Hashem Helps Those Who Help Themselves - Rabbi Moshe Schochet

the tone this week's parasha parshas kiseitse commands us to help a fellow jew whose animal has fallen down on the ground the torah states hakeem takimimo that we are obligated and responsible to help a master lift and raise his animal has fallen down on the ground rashi comments that the word emo with him is there to teach us that we are only obligated to help a master if he is willing to participate but if the owner turns to us and says you do the mitzvah and i'm going to watch we are no longer obligated nor are we commanded to participate in this mitzvah the katsukareb and zuchusyogra leinu highlights something incredible based on this rashi that we can learn about our approach and attitude to our avodah's hashem he explains that the same way that we aren't obligated to help this master unless he helps himself hakura's borough who doesn't help us if we don't help ourselves if we don't take initiative if we don't assert ourselves and make every effort to become better people how cutters borrow who isn't willing to reciprocate however if he sees us take the first step if he sees us wanting more if he sees us putting our gestalts our effort in then our course borrows willing to carry us the rest of the way after all that's what the gemara means when it says in shabbos if we take that first step in one to become more pure then akash bar who's going to help us out in this similar vein the tasha rebe explains a famous acronym of the word el anili dodi vidodili anili dodi if i am to my beloved if i take that first step then and only then the dodi lee hakaresparacha will make us his beloved you know it's easy for us to make excuses as to why we can't change however as the cutscore and tashiraba teach us well hashem will help us along the way change must begin with us there's no better time than ello to take ownership of who we are and who we want to become once we gain that clarity hashem will be with us each step of the way