(A bit late but better than never:)And we're back....again....Parashas Ki Savo...Bring your best and be happy!

Try your best.

Do what you can.

A+ for effort.

etc...

etc...

etc...

All we really have to do is try. Really all we have to do is want to try. And then everything else would work out. But most of the time we don't bother. Why don't we try? Why don't we even want to try? Maybe it's because we're afraid of change. Maybe it's because we're afraid to fail. Maybe it's because we're afraid to be vulnerable. And then we get into a rut. We feel bad. We feel empty. We feel regret. We feel unaccomplished. We for sure don't feel joy and happiness. Ah, but Rebbe Nachman said  "מצוה גדולה להיות בשמחה תמיד" We should always be joyful and happy! Ok maybe for Breslovers, but for the rest of us it's maybe not such a big mitzvah? Or is it? 

Most of our parasha discuss the blessing and curses, the latter numbering 98, in which we are scolded with the potentially most disastrous and deadliest words ever uttered. וּבָאוּ עָלֶיךָ כָּל הַקְּלָלוֹת הָאֵלֶּה וּרְדָפוּךָ וְהִשִּׂיגוּךָ עַד הִשָּׁמְדָךְ כִּי לֹא שָׁמַעְתָּ בְּקוֹל יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לִשְׁמֹר מִצְו‍ֹתָיו וְחֻקֹּתָיו אֲשֶׁר צִוָּךְ

All these curses will befall you, pursuing you and overtaking you to destroy you because you did not obey the Lord, your God, to observe His commandments and statutes which He commanded you.

still, the actual trigger is spelled out two psukim later:

תַּחַת אֲשֶׁר לֹא עָבַדְתָּ אֶת יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּשִׂמְחָה וּבְטוּב לֵבָב מֵרֹב כֹּל

because you did not serve the Lord, your God, with happiness and with gladness of heart, when [you had an] abundance of everything.

Wow! So simple! So clear! And it's not R' Nachman, it's theTorah itself! We need to start training ourselves to be more joyful and happy no matter what the circumstances are. That will solve all of our problems! 

Be grateful!

Be happy!

Be joyful!

Be thankful!

Imagine if tomorrow you will wake up with only that that you were thankful for today!

Then you can say you did your best and come to Hashems House and bring your Bikkurim!

Hang in......We're almost there!!! Just keep doing your best!