How to Stop Crying

Do you wish that you could stop crying but just don’t know how?  Let’s face it.  Life can be a pain, sometimes.  In his booklet, Stop Crying, Rabbi Arush lets everyone in on a little secret that can help.   

We have all shed our share of tears.  Tears of sadness, frustration, worry, despair…  at best, the tears can give us a temporary emotional release.  At worst, a person’s negative thinking could cause them to spiral down into the depths of clinical depression.  Then, if you have the merit, one day you pick up the book The Garden of Emuna, by Rav Shalom Arush, and from that moment on, life’s trials and tribulations take on a new meaning.  For the first time, you become aware of the truth: “The Creator is only good and does only good,” “It’s all from Hashem”, and “Let emuna precede your logic.”  It is, truly, a life-changing book.  However, be that as it may, you might still find yourself plummeting to the depths of despair when facing a challenge.  The Creator may love you, but it still hurts.  

Rav Arush knows how hard it can be.  This is why he also wrote a pocket–sized book called Stop Crying.  This comforting little booklet reminds us why complaining about our lot in life is a bad idea.  He explains why it is so important for us to work on ourselves and why the root of all sins, since the dawn of mankind, is ingratitude.  Therefore, when we cry and complain, the Creator gives us more to cry about; when we express gratitude, He shows us more things in our lives to be grateful for.  

So far so good, right?  But how many of us have done the Chok HaTodah (The Law of Gratitude) through a torrent of unstoppable tears?  I know I have.  I have often asked G-d for the secret of how to stop crying or even just to stop thinking negatively.  How do we internalize that everything He does is for our ultimate good?  How do we thank the Creator sincerely when life is at its most painful?  

SPOILER ALERT! 😀 

Rabbi Arush, himself, asks this in Stop Crying.  On page 18, he asks: “Do you know why people say there is bad in the world?” Then he answers, “They did not study the two books, The Garden of Emuna and The Garden of Wisdom.”  Then, on page 19, Rabbi Arush explains that every person is created together with his required individual path or “track” in life.  Furthermore, all of that person’s life experiences are designed to help him go through his unique pathway.  

When something is difficult or painful, we need to ponder and ask ourselves why.  Maybe G-d wants us to “take a turn” back onto our designated track.  Or, as Rabbi Arush says, to “ascend” to that pathway.  When we get off track, the Creator makes things painful and difficult so that we can return to it.  Then, Rav Arush says something incredible: “Every problem a person has, every trial, has a message from the Creator, how to direct the person to ascend to his designated path in life.”  

This is absolute emuna GOLD.  ✨ 

 
Now do you see, dear reader, how everything the Creator does truly comes from a place of love?  He brings trials and tribulations because we simply outgrew our situation and now, He expects more.  It is time to ascend and get closer to Him.  I hope you will bookmark this article and return to it whenever you find yourself getting teary (hopefully, not often).  Or, better yet, get Stop Crying, highlight the parts that speak to you most, and carry it with you during those tough times.  It’s like keeping Rav Arush in your pocket!  

Is it hard for you to stop crying?  Tell me about it, and I will share with you more of Rabbi Shalom Arush’s tips on growing in emuna through life’s challenges.  I can be reached at donations@breslev.co.il, or we can also chat over Whatsapp at +972523868452.