One Day At a Time

There is a well known Pasuk in פרשת ואתחנן: ואתם הדבקים בה׳ אלוקיכם חיים כולכם היום, “And those who cleave to Hashem, your G-d, are all alive today.”

The emphasis here is on the word, היום, “today.” The idea is that a person needs to adopt the policy of living, “one day at a time.” The Talmud in Sanhedrin tells us, “Do not agonize about tomorrow’s problems, because we have no way of predicting tomorrow.

Rabbi Twerski used this method to help addicts recover from their addictions. Do not look at what looks like an insurmountable task. Just take it one day at a time. One of his patients died at the age of eighty-three. He told Rabbi Twerski before his death that he adopted this policy forty-six years previously, and accumulated 16,472 “one days at a time!”

This was the explanation as to why Yakov Avinu’s seven year wait for his beloved Rachel, seemed like ימים אחדים, just a few days. He, too, took things one day at a time.

This philosophy is the most successful way in conquering the יצר הרע. The Evil Inclination tries to fill our minds with worries and self doubt. It often makes it difficult for us to face the day. But if we take things, “one day at a time,” we focus only on today. Tomorrow is just another “one day at a time.”

Those who can do this are truly alive today.