that he had heard!
This demonstrates that when there are differing causes, our hearts can feel opposing emotions at the same time.
