{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe Podcast Collection","title":"Elul 3 - Today Is the Day: Begin Your Elul Transformation Today","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":662,"description":"Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe compares spiritual growth to beginning a diet: the most common promise is, “I’ll start tomorrow,” but lasting change can only begin today. Tomorrow always appears easier in our imagination, yet today is the tomorrow we spoke about yesterday. Elul challenges us to stop postponing growth, take out a piece of paper, and identify what we want to change before the coming year.\nBut transformation begins even before action—it begins with the desire to change. Rabbi Wolbe shares the story of a man who complained to his Rebbe that he had a heart of stone. Only when the man began pleading and crying for the ability to feel did the Rebbe respond, “Now we’re talking.” The longing for a sensitive heart, meaningful prayer, and a genuine relationship with Hashem is itself the first step toward achieving those things.\nWe therefore begin the Amidah by asking Hashem to open our lips, even though we are already standing in prayer. We are not merely asking for the ability to recite words; we are asking for help to pray with sincerity and connection. Spiritual growth is a partnership: we must begin, persevere when our efforts fail, and continually ask Hashem for inspiration, guidance, and closeness. Elul is the moment to declare: It will not happen someday. It begins today.\n_____________\nThis Podcast Series is Generously Underwritten by Peter & Becky Botvin\nThis Episode is dedicated in Honor of Etan & Valerie Mirwis!\nRecorded at TORCH Centre in the Levin Family Studios (B) to a live audience on August 18, 2023, in Houston, Texas.\nReleased as Podcast on August 21, 2023\n_____________\nListen, Subscribe & Share: \nApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jewish-inspiration-podcast-rabbi-aryeh-wolbe/id1476610783\nSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4r0KfjMzmCNQbiNaZBCSU7) to stay inspired! \nShare your questions at aw@torchweb.org or visit torchweb.org for more Torah content.  \n_____________\nAbout the Host:\nRabbi Aryeh Wolbe, Director of TORCH in Houston,...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/76tI1XOrBfK-PjMp-DsYPvoo8EZGRPqfIP9oxC23HYU/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS8zN2Vi/ZDJhMmE0MjViNjFl/MWZkODkzOWUwZmJm/ZTQ5ZS5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}