A Soulful Journey

 "I'm really opposed to heart attacks and cancer and strokes, the way i am opposed to sin."  -philanthropist Mary Lasker, a one-woman lobby for research in the late 1950's Read.  Learn.  Study.  Truth can be found there along with a fierce faith and devotion to God.

Judaism understands that there was an element of risk in [that it is] repetitious. Sometimes, by dint of repetition, religious rituals may become mechanical. Again, let me refer to a metaphor. What does it take to play glorious music? Great art can be appreciated only because the artist had the patience and the willingness to discipline himself.  Inspiration comes after constant practice. Paderewski is reputed to have remarked: "If I stop playing the piano one, day I feel the difference. If I stop practicing two days, the critics know the difference. If I stop practicing three days, my audience knows the difference." There is no substitute for repetition. Only by accepting constant self-discipline can we enjoy the glories of the symphony of Jewish life.

 Who is a hero? One who turns an enemy into a friend.   -Avot d'Rabbi Natan

 "God is present whenever a peace treaty is signed." - Rebbe Nachman

  "Two are better than one, for if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow."  -Ecclesiastes 49:19 Help someone today. Allow yourself to be helped.

"Nature uses only the longest threads to weave her patterns, so each small piece of her fabric reveals the organization of the entire tapestry."  - Richard Feynman You matter. Everyhting you do matters.

Charles Thierry was born in 1850 and practiced his silversmith trade in Cambridge, Massachusetts, until the age of 93.  Every day he took long, vigorous walks in the country, a habit that he kept up after his retirement.  At the age of 103 he contracted influenza and had a stormy convalescence.  He  was then seen by Dr. Paul Dudley White, who urged him to resume his daily walks, regardless of the weather.  Thierry recovered but later died of pneumonia at 108 years of age, largely due to his own negligence.  -Norman Cousins Get up and get out.  Enjoy God's many gifts that are all around you.

Things were getting progressively worse in Chelm.  There was high unemployment and a lack of food. The elders of Chelm decided to meet to solve their dilemma.  The best hope for them was to sell beer.  After a while they produced their first batch and sent it to Prague with the following letter: O worthy brewmeisters: Seeking to alleviate our plight, we have produced beer.  But we are unknown.  If such a famous brewer as you praised our drink, it would be a great help. The Elders of Chelm One week later came the reply from Prague: "Your horse has diabetes."

N ot all the one thinks should be said. Not all that is said should be written. Not all that is written should be read.  - Rabbi Israel Salanter

(Exodus 17:6) "I am standing there (on the rock) before you": The Holy One Blessed be He said to him: "Wherever you find a man's footprints, I am there before you." - Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 17:6:1 Know that wherever you are, God is with you.

 The story is told of a man who told his psychiatrist: "Something is wrong with me, doctor.  I keep talking to myself." "But that is not a sign of illness," replied the psychiatrist. "Oh. doctor," exclaimed the patient, "You don't know what a nudnik I am." It is humorous but the more serious side of this is, "Don't take yourself so seriously."

The Dubner Maggid told the story of two men quarreling over a plot of land.  This one said that it belonged to him and this one said it was his.  A rabbi, hearing both sides of the argument, put his ear to the ground for a moment.  Rising, he pronounced, "It belongs neither to you, nor to you." "How can that be?" they both complained. "The earth said that it belongs to neither of you.  You belong to it."  (related by Rabbi Louis Jacobs) It is good to remember that we are only passing  visitors in this life.

  "And you shall love the stranger. .."   Lev 19:18 "But you do not have to make him the Lemsburger Rav.  As humans we have the tendency to overcompensate."  - Rabbi Louis Jacobs Every person is a human being with all the foibles and idiosyncrasies that tag along with being human.  Therefore treat each person on their own merit, knowing full well that no one is perfect.

 "We cannot cram the embryonic world of tomorrow into yesterday's conventional cubbyholes.  Nor are the orthodox attitudes or moods appropriate."  - Alvin Toffler, Third Wave Be open.  Be wise.  Greet each new day as a rebirth.

 The story is told of the Chafetz Chayim who struggled to get out fo bed but eventually fell back down exhausted and asleep when he realized, "If I am already up, then so is my yetser ha-ra (impulse to do ill)  I had better get to work."  -Hyam Maccoby Fight to be best you can be!

 Two rabbis were discussing resurrection of the dead.   "Suppose that during the resurrection only the rabbis will rise?  Where will they find their congregants?" The other answered, "A rabbi who cannot raise his congregation with him does not deserve to get up."  - Rabbi Nathan Zelizer This is demonstrated by Pirkay Avot where we read, "If one leads others to a life of righteousness, his sins will be forgiven." (5:20)

 A man goes to a doctor terribly worried. "I looked in the mirror this morning and saw terrible wrinkles.  My eyes have bags under them.  My hair is falling out.  I look a wreck.  What am I going to do?    Every time I look in a mirror, I see someone falling apart!" "Well, at least your eyes are alright." We all have days like that.  It is vital to remember all things that work, all that is right in our lives and not to focus on what is wrong.

If I am not in the world simply to adapt to it but to transform it, I must make use of every possibility there is not only to speak about my utopia, but also to engage in practices consistent with it.  -Paulo Freire

A businessman opened a new office and a good friend wanted to send him a bouquet of flowers. Arriving at the new office, he saw the laurel with the words: "Rest in peace." Irate, he raced down to the florist who had sent the arrangement.  "Well," said the man, "look at the bright side. Be optimistic. Someone has a wreath at his grave that reads, "Good luck in your new location." It is always better to laugh than grouse.  It is also better to think the best rather than the worst.  Try it.  It will brighten your day.  Even your life.

"Only a fool is interested in other peoples guilt, since he cannot alter it. The wise man learns only from his own guilt. He will ask himself: Who am I that all the should happen to me? To find the answer to this fateful question he will look into his own heart."  C.G. Jung

A Jew arrived at a railway station and saw a friend pacing up and down the platform in the utmost agitation. "What's the matter?" he asked.  "You look upset." "Upset! I've just missed my train by two minutes." "Well, by the fuss you are making, I thought you had missed it by half an hour at least."  - Friday Nite Book Isn't it always better to the of things in an optimistic way?  It is so much better than brooding over what we think we lost.

Reb Chaim Wolozinger's brother Reb Zalman was a great school and genius.  Friday afternoon, while he was in the bathhouse, someone stole his shirt.  Reb Zalman murmured not one word about it, dressed and went home. "Where is your shirt?" his wife asked in surprise. "Oh, someone just made an exchange with me," Reb Zalman replied. "Then where is other man's shirt?" she demanded. "The other person," Reb Zalman smiled, "forgot to leave his." What a great gift it is to ourselves to learn to let go.

...And to show the greatness of the Holy Blessed One, for while a person stamps many coins from a single mold, and all that are produced come out alike, the King of Kings, the Holy Blessed One, has stamped every person with the mold of the first Adam, yet not one of them is like his fellow. And so, each and every individual is obligated to say, “For my sake was the world created….”  Mishnah Sanhedrin, 4:5