Day 11/50: Your Inherent Worthiness

וְלָֽקַחְתִּ֨י אֶתְכֶ֥ם לִי֙ לְעָ֔ם וְהָיִ֥יתִי לָכֶ֖ם לֵֽאלֹהִ֑ים

And I will take you to Me as a people, and I will be a G-d to you.

One of the primary weapons of the yetzer hara is dimyon — the illusion that doing a specific act or acquiring a specific thing will give someone the positive feelings that he seeks. This is particularly true of kedusha challenges, which are often rooted in fantasy. The yetzer hara conjures up fantasies which seem like they will provide the person with what he is lacking, such as love, intimacy, acceptance, power, being desired, being pleasing to others, etc.

The healthier a person’s sense of self, the better he will inherently feel, and the more he will be able to experience pleasure and satisfaction from reality — the (non-illusory) regular, healthy, and mutar experiences of life. Self-worth enables a person to feel good just “being” — conscious of who he actually is and in touch with his innate wholesomeness and value, which is independent of “doing.” When “being” is pleasant and fulfilling, it minimizes the allure of the illusions portrayed by the yetzer hara. Therefore, continuously working on experiencing one’s innate chashivus and gadlus is a crucial avodah.

Gedolim across the spectrum from Litvish to Chassidish, emphasize that the best general shemirah from aveirah, is feeling good about oneself through a deep sense of one’s innate chashivus. Recognizing the truth of one’s essence — that he is a beautiful, worthy, beloved, tzelem Elokim — is the foundation of Yiddishkeit and healthy living. It is crucial to remember the absolute truth: that even with all of one’s challenges, shortcomings, and aveiros, he is inherently holy, a pure neshamah, and remains beloved by Hashem.