Building a Heart in Avodah

We live in a wild world. The dangers to our way of life multiply from day to day. The strongest chinuch doesn’t guarantee our children’s immunity. We all know children who were firmly rooted in the Torah’s ways and suddenly were swept away. Is there some secret weapon that can protect our children?

Chazal tell us that the heart is a person’s center and source of strength. The heart is a single muscle with one function, but it gives strength to every limb and organ in our body. It pumps blood, our life force, throughout the body, enabling our feet to run, our hands to build, our mouths to speak. It has one simple task, but it enables the dazzling variety of human activity. It’s the center that gives life to our whole being.

Chazal didn’t intend to give us a lesson in physiology. The heart they speak of is a spiritual one. It’s with us constantly, giving us strength in everything we do. What is our spiritual heart?

A Torah-based approach to life is a lev, a heart. The Torah teaches us not only what to do, but how to live as Jews. An approach to life guides us constantly, informing everything we do. Whether we’re in shul or the office, in Yerushalayim or Las Vegas, a life message beats in us like a heart. It resounds within us, reminding us how to live.