A Soulful Journey

Pain is the great non-variable in human life. It does not matter what class we are born into, which nationality we are, or how nimble our feet, we all suffer. The only real variable in life is what we do with that suffering. How we deal with pain makes all the difference. Suffering which serves no purpose, serves no purpose. “In the midst of winter. I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.” Albert Camus Suffering is also an alarm bell sounding its warning that if it is not heeded can lead to greater suffering. “But pain is a great teacher. Just as physical pain can mobilize our defenses and alert us to deeper problems, so can emotional pain. It has the function of awakening us to the realization that there is something wrong in our lives, something that needs attention. If we ignore inner pain, it will surely grow out of control.” Viktor Frankl All suffering is not the same. What we feel is not necessarily what our fellow will experience. Even the pai...

Anti- Semitism is not rational, as is evident by this story: Ida Nudel tells about the time trainload of fresh oranges was coming to Moscow from the Ukraine. Anyone interested should come to the train station. Thousands came and waited all night. At dawn, the commissar announced only a truckload, not a trainload. Jews had to leave. Others waited at the truck depot. At dusk another bulletin: Only a carload, not a truckload. Only communist party members could remain. Then they announced that just a single crate of oranges and only Communist Central Committee members could get one. Finally,after another wait they announced it was a mistake. No oranges at all were coming. A frustrated member of the Central Committee turned to others and said, "See, the Jews always get the advantages; they were the first to be sent home." from Chutzpah, Alan Dershowitz

Happiness is temporal. It tends to come in washes. As soon as happiness sweeps in it is drawn back into the vast ocean before the next wave comes. As a society we are obsessed with happiness. We want it. Buying more things is supposed to bring happiness and it usually does until the joy of newness wears off. Then we go shopping once again for the happiness fix. The same can be said for the completed business deal or quota exceeded or beating our rival. All these things bring a brief helping of happiness. Then what? Julius Lester wrote, “I don’t like it when gentile and Jewish friends greet me at Rosh Hashanah with “Happy New Year.” Rosh Hashanah is not the equivalent of January 1. “I have never understood what “Happy New Year” is supposed to mean. I’ve never been sure that I want to be wished happiness. I’m not sure I know what happiness is, or that it is as important as we think. Happiness feels better than misery, but some of the most important periods of my life have bee...

"I remember that about forty years ago, a vice-president made himself famous by announcing that what this country needed was a good five cent cigar. What this country really needs is a good five cent nickel. And barring that, a a good five cent income tax." Groucho Marx in Memoirs Many things will happen today to make you worry. Make sure to take a moment from your precious life to smile. It is worth the time spent to do so. Anyway, it sure beats worrying.

"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." Tolstoy in Anna Karenina Joy is universal . It is infectious and all-embracing. Even if we do not speak the same language, joy is both communicated and understood. Sadness has a life all its own. While it consumes us like joy, sadness has its own unique biology. Sometimes it is reflective of one's upbringing . Other times it is because of a chemical imbalance . Other times it is jealousy....The list goes on and on. Better to be connected by joy than disconnected in our inner pain.

"One mother can take care of seven children but seven children cannot take care of one mother." Yiddish proverb One expects to be cared for. From the time we first appear in the world, we have many needs and grow to expect that someone will always protect and feed us. As time passes expectations change...but not too much. Our parents are always our parents and it is hard to think of them in any way other than as a caretaker. Note though that the commandment which appears in the Big Ten is the opposite. It states, "Honor thy father and mother." The Torah in its direct way tells us as we grow we must change out thought pattern to reflect a new responsibility toward the people that brought us into the world.