אדרבה, תן בלבנו שנראה כל אחד מעלת חברינו ולא חסרונם, ושנדבר כל אחד את חברו בדרך הישר והרצוי לפניך, ואל יעלה בליבנו שום שנאה מאחד על חברו, חלילה, ותחזק אותנו באהבה אליך, כאשר גלוי וידוע לפניך, שיהא הכול נחת רוח אליך... אמן כן יהי רצון.
This week Hamodia published an article about a 114-year-old man. When asked about the secret to his longevity, he responded by saying, "I always lived in peace with everyone...The important thing is not to hate anyone."
He also offered the following advice.
"The source of blessing and longevity is giving tzedakah, helping others, and being happy. Serve Hashem with joy, and trust in Hashem and you'll never know illness or misery. Whatever Hakadosh Baruch Hu does, He does for the good."
This week, my friend and I attended a Chanukah party. Part of the evening's entertainment was a woman who sang songs and the lyrics flashed on a screen so that we could accompany her. One of the songs was from the prayer of Adaraba, written in Hebrew above.
As my friend concentrated on the words in which we beseech G-d to be able to see the positive points in our friends and that we shouldn't feel any hatred towards them, my friend told me that the song's lyrics epitomized her daughter. When her daughter celebrated her bat mitzvah, she received a siddur with the Adaraba prayer attached to the front page. For eight years, the young woman faithfully recited those words. My friend told me that her daughter had worked on herself to the extent that she doesn't view anyone in an unfavorable light.
A couple of months ago, she and her daughter had attended a wedding. The parents of the groom approached my friend and thanked her profusely. They told her that it was because her daughter had spoken so glowingly about the bride and her family, that they had decided to go ahead with the shidduch.
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