A Soulful Journey

Reb Zusha of Annipole, the brother of “The Seer” Elimelech of Lizhensk, was a devout man.  He held himself “small” ill spite of his renown and was always fearful that out of vanity he might preen himself as a man of God.  One time he paid a visit to Rabbi Mordecai of Nizchot.  As the hour of  midnight  approached, he got out of bed and, in a voice full of anguish, cried out: “God, O my soul!  I love You so much, yet I lack the inner power to express it!” He paced to and fro in his room, repeating these strange, passionate words over and over again with the deepest mortification.  All this while his host, Rabbi Mordecai, stood with a companion behind the door, marveling greatly at what he heard. After a few moments of silence he heard Rabbi Zisha exclaim, “O my Creator!  I do not know how to commune with You for my thoughts are confused and my words stumble one upon the other.  But dear Lord, I have one insignifi...

A golfer was walking around the fairway with four caddies. "Why so many?" a friend asked. "It's my wife's idea.  She thinks I should spend more time with the kids."  - Kick Back and Relax While humorous the joke contains kernels of truth.  We need more time with the people we love, not less/

"Education is not to make people know what they do not know; but to make them behave as they do not behave." Rabbi Dov Peretz Elkins

"Torah is only acquired with companions." -Berachot 63b It is easy to misinterpret anything in accord with our preconceptions.  That is why "truth" (i.e., Torah) is apprehended when we study it with people who challenge our beliefs.

An Israeli joke tells of Yossi and Shmulik sitting at a café in Tel Aviv drinking coffee all day. Yossi explains, “We have to watch our caffeine intake.  Too much and it interferes with our sleep at the office.” We cannot be happy unless we are productive.  Think about what makes you most happy.  Isn't it when you are creating?

What is the value of learning?  It ultimately comes to the value of the person.  Our sages, of blessed memory, remind us ongoing learning is critical to our growth spiritually,  intellectually and morally. Here is what they pronounce: "Even a heathen who studies Torah is equal to the Kohen Gadol (High Priest)."  - Avodah Zarah 3a

Rabbi Levi Yitzhak once discovered young girls labored to knead dough from the early morning until late at night.  When he saw how hard they worked he cried out, "Those who hate Jews accuse us of baking matza with the blood of Christians.  But no, we bake them with the blood of Jews."  -Menahem G. Glenn We have a responsibility to protect everyone, especially our most vulnerable.  Our God-given task is to ensure that all are protected from exploitation.  When you see someone being treated unfairly, speak up.

Rabbi Mendel Futerfas, who spent many years in a Siberian gulag, tells how he learned a great lesson from a tightrope walker who was also imprisoned there. The rabbi asked the tightrope walker what is the secret to his art. "What does one need to master? Balance? Stamina? Concentration?" The tightrope walker's answered surprised him: "The secret is always keeping your destination in focus. You have to keep your eyes on at the other end of the rope, and that's how you get there is a straight line, without wavering. But do you know what the hardest part is?" "When you get to the middle?" the rabbi ventured. "No," said the tightrope walker. "It's when you make the turn. Because for a fraction of a second, you lose sight of your destination. When you don't have sight of your destination that is when you are most likely to fall."   -Simon Jacobson Do not be distracted by what is around you.  It is just n...

"The world is full of willing people; some willing to work-  the rest willing to let them work." - Robert Frost Which am I?  Am I content to let others sweat while sitting back? Or am I one who seeks to expend effort?

A rebbe stopped a hasid who was hurrying through the street at breakneck speed.  "Where are you rushing?" he asked the hasid.   "The hasid replied, "I am running after my life."   "How do you know you have not passed it by?" replied the rebbe. - Rabbi Gilbert Rosenthal We are busy, plagued by incessant demands and needs.  And we run.  We run just to keep pace.  It is time to stop, look around and see where we stand.

“Woe to the person who identifies God with any attribute.” – Zohar God is not like us.   Perhaps the greatest leap of understanding that we can make at this season is the recognition that God is.   God is beyond our understanding. God’s love is apparent but His ways transcends our limited understanding.

"Anguish and heartbreak may not be distributed evenly throughout the world, but they are distributed widely.  Everyone gets his share." - Harold Kushner , When Bad Things Happen to Good People There are few things that bind humanity together.  Different things make us happy.  We feel closer to certain people than others.  Some are proud Israelis.  Some are proud New Zealanders.  Red hair sets people apart and connects them.  We differ in myriad ways. About the only thing that we all bear in common is that we are wounded.  Therefore be kind.

"The good ones slept better...while the bad ones seemed to enjoy the waking hours much more." - Woody Allen Is this true?  Only if you are an envious type.  The reality is that those who sleep well, live well.

"One mitzvah begets another mitzvah." -Avot 4:2 Isn't the cascade effect of goodness wonderful?  Do something good and more goodness comes more easily!

"Ben Bag Bag said, 'Turn it over and over again (the Torah), for everything is in it.  Contemplate it and wax gray and old over it; do not stir from it for you have no better guide than this'. " -Avot 5:20 The end of the road is truly the end.  So turn back to the beginning and learn what you already know; from the start, from the Beginning.  Behold! You will find truths that were hidden from your eyes before.

A thought to ponder: “Lost somewhere between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours, each set with sixty diamond minutes. No reward is offered for they are gone forever. ” –Horace Mann Questions for this day : Am I using my time wisely?    Have I made an effort to improve myself?  Lift the world a bit from its darkness?   Loved as much as I should?

"Yiddishkeit, not Judaism, was what really mattered to my mother and her friends."   - Michele Guinness

An elderly Jewish woman was waiting at the bus stop when a young man with a beard passed by.  She stopped and asked him, "Du redst Yiddish?" (Do you speak Yiddish?) "Ye, ich reid Yiddish" (Yes, I speak it), he answered.  "Gut, vat time is it?"