A Soulful Journey

Promise me,   Promise me this day while the sun is just overhead even as they strike you down with a mountain of hate and violence, remember, brother, man is not our enemy. just your pity, invincible, limitless, hatred will never let you face  the beast in man. And one day, when your face this beast alone, your courage intact,  your eyes kind, out of your smile will bloom a flower   and those who love you     will behold you across 10,000 worlds of birth and dying. Alone again I'll go on with bent head but knowing the immortality of love. And on the long, rough road both sun and moon will shine, light my way. - Thich Nhat Hanh

Not so long ago to be Jewish was synonymous with being religious. One Shabbat in a little Moroccan village, Saadia was on his way home from Synagogue when he saw Rahamim, a fellow Jew, standing on a corner smoking a cigarette. "Rahamim," gasped Saadia "have you forgotten that it is Shabbat?" "No," said Rahamim calmly. "I have not forgotten."   "Rahamim," reproached Saadia, "have you forgotten then that smoking is prohibited on Shabbat?" "No," said Rahamim unperturbed.  "I am perfectly aware of that." "Rahamim,: sympathized Saadia, "you poor thing.  Then you must have some strange disease and the doctor has ordered you to smoke for health reasons." "No," smiled Rahamim, my body is in excellent shape.  Saadia pondered for a moment. Having given Rahamim every benefit of the doubt and every chance to explain his sin he finally turned his head towards the heaven and exclaimed, "God,...

 "Love blinds us to faults, hatred to virtues." - Moshe ibn Ezra Rabbi Yehoshua said, "An evil eye, the evil inclination and hatred of people removes a person from the world."  - Pirkay Avot 2:11

 "You should always remember," a learned man said to his colleague, "that bread and butter will always fall with the buttered side down." "Not always," replied his friend.  "I have seen bread fall with the buttered side up." "Impossible," reasoned the other.  "It must have been buttered on the wrong side." Being reasonable is not always easy as it means listening to other people's opinion, even when it dramatically differs from ours.  We experience this idea on Pesach when we read about the "wicked" son.  Say many sages, "Do not give up on him.  At least he showed up at the table and has not dissociated himself from his people."  Listen to his opinion.

 "A map of the world that does not include Utopia is not worth glancing at."  - Oscar Wilde As we enter into this sacred season let's hold on to hope with both hands.

In his book, A Passion for Truth, Heschel relates the following story: “ During a visit to Kotzk by Reb Yankev Arye of Rodzhimin, Reb Mendl asked him, "Yankl, why was man created on this earth?" "He was created in order to restore the purity of his soul," Reb Y ankl replied. The Kotzker Reb be roared back at him, "Yankl, is that what we learned from the rebbe in Pshyskhe? Surely man was created to exalt the Heavens!"   What does the Kotzker mean….to exalt the heavens? I realize that the Kotzker is saying that man was not created to focus on himself, to restore the purity of his soul that had become sullied.  - Rabbi David Ebstein

Now cracks a noble heart. Good night sweet prince: And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest -Shakespeare

 "Losing my virginity was a career move."  -Madonna What do we lose when we jettison our morals for sake of receiving accolades or making money?  We grow distant from our soul.

Ben Gurion: “In Israel in order to be a realist you must believe in miracles.”  - October 5, 1956 Interview on CBS After the city of Safed was liberated, Yigal Alon made this comment, "After the war of Independence, (Yom Ha-atzmaut) one of the leading Rabbis of Safed said of the Palmach that there were two events that made this moment possible, a  miracle and action.  What was the action?  The many people reciting Psalms for victory.  And what was the miracle?  That the Palmach was successful." We are partners with God and humanity.  That means we pray and work for justice and freedom at the same time.

In 1884 a young American died on a visit to Europe. His grieving parents began to think of establishing a living memorial in his memory. They decided to try something in the field of education, a memorial that would go on year after year helping to educate young people. They arranged an appointment with Charles Elliot, president of Harvard, who was annoyed to have his time taken by two such plain and unpretentious people.  Impatiently, he inquired what he could do for them. They apologized for taking up his valuable time, and explained that they wanted to establish a memorial in their son’s name.  The haughty man suggested, in a crisp manner, that perhaps they had in mind a scholarship. The mother, in a soft and patient voice, said that they were thinking of something more substantial, perhaps a new building on the Harvard campus. With a patronizing air, Elliot explained that she was suggesting something that will take a great deal of money. Looking them up and down,...

  "There is no person that doesn't have their "moment"; and there is thing does does not have a purpose."   -Avot 4:3 Give everyone the opportunity to rise to become what God intended  and treat every thing in the world as a gift.  This is our responsibility.

The wise men of Chelm declared a state of emergency.  Unemployment was rampant.  Inflation was out of control.  Whole families went hungry for days at a time. After discussing the plight of the township the elders decided to create a communal enterprise employing everyone who did not hold a job.  They agreed that the best alternative was a brewery. Speedily they studied the art of beer making and created their first draft.  But they realized a new beer without an acknowledged sponsor would go unnoticed. So the novice brewmasters sent a sample to Prague.   "Our esteemed brewers of Morovia:  Your humble servants have decided to produce a beer hardly worth your valuable time. But as we realize recommendation such as yours would help us distribute our new product we hope you will grace us with your kind opinion. With the help of God and our wishes for health-- Your humble servants, The elders of Chelm." One week later the following reply came back: "Dear f...

There is an interesting story describing her one of the greatest of Talmudic scholars who had violently opposed movement, surprised his contemporaries by becoming a disciple of one of the great Chasidic Rebbes. The latter was also a great scholar. One day they met and vied with each other over the meaning of a particular text. Each defended his interpretation and point of you with astounding erudition. They quoted sources unknown to many, and the brilliance of their reasoning made bystanders marvel. Then suddenly the Chasidic master said, “Stop. We must not continue this way.” We are looking at the text as if  we  had written it. We forget that it is not ours. It came from God and we must ask ourselves what He intended rather than how we choose to see it. This challenge caused his adversary to end the debate. He realized how easy it was to permit one’s ego to become involved in what ought to be a quest for God’s will and he became a follower of the man at whom he had initially...