Searching for Inspiration - Terumah

I've had moments recently where I desperately wanted to feel inspired, to wake up excited, learn enthusiastically, and daven with deep connection. However, I feel stuck instead, like I’m standing outside in the cold, watching others bask in warmth but unable to step inside. I tell myself to try harder, to push through. But the more I chase inspiration, the more it slips away. It’s frustrating because I know what it could feel like, yet I can’t seem to get there.

This week, I learned Tanya, Chapter 30, which gives an unexpected answer to this struggle. It speaks about timtum halev, a numbness of the heart, and suggests that the way to break through it is humility. Not in a self-deprecating way, but by shifting focus outward, recognizing that every person, no matter where they are, has struggles I may never understand. This connects to this week's parsha, Terumah, where Hashem asks for contributions to the Mishkan but only from those whose hearts move them. Not every heart moves easily. Sometimes, movement must be created.

Maybe feeling uninspired isn’t a failure but an opportunity to actively build something within. The beauty of inspiration is that it often comes after taking action, not before. The moment I give, learn, or daven, even without feeling it, space is created for something deeper to enter. A heart that feels stuck can still move, even if it starts with just one small step. So today, instead of waiting for inspiration to come, it must be created. Find one act; giving tzedakah, learning something new, reaching out to a friend, reach out to Hashem through prayer and do it even without feeling it. When that first step is taken, Hashem meets us there. What small act will you choose today?

Good Shabbos

All the best!

Avroham Yehudah Ross