We've been talking about the Mitzva of saying Keriat Shema daily, which includes something referred to as Kabalat Ol Malchuyot Shamayim/the acceptance of the yoke of God's kingdom upon oneself. This is a responsibility every single day of the year, but an added responsibly comes on Rosh Hashana, , when we have to accept God's kingdom upon ourselves for the entire year- that is the essence of the day. As we said from Rav Wolbe a person might so to say, fool himself and accept the yoke of God's kingdom upon himself, but it might not be 100% authentic. He might be willing to jump into the fiery furnace, but he is not willing to control his petty desires or whatever else needs to be controlled. He believes in God, without question; He believes in the yoke, but he is not ready to put his neck fully under that yoke. It's like the joke they tell of a man who is being sworn into the communist party. They say, “If you have two boats, what do you do with them?” He answers,” One for myself and one for Mother Russia.” They ask, “If you have two homes, what do you do with them?” “ One for myself, one for Mother Russia.” If you have two cars, what do you do with them? “ One for myself, one for Mother Russia.” If you have two coats, what do you do? He doesn't respond. “If you have two coats, what do you do?” They ask again And again he doesn't respond. “Why aren't you answering?” They ask. He says, “ Because I have two coats.” Meaning, we're able to give up everything in theory, but not when it's real or practical. Mesirut Nefesh? “ Sure, I'll jump into the fiery furnace,” we say, and maybe we really would jump into the fiery furnace when the situation arises. But that doesn't mean that we are accepting the yoke of God's kingdom in our day to day life. Therefore, in Rav Wolbe’s example t of the man that couldn't commit himself to learn for four hours straight, the man says, “ Okay, so I'll commit myself for an hour, or for a half an hour.” You have to know where you are holding. The yoke has to fit your neck. So exactly what size is your neck, so to say, to fit the yoke? Using a common example, perhaps a person that wants to control himself and speak less Lashon Hara. That's a challenge that everyone has to deal with. But to say that you're never going to speak Lashon Hara again is not practical. To say, “I'm never going to get upset again,” is not practical. All of those Nevers are impractical. Of course, the truth is, I am never allowed to speak Lashon Hara. But who am I fooling? I'm a human being and I have struggles. So where I'm holding right now, there is a spot that I have to accept the yoke of God's kingdom upon me . And it's very personal. It might sound a little strange, but Kabalat Ol Malchuyot Shamayim is personal. This is not say that Torah is changing. Of course you can never speak Lashon Hara, but right now, you have to know who and where you are. Using an exercise mashal, to just expect a person to do 100 pushups would be impossible. And if I said, “You have to do a hundred pushups.” “ Very nice, but I can't.. I can't do 100 pushups. Whether it's my fault or not, where I am right now, I can't do 100 pushups. Even if I pledge allegiance to do 100 pushups, it's never going to happen.I'm not doing it.” So we say, “Okay, what can you do?” “I can't even do one pushup. My shoulder hurts. ” Okay. Let's massage your shoulder. Let's stretch you…. And eventually we'll get you to one, and then two, and then three. The good trainer doesn't say, “Let's do 20,” he starts with just one good pushup. Or half a pushup, against the desk- not on the floor. Where are you holding? Wherever you're holding, start from there. But it has to be at a point where it's a struggle. It can’t be extremely easy. As someone once told me about exercise, what does the job is that when it starts to hurt a little bit, add another two. That's the place where Mesirut Nefesh happens. It’s those two more. You can't know what Mesirut Nefesh is until you know what you're up to in life and what you're able to do. It’s a job, honestly, do Kabalat Ol Malchut Shamayim . You have to figure out where you are holding. It’s important, not only for accepting the Yoke of God's kingdom, but also when it comes to Teshuva, when we have to determine what we are accepting as a Kabala for the future, whether not to do a certain sin or to do a specific positive mitzva. There are people that just grab something, like saying Birkat Hamazon from the siddur. But is that exactly what you need? Does that fit you? Does that match your needs? You have to know where you're holding, so that you're able to say, “ What is my neck size, what yoke fits my neck?” It takes introspection and it takes work, but B’Ezrat Hashem, we are thinking people and we'll try to figure out exactly where our point of struggle and resistance is, and that's where have to put in the effort. Have a wonderful day.