“When Yaakov passed by the [site of the] Beis HaMikdash why did [Hashem] not stop him there? [Because] if it never entered his mind to daven in the place where his forefathers had davened should he be stopped by Heaven? … He said ‘Could it be I passed the place where my forefathers davened and did not daven there? He decided to return and went back as far as Beis E-l and the earth sprang toward him.” (Rashi)

It is interesting to note that as soon as he decided to return he was granted the miracle that shortened his journey but when he initially passed by the place Hashem did not stop him (Zahav Misheva Rav Moshe Shmuel Shapira).

She gets off the bus at 3:00. By 3:30 she’s home. At 4:10 the children come home and sit down to a meal of veggie burgers instant mashed potatoes and canned peas piping hot straight from the microwave. And there’s dessert too: ice cream cones for everyone. What a good mother!

Five minutes after lunch is over the tabletop is bare. It took less than a minute for her to fold the plastic tablecloth with the disposable dishes still inside and drop it straight into the garbage. The salt shaker was deposited on the counter and that’s it. No pots no crumbs no mess and minimum effort.

Let’s think about this woman’s grandmother. To make chicken cutlets she had to purchase a live chicken bring it to the shochet pluck its feathers and salt its flesh. Her mashed potatoes were real potatoes carried home from the market and peeled cut boiled mashed and spiced. After hours of work preparing the meal the kitchen was filled with chicken feathers spots of blood potato peels and dirty dishes pots and plates.

That woman could’ve been me.

I know life today is full of shortcuts and I enjoy those shortcuts. If instant mashed potatoes have a flavor slightly reminiscent of laundry detergent and veggie burgers taste a bit like plastic it’s a small price to pay for modern conveniences.

The problem with shortcuts is we become addicted to them.

And it can cause us to be at odds with our spiritual lives in which we have to work to refine our middos and where there are no shortcuts no matter how much we’re willing to spend.

If the land miraculously contracted as a result of his prayers why wasn’t he stopped earlier? We see that even though he was already in a place where it was fitting for him to daven a sacred place where his forefathers had davened and even though Hashem clearly wanted him to daven there since He caused the sun to set early for him still since he did not decide to do so on his own he was not stopped from moving on. But once he turned to make the trek back he was assisted from Heaven.

We see from this that the siyata d’Shmaya a person is granted depends solely on his desire. If a person does not awaken himself he’s not aroused from Heaven. But if he makes a decision and begins to act on it Hashem grants him the Divine assistance necessary for the decision he’s made. (ibid.)

“Only you” says the voice from Heaven “only you can have the desire. Only you can make the choice. Only you can aspire to grow. Only you can beg and plead with Hashem to be even better. The siyata d’Shmaya will follow. The malachim will come to help you and all the Divine blessings will assist you but without you nothing will come.”

There are no packages of instant “service of the heart” that can be warmed up in a microwave. There are no shortcuts to bypass true spiritual effort no computer program that creates positive aspirations. There’s only you. The world is waiting for you to take your first step.

And if you’ll just take that step you’ll go on to experience true kefitzas haderech.