A Soulful Journey

" Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not  hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act. " ---Dietrich Bonhoeffer 

“Good authors too who once knew better words, Now only use four-letter words, Writing prose. Anything goes.” –Cole Porter

“And there shall be no shameful thing among you.”   - Deuteronomy 23 “The “shameful thing” means foul language.   - Yerushalmi, Terumot

Rabbi Hayim Soloveichik told the story illustrating how a person goes through their tefilot (prayers) swiftly.   He said the congregation would only wait for the rabbi to step back from God’s Presence before rushing on.   Someone once complained, “Make it longer.”   He answered, “I’ve already prolonged it.” – Louis Jacobs One should always strive to be close to God, contemplative and spiritual but there are limits, boundaries with everything, even prayer. The Talmud is clear that one must not over prolong prayers causing the congregation to become anxious.   We always take others into consideration.

Dear God, 
let my heart grasp 
the profound wisdom 
with which You created the world. 
Help me understand 
that life’s difficulties 
are in fact her opportunities; 
life’s endings 
are also her beginnings; 
life’s disappointments 
are her finest teachers. 
  -Rebbe Nachman, The Gentle Weapon

"An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth” (Exodus 21:24). Rashi's comment: "If a person blinds someone, he makes financial   restitution for the value of the eye." Talmud,  Bava Kama 84a

A wife texted her husband on a cold winter morning: "Windows frozen, won't open." The husband texted back: "Gently pour some lukewarm water over it." Five minutes later the wife texted back: "Computer really screwed up now."

Rabban Gamliel was noted as saying that a person’s interior and exterior should be mirror images of each another.   Perhaps this is what he meant about such consistency: “There are those who preach and act accordingly; Some act correctly and do not preach well; And you have good preachers who do not practice.”  - Yevamot 63b

Q: What does a JAP make for dinner? A: Reservations.