A Soulful Journey

"Our 18-year-old son took his girlfriend out to dinner for her birthday.  When he returned home, I asked him what they had ordered. "I had spaghetti," he said, "and she had something that cost nine bucks."  -Sandy Lamkin It is always good to be thoughtful of someone else.  It always matters what we say and do.

Unlike all the other physical phenomena that engage us with the world - touching, feeling, seeing, or smellling - darkness is merely the absence of something, light. In the ninth of the ten plagues Moses brought down a new kind of Darkness that could be felt.  It was akin to a knocking on the door which we do not see but nonetheless feel a presence.  It was a Darkness of the Spirit.

"Once considered helpless but adorable lumps of protoplasm, babies are now being recognized as brainy little beings...."  -Newsweek, 3/28/1983 What you put in is what you get out.

"True, the old man was a member of the synagogue, and his brother too, but they could never accept the fact that their son was Jewish.  "How did it happen?" his father asked bewildered."   - Without Feathers , Woody Allen One of the consequences of following tradition is that it leaks to the next generation.  One of the consequences of separation from tradition is that there is a vacuum; the tradition ends.

"Be chary of giving advice.  Wise men don't need it and fools won't heed it."   -Lloyd Shearer

"Let advertisers spend the same amount of money improving their product that they do on advertising and they wouldn't have to advertise it."   - Will Rogers We see how much more money is often spent on promotion rather than making things better. It is also true for politician and elections.  Wouldn't it be refreshing if it were the opposite?

"In a dilapidated log cabin, near a cornfield, there lived an old farmer.  He had lived in the same place for so long that he attracted a lot of attention from passerby.  Some believed his age to be 110, yet he maintained a youthful disposition and a sparkling sense of humor.  Once a tourist stopped and asked: "Have you lived here all your life?"  With a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye, the farmer replied without hesitation: "Not yet."  - Rabbi Sally J. Priesand Keep moving forward.  Don't stop.

Reb Nosson wrote: "Every day and every moment, there are wonders upon wonders… Since God renews [the world] continually, there is a phenomenon by which everything changes into good. If you cannot see and understand this, at least believe in it. Again and again, strengthen yourself with this." - Healing Leaves

“We will never give up Yamit.   I swear to you.   When you hear people say that we are going to give up Yamit, forget it.   Tell them they don’t know what are talking about.   Yamit is Israel.   There is no difference between Yamit and Tel Aviv…When I retire from office, my wife Aliza and I are going to buy a plot of land in Yamit.   This is where I am going to retire and write my memoirs.   So when you hear people say that we’re going to give up Yamit, don’t pay attention to them.”   -Menachem Begin in 1977 when he become Prime Minister and before he gave up Yamit. Life constantly shifts.   Everything change.   So, should we.   We should never been so immovable as to deny the possibility that we were wrong and can change.

“He felt only in a system with no economic inequality could there be real freedom and cited as the model society an ant farm.   He could observe ants for hours and used to muse wistfully, “They’re truly harmonious.   If only their women were prettier they’d have it made.”   -Woody Allen, Side Effects It is amusing, entertaining, and distracting to think about how much better life would be if only…    Yet, this is our world.   It is as it is.

A woman goes up to a man and says, “Henry, you’ve changed so much!   You used to be short, Henry!   Now you are so tall.   You used to be heavy and now you are so thin!   You used t o be fair and look how dark you are!   What happened, Henry?   How did you change so much?” The man replies, “I am not Henry.   I am Arthur!” The woman looks at him and says, “So you’ve changed your name as well?” -Charles Osgood It is good to recognize when changes have occurred.   Denial of change does no good.   Which is the best way to interact with our friends and family?   Accept each person as they are, not as they were, not as we wish them to be.

In Las Vegas, a big time gambler died and a friend delivered the eulogy.   “Tony isn’t dead,” the friend said.   “He only sleeps.” A mourner at the back of the room jumped up.   “I got a hundred bucks says he’s dead.” -Solutions for Seniors It is good to accept realty and not live in denial.

My vision is distorted, loving God of truth. I want to see clearly, but my heart leads me through twisted, convoluted paths of misunderstood impressions. Straighten those paths so that I can strengthen myself in the conviction of my beliefs. - The Gentle Weapon

Children, in the end, are what Jerusalem, what Israel, is all about.   The handsome old Chasid, deep blue eyes, fine white beard, wearing his very grand streiml and kappota looks down into the questioning face of the little boy. “Go on,” says the mother, “ask him why he wears that kind of hat.”   The child is shy.   The Chasid smiles, leans forward,.   “That’s,” he says, giving a little   toss of his head, “that is my Davy Crockett hat.”

“Better to be a fool who believes everything than a skeptic who believes nothing— not even the truth." -The Empty Chair

A woman with nasty disposition was operated on for gallstones.   One day the doctor met her husband on the street.   He seemed worried. “What troubles you?” the doctor asked.   “The operation was very successful.” “For me hardly so,” the man sadly replied.   “The stone are gone but the gall remains.” No science can make everything right in our lives.   Medicines do not save us.   Operations do not change us.   Only the willingness to change can change us.