"A Half-Hourly Chime"
(Picture courtesy of target.com)
Received via e-mail from a reader:
I have a digital watch. It has many features, most of which I do not use. For example, it has 3 alarms. Occasionally, I will set one of these alarms to remind me of an important meeting or event. It also has an hourly chime. This feature, when set, causes a beep be sounded every hour. For example, beep . . . 2PM . . . beep . . . 3PM . . . beep . . . 4PM, etc.
I have sometimes wondered just what the feature was for. In the past, the few times I have activated it only served to increase my anxiety . . . beep . . . 2PM . . . "I have not gotten enough work done today" . . . beep . . . 3PM . . . "Come on, the day is almost over and you have so much more work to do" . . . beep . . . 4PM . . . "You might as well close the book - how much more can you do as the day is almost over", etc.
But, after reading "Bilvavi Mishkan Evneh", I have learned why Hashem created the hourly chime on my digital watch. It is simply to serve as a reminder that . . . beep . . . 2PM . . . "Hashem is the Creator and He created me and all that I see" . . . beep . . . 3PM . . . "Hashem is the Creator and He created me and all that I see" . . . beep . . . 3PM . . . "Hashem is the Creator and He created me and all that I see", etc. Go to Target or your favorite store and buy a digital watch and try it for a week - you will feel the difference it makes in your day and in your life . . . beep . . . I pray to Hashem that it is not long before I will need a half-hourly chime . . . Stay strong!
3 Comments:
I ordered a copy of this sefer, but I am still waiting for it to come in the mail.
Some Chaveirim and I, who're learning Bilvavi together, used a similar method. My palm pilot can do the same thing that you mentioned with the alarms going off, which I've done. Also, we would appoint one of us, each day, to either text message or call the others several times throughout the day to remind us that "Hashem exists and He created me!" What you wrote about there and these things can help us do 1/2 of the method in the Bilvavi seforim, which are the quick daily hisbonenus'n that you mentioned. The other half is the one hour a day, which is more more in depth and is more challenging for me. Hatzlacha with your watch!
-Dixie Yid
There's a great story about the Chozeh of Lublin's clock, that borders on this theme. Bli neder, I hope to post it for his yahrzeit, which is Tisha B'Av. Watch the space on my blog!
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