Shacharis has always been hard for me. During one morning last year, my friends and I were talking about shacharis and the different ways to become more motivated about prayer. This idea got me thinking about peer pressure. Whenever I hear the words "peer pressure", I can't stop thinking about something negative. The reason is because peer pressure is commonly used in a negative way. The Lubavitcher Rebbe says that if you see something in the world that needs to be fixed, it's your job to fix it. Therefore, I wanted to make peer pressure more commonly used for something positive. From that day on, I decided that I would take a picture of myself in teffilin every day, and post it for all to see. My goal is that, when you see my picture of teffilin, you will be happy about it and want to put on yours as well.
In this week's parsha, Hashem told Avraham to go out from the place where he lived to a place which was unknown. Avraham understood that Hashem is the creator of the world and so he followed Him. Although he had full trust in Hashem, it's still hard to do something unknown or uncomfortable.
The lesson I took from this is that since Avraham took a step out of his comfort zone and trusted Hashem, I could too. In order to become comfortable with something, the first step is to plant a seed. After a certain amount of time it, becomes rooted and ultimately it becomes second nature. Hopefully, you will trust me and take a step that might be a little uncomfortable. Come join us in our mission to promote positive peer pressure. Let's take on the feeling of being uncomfortable and conquer it in order to bring Moshiach right now!
A gut shabbos kodesh Yom chemdaso ki vo shavas mikol milachto!
All the best
Avrohom Y Ross