A Soulful Journey

One of the members of the Rothschild family spent a weekend on a small farm in the country.  When the owner gave him his bill he was startled to see the amount he was charged. "What?" Rothschild exclaimed in surprise.  "Four francs for an egg?  Have you such a scarcity of eggs?" "Not a scarcity of eggs," replied the owner, "but a scarcity of Rothschilds." Funny.  But not right.  The Torah explicitly states that we should not favor the poor over the rich and vive versa.  All must be treated equally.

The famous Slominski, a famous astronomer, lived in great poverty.  One day he sat absorbed in a thought trying to discover a new planet. "What are you trying to do, my husband?  I need money to buy food!" "Be patient.  Soon I will make a discovery that will improve our condition." "Yes,'"said his wife.  "It is much easier to find a star in the than a ruble on the earth." The Mishna clearly teaches us, “Rabban Gamliel, son of Rabbi Yehudah the Prince said: Study   Torah    together with a worldly occupation."

Purchasing a Maine retirement home, my wife and I made small talk with a previous owner. We had paid top dollar for the property and asked her what she intended to do with the money. "Well," came her Down East response, "I certainly intend to spend more wisely than you just did." - Benjamin Langstroth

“The whole goal of our learning is to remove the obstacles from our becoming more loving human beings.” - Rav Kook,  Orot HaKodesh  IV, 389, 39 The task is ongoing.

And the knowledgeable will be radiant like the bright expanse of the sky,  And those who lead the many to righteousness will be like the stars forever and ever.  -Daniel 12:3 Forward.  Always move forward in your learning.

Pursuit of such peace and civility does not mean that we can or ought to avoid all controversies. That is generally impossible, and especially so in the context of such a tense and contentious society as that of Israel. (I remember her story my grandfather told me, of a young man who appeared one weekday morning in a synagogue adjoined services but failed to put on tefillin .  He resisted the requests of a gabbai and the president until the rabbi approached him and asked for an explanation. He told Rabbi that his father had died and left a will that he, the son, should avoid all controversies. Since there is a dispute between Rashi and Rabbenu Tam as to the nature of tefillin , he therefore avoided tefillin  altogether...   Rabbi Norman Lamm It is admirable to avoid negative confrontations that have no resolution.  At the same time, it is disempowering to avoid meaningful conversations and decisions no matter how hard they are.

The ship, St. Louis, left Hamburg, Germany on May 13, 1939.  Eights days prior to the ship leaving port, carrying hundreds of Jewish refugees, Lawrence Berenson gave $125,000 to Cuba for their immigration.  That same day the Cuban president declared that he wanted another $650.00. In the meantime, the ship docked in Havana and the Jews aboard heard that no visas had yet been issued because of the money standoff. Berenson, a man used negotiation, offered $598.00. Forty-eight hours passed in silence before the order came to turn the boat away from the harbor. For $52.00 the Jews died. What do you give to save lives imperiled today?

The biographer of the Duke of Wellington examined all of Wellington's diaries and public papers to learn about him. But only after he acquired the stubs of his checkbook did he get an accurate picture of the Duke of Wellington. This is how we will be ultimately regarded by posterity and by God, by what we give and do.

"Moderation in all things ..... except moderation."  - Mark Twain To be level-headed, thoughtful, should be one of the main goals of every person.

There was a rich man who felt he could buy anything. Indeed, he could.  He had more than enough money to take care of all his needs and desires.   One day the  shamas , the caretaker of the shul, was angered at the man’s attitude and rebuffed him.  “There is one thing that you can never get!” he exclaimed. “Impossible,” responded the rich man. “Yes, it is so.  You cannot purchase for yourself a place in the World-to-Come.” Taken aback, the rich man went home and pondered the predicament.  Finally, after a sleepless night, he went to see the rabbi in the morning. The rich man beseeched the rabbi, “I’ll give you one million dollars to get into heaven.” The rabbi’s features moved visibly. “I really do not think it is possible.” “Two million,” declared the rich man.  “Everything I own!” “You will do and give everything?” asked the rabbi. “Yes.” “Leave me now and return when I send for you.” The rabbi fasted every Monday and Thursday for weeks, praying for an answer for

One day the Chafetz Chaim was travelling home in a carriage.  He struck up a conversation with his fellow passenger.   It turned out that his companion was going to see the Chafetz Chaim when he went on to praise him for his great scholarship, charity and saintliness. The Rabbi reacted by saying that the Chafetz Chaim did not merit such praise. At once his fellow attacked and berated him.   The Chafetz Chaim  taught afterward that one must be careful not to denigrate oneself. It is good be modest.  It is also good to be truthful.  There is a balance to be maintained between the two.

"There are moments that conceal eternities.”   - Ehrenpreis, Soul of the East Be awake.  Be aware.  Be alive.  No w.

The modern age has "derogated or ignored what it could not quantify, that frequently praised critical rigor and punished imagination, that reduced people to oversimplified protoplasmic units that ultimately sought an engineering solution for any problem."  - Alvin Toffler, T hird Wave People possess unlimited potential.  We are all in process of coming something infinitely great than what we are today.  Let it be that we treat everyone with that same potency and potential.

Prime Minister Golda Meir was meeting with President Richard Nixon at the White House. At the time, Abba Eban was Israel's Foreign Minister and Henry Kissinger the U.S. Secretary of State. President Nixon said to Prime Minister Meir, "Isn't it interesting the we each have Jewish foreign ministers?" To which, Prime Minister Meir replied, "Yes, but mine speaks English."

The word "modern" comes from the Latin "modo," meaning "recently" or "just now." If we have forgotten God, in modo , it is time to bring Him back into focus in everything we say and do.

A professional orator liked mnemonics.  He began his speech by turning to one-man in the audience and said, "And so sir, where did you go to school?" "Yale." "YALE, Yearning, Aptitude, Learning and Excellence." "And where do you go to school?" he asked the next. Massachusetts Institute of technology." Sometimes it pays to be a little humble.

“In the end, all societies are remembered for the way they spend their wealth, than for how they made it.”   -Charles Handy, The Age of Unreason Remember well if you wish to be remembered well.

The School of Rabbi Yannai taught, "A lion does not roar over a pile of straw.  It roars over a piece of meat."  - Talmud, Berachot 32 People fight over things that matter to them, that have value. Listen to a person when they speak, their pitch, their words, and you will understand what matters to them.

She: "Will your grace give me two hundred fils to buy things for the house?" He: "I haven't two hundred, take one hundred, it is all I have." She: "Well, if here is no choice..." He: "Here they are.  Take them."  (To himself: 'Women shall be given half of what they ask.'  (She says to herself: 'Men should always be requested twice as much!') Trust is the most valuable asset of any couple or gathering.

When God led  Adam  around the Garden of Eden, God said, ‘Look at My works. See how beautiful they are, how excellent! For your sake I created them all. See to it that you do not spoil or destroy My world–for if you do, there will be no one to repair it after you.”  -Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7:13

"Marriage is like a 7-11. Not much variety, but at 3 am it's always there."  - Bob Levey, Washington Post Treat your partner well.  There are there for you.  You be there for them.

My prayer I want to thank you, Lord For being with me so far this day. With your help I haven't Been Grumpy Impatient Judgmental Lost my temper, or been angry at anyone . . . But, I will be getting Out of Bed In a minute And I think I will really need your help then. Amen

If [a person] were able to survey at a glance all he has done in the course of the life, what would he feel?  He would be terrified at the extent of his own power.” - Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel “The impulse to do evil is at first like a passer-by, then like a lodger, and finally like the master of the house.” – Talmud, Sukkah 52b What habits have taken up residence this year?  (R. Debra Orenstein) “No sin is so light that it may be overlooked.  No sin is so heavy that it may not be repented of.” – Moses Ibn Ezra “Better an open rebuke than hidden love.” – Proverbs 27:5 It’s hard to hear that someone it is dissatisfied with us but considering that it is usually an actor friendship and love when someone is honest enough to tell you where they believe you have gone wrong.  (R. Debra Orenstein) “If a person sinned against another and the latter died before pardon was sought, the sinner should bring a minyan, station them at the grave of the deceased, than in their

The Plague The deepest darkness is when a person doesn't see his neighbor and doesn't participate in the sorrow of another person: "A person didn't see his brother". The consequence is that, when one doesn't feel his fellow's sorrow, the feelings become dull and are silenced. "No one got up from beneath it". He has no way of recovering. Hiddushei HaRim to Ex. 10:23, cited by Itturei Torah

Rabbi Chanina said, "I have learned a lot from my teachers, more from my colleagues, and from my students most of all."   -Talmud, Ta'anit 7a