What do you want to look like as a Gadol (spiritual giant)? Have you ever thought about that question? We’re all growth-oriented people. We all value self-improvement, and we work on it every day. But we don’t think of ourselves as “Gadol material.” We’re just here to do the best we can. We don’t necessarily see gadlus as a realistic choice we can make and work towards. How fortunate we are, then, to have access to the wisdom of great Gedolim who teach us otherwise. A talmid of Rav Wolbe once wanted to learn certain unconventional sefarim. He asked Rav Wolbe’s opinion. This was Rav Wolbe’s answer: What do you want to look like as a Gadol? Where do you want to achieve greatness? Now, go and learn the seforim that will help you implement your vision. Do those sefarim fit that description? Over the past few months, we’ve been learning about da’as. We’ve been working on consciously connecting to Torah, mitzvos, the people around us, and every life experience. Reacting to life with da’as is incredibly powerful. But a real bar da’as (one who possesses da’as) isn’t just reactionary. Living intentionally means living with a vision to build. We’re living busy lives filled with constant stretching, growing, doing, learning, and generally making Hashem proud. And that’s incredible. But thriving in avodas Hashem means we need to take some time to think about our avodah future as well. That’s why we’re going to start exploring a new middah – one called “seder.” The Pesach Seder earned its name because, on a simple level, “seder” means “order.” On Pesach night, one ritual precedes another in an orderly fashion. In Hebrew, an organized, punctual person might be called “misudar” – someone whose life is in order. But “seder” means more than organization. In the Torah’s view, seder is deeply connected to “ratzon,” or will. In Maariv each night, we praise Hashem as “the One who is misader (arranges) the stars with their heavenly constellations according to His ratzon.” As this passage teaches us, seder isn’t just the behavior of being orderly. It’s the intentional process of actualizing our will. It’s the way we order our lives so our vision can come to fruition. An entrepreneur thinks of a new business idea. What does he do next? He lays out a business plan. He outlines the steps he needs to take to make his idea reality. That entrepreneur is engaging in seder. We used to spend life on autopilot. Now, we’re living with da’as. We’ve stopped “floating” and started learning to approach our day-to-day lives with intention. Seder is the next step. Seder will help us approach life as a whole with intention. It will enable us to arrange our lives around a conscious ratzon, a vision, in our personal avodas Hashem. Which means, of course, that we need to figure out what our ratzon is. Rav Wolbe’s question to his student provides a great place to start brainstorming. What do you, specifically, want to look like as a gadol? Where do you want to achieve greatness? If you had all the time in the world, or all the education you feel you’ve missed, or all the positive traits you’re sure you don’t have enough of – what kind of Jewish greatness would you want to achieve? There’s no right answer to this question. This is about uncovering your unique ratzon, your unique desires, in avodas Hashem. Answering this question, or at least exploring it, will be our first exercise for this new topic. Think about Rav Wolbe’s question. Think about the areas you feel a pull or a desire to become great in. Because greatness isn’t something that happens to special people. It’s the product of a process – a seder – we can all learn to follow. All the best! ============================================================ Copyright © 2026 Avodah Alive, All rights reserved. Hope you enjoy! Our mailing address is: The Vaad Project 1555 Stuart St. Denver, CO 80204 ** Add us to your address book (https://ytcdenver.us19.list-manage.com/vcard?u=a1f3548bd8e304669ba35bd91&id=d1d621b261) Enjoyed this email? Forward it to friends and family! Click ** here (https://ytcdenver.us19.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a1f3548bd8e304669ba35bd91&id=f5d8942d12&e=b754bac92f) to sign up for the weekly avodah emails. Click ** here (https://mcusercontent.com/a1f3548bd8e304669ba35bd91/files/62c1f667-2464-551a-bda9-18d3feceed15/Avodah_Alive_complete_.pdf) to view the PDF version and ** here (https://view.flipdocs.com/Avodah-Alive) to view the Flipdocs version the "Avodah Alive" guide. This email was sent to *|EMAIL|* (mailto:*|EMAIL|*) why did I get this? (*|ABOUT_LIST|*) unsubscribe from this list (*|UNSUB|*) update subscription preferences (*|UPDATE_PROFILE|*) *|LIST_ADDRESSLINE_TEXT|*