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The Law of Thanks and Song
Our sages say, “The gates of tears were never closed.” If the gates are never closed, why are there gates in the first place? Every once in a while, there are people who cry alligator tears; for them, the gates come in useful.
When it comes to “the entrance to God through thanks and song,” the books of mysticism tell us there are no gates at all — they are always welcoming.
When Adam, the first human being, was created on the first Sabbath of his life, he said, “It is good to praise the Lord and to sing to Your Name, O Most High.” Our sages tell us that this Psalm, which is said in our prayers on Sabbath, takes the place of the daily Psalm we say throughout the week; “Enter his gates with gratitude, his courtyards with praise.”
Thanking God, praising God, and singing to God, besides giving the person who is praising and singing a sense of acceptance and focus on what is good, brings the person to a state of serenity. These activities are sure ways of getting in with God and improving our life.
Before I continue, let me explain “the law of thank you.”
The Law of gravity states that, every particle in the universe attracts every other particle with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
It’s very simple and will happen every time because it is a law of reality. Something with more mass will fall faster than something with less mass.
The same is true of the laws in the Torah. The laws/rules that tell us to rest once a week and to follow the dietary restrictions are for our good, because that is just the way God sets things up. It is unbreakable and provides us with a healthy and happy life.
The same is true of acknowledging and thanking God for everything, even those things that appear to be bad!
Jewish Law states that we must bless and thank God for the bad, just as we thank and acknowledge God for the good. God “takes pleasure (all the time) in songs of praise.”
How exactly does this work? And how can a person say, “Thank you, God, that I am poor, single, or sick”? Aren’t these conditions negative and undesirable ways of living, even according to the Bible?
The answer is that when God decides to dispense, for reasons only He knows, negativity and severity, it only appears negative to the naked eye. The reason, however, is always positive because God, by nature, is giving and loving. He withholds only because He sees at this moment and for this person a greater good achieved by acting in this (what appears to be on the surface as a) harsh way.
When a person has developed the kind of faith that allows him to say with a full and sincere heart, “Even though, God, I may not understand, I thank you for the condition I am in now, that I am in today,” this person is acknowledging the goodness and kindness in/of God at this moment. This attitude bypasses the bad element in the event, allowing him to connect and draw out the good.
The Holy Baal Shem Tov said, “A person with absolute faith in God can walk over water on his prayer sash just like I can, but he must have a genuine and truthful faith in God.” Thanking and praising God, even in adverse situations, out of a firm and sincere faith that it is all good, connects the person with the motivating force of the occurrence; then, the secret good behind the seemingly adverse event is revealed.
Chapter 135 www.aspiritualsoulbook.com
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