A Soulful Journey

"By all means get married.  If you find a good wife, you will be the happiest man on earth.  If you find a bad wife, you will become a philosopher-- and that is still good."  -unknown Navigating life is not easy.  Relationships present issues that need to be faced and resolved.  The good news is everyone faces them.  The better news is that for thousands of years people have done the same before you and they succeeded.

 An Indian once compared love with a bowl of soup and marriage with a hot plate on a stove and said, “You Westerners put a hot bowl on a cold plate and it grows cool slowly.  We put a cold bowl on a hot plate and it warms up slowly.”  - Walter Trobisch What is important in love is to grow it, nourish it and let it warm you as you age.

Many remember the TV serial Ben Casey, starring Vince Edwards. Listen to Vince Edward’s description of himself after he has been Ben Casey for a while. Vince Edwards had become uncomfortably aware of the discrepancies between his own life, which happened to include a devotion to betting on horses, and the god-like image that has come to represent to the public.  “I won’t do anything to destroy the image,” he said, and he tried to keep his private life subdued and separate. Yet it was not easy because the magazines publish pictures of his horse playing and the public watched every possible moment and even his close friends began to be affected. Vince Edwards stated, “Some of my old friends begin to weigh their words when we get together now.  They don’t see me as plain old Vince Edwards. What they see now is the image. They see Ben Casey.  And makes a difference, believe me. Their attitude changes, they stiffen and I can’t say I like it and I and not s...

In an article called, “National Geographic, the Doomsday Machine,” biochemist George H. Kaub argued that North America will fall into the ocean because of people who hoard and stored the yellow trimmed magazines in attics, spare rooms, and basements. The cumulative weight, Kaub predicted in 1974, would compress the underlying rock formations until they produces fissures.  Towns and cities would then tumble into them. It was a tongue in cheek article but more prophetic than anyone knew at the time.  We are charged with being keepers of our world by God.

In his book, “We are Still Married” Garrison Keillor features a one page essay entitled, “The Meaning of Life.” “To know and to serve God, of course, is why we’re here, a clear truth that, like the nose on your face, is near at hand and easily discernable but can make you dizzy if you try to focus on it hard. But a little faith will see you through. What else will do except faith in such a cynical, corrupt time?  When the country goes temporarily to the dogs, cats must learn to be circumspect, walk on fences, sleep in trees, and have faith that all this woofing is not the last word. What is the last word then? Gentleness is everywhere in daily life, a sign that faith rules through ordinary things: through cooking and small talk, through storytelling, making love, fishing, tending animals and sweet corn and flowers, through sports, music and books, raising kids – all the places where the gravy soaks in and grace shines through.”

A Jewish man is sitting on a bench reading his newspaper when an anti-Semite approaches him and says, “You know, all the world’s problems are because of the Jews.” The Jewish man looks up and replies, “And the bicycle riders.” The anti-Semite replies befuddled, “Why the bicycle riders?” The Jewish man responds, “Why the Jews?” There is no rationality for Anti-Semitism.  Or ethnic hatred of any sort.

Mu* means "no thing"...Mu simply says, "No class; not one, not zero, not yes, not no...".   Mu becomes appropriate when the context of the question becomes too small for the truth of and answer.- Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Sometimes we are curt and short with our words.  That is good for as the Talmud says, "Too many words bring destruction." but too few words can also give less than a full --- and sometimes inaccurate --picture.  We must always strive for the right mixture. *Japanese

"All true civilization consists in our attaining that deepest simplicity which is the highest wisdom."  - Albert Schweitzer Be true.  Be honest.  Clean up after yourself.  It's all basic.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.   -Robert Frost Never bemoan the path that you have taken.  It is yours.

Rabbi Eliyahu Kitov wrote: " If one attains holiness through affliction, and another attains holiness through indulgence, who is the greater of the two? It may be said that the one who attains holiness through indulgence is greater, for the attainment of holiness through indulgence requires an infinitely greater degree of striving and effort." Purim is almost upon us.  It is a sacred holiday where we approach God through soulful joy.  We stamp our feet, hiss at Haman's name, revel in hamentsachen, and celebrate the exuberance of God's saving grace.  Yet, the holiness still inheres in Purim even as we laugh and sing.   Mindful of the real meaning of Purim as it draws close excitement grows.

The black hair saw a gray hair. "Traitor!" He shouted at the other. "We were all born black and intend on staying that way. However, you change. You put our whole head to shame." "How ignorant you are, my friend," the gray hair smiled.  "That which happened to me will happen to you. It occurred a little earlier in my case but do not fret, you too will turn gray." Time brings age and maturity.  Do not be afraid to confront that which is inevitable.

The Kotzker Rebbe once said, “Better a rasha (evil person) who knows he's a rasha than a tzaddik (righteous one) who knows he’s a tzaddik." You can repent, do teshuvah, if you know you have erred but if you are total tzaddik, what is there to repent?

"The true test of maturity is not how old a person is but how he reacts to awakening in the midtown area in his shorts."  - Woody Allen We all have suffered embarrassment. The only real embarrassment we should ever suffer is before the Holy One, blessed be He.

Rabbi Israel Rizhiner lived in a very comfortable fashion. A modern Jew once visited the rabbi and was amazed at his luxurious surroundings. ”This is quite a contrast from the way the rabbis lived past years,” he remarked.   “Then they resided in wooden houses, dressed in plain linen clothes, and traveled on foot. Today the rabbis dwell in palaces, wrap themselves and velvet and satin and travel around in beautiful coaches.” ”There are three classes of people who come to a rabbi,” Rabbi Israel Rizhiner replied.  “Hasidim, ordinary people and frivolous men.   All three give the rabbi contributions. This money the rabbi spends according to the donors. The money that the hasidim give him, the rabbi spends on mitzvot and tzedakah.  The money that ordinary people give he spends for sustenance of himself and his family. But the money he obtains from the frivolous, the rabbi spends on luxuries. Years ago there were no frivolous people,...

A Jew asked a preacher, who specialized to making eulogies, to deliver one at his wife’s funeral. ”What kind you want?” the preacher asked. “A eulogy with tears or without? ”What is the difference?” the widower asked. ”The difference is $5,” replied the preacher. Of course the joke is make to make you chuckle but feelings can never be purchased.  Open you heart.

When Rav Menachem Mendel from Kotzk (the Kotzker Rebbe) was a child, he was asked by his father's friend; "Menachem Mendel, where does G-d live?" The young child snapped back with the response; " Wherever you let Him!"     Even though they were brought up strictly orthodox, Shlomo, 8 and Isaac, 10 were very naughty brothers. When anything went wrong in, they were nearly always involved.  One day, a friend visited their parents and mentioned a Rabbi who was having great success with delinquent children. As they were finding it difficult to control their boys, they went to this Rabbi and asked whether he could help. He said he could and asked to see the younger boy first – but he must be alone. So Shlomo went to see the Rabbi while Isaac was kept at home. The Rabbi sat Shlomo down across a huge, solid mahogany desk and he sat down on the other side. For 5 minutes they just sat and stared at each other. Finally, the Rabbi pointed his finger at Shlomo and asked...

"I had wanted to become, first, a movie director, and second, Alma's husband - not in order of emotional preference to be sure but because I felt the bargaining power implicit in the first was necessary in obtaining the second.'"  - Alfred Hitchcock . What we do to impress others would be more justifiable to do to impress God that we are faithful.