A Soulful Journey

“Itticha gotsa g’chin v’tilchosh la , Rav Pappa said to Abaye “if your wife is short bend down  and whisper to her.” Baba Metsia 59a  

Rav Kook, the late Chief Rabbi of Israel, was once passing a restaurant ad saw some kibbutzniks sitting and eating trafe , unkosher food.   He remarked, " l’tayavon ” (Good appetite). “Why did you say that to them?   Shouldn’t you chastise them for eating trafe?” asked a student. “It is better they should eat the treif for its own sake rather than out of spite,” he replied.   -Louis Jacobs What can we learn from not being unyielding like Rav Kook?

Confidence is generally a good thing.   Taken to an extreme, it becomes arrogance and an unwillingness to see the merits of the other side.   “To be a flexible as a reed,” is an admonition from the Talmud. Through the pitch black night, the captain sees a light dead ahead on a collision course with his ship.   He sends a signal: “Change your course ten degrees east.” The light signals back: “Change yours, ten degrees west.” Angry, the captains sends: “I’m a Navy captain! Change your course, sir!” “I’m a seaman, second class,” comes the reply. “Change your course, sir!” Now the captain is furious.   “I’m a battleship! I’m not changing course!” There’s one last reply. “I’m a lighthouse.   Your call.”