A Soulful Journey

  Good morning to You, Lord of the world! I, Levi Yitzhak, son of Sarah of Berditchev, am coming to You, in a legal matter concerning Your people Israel. What do You want of Israel? It is always, "Command the children of Israel," It is always, "Speak unto the children of Israel." Merciful Father! How many people are there in the world? Persians, Babylonians, Edomites! The Russians, what do they say? Our emperor is the emperor. The Germans, what do they say? Our kingdom is the kingdom. The English, what do they say? Our kingdom is the kingdom. But I, Levi Yitzhak, son of Sarah of Berditchev, say: I shall not go hence, nor nudge from my place until there be a finish until there be an end of exile - Glorified and sanctified be His great name." -Nahum Glatzer in  A Jewish Reader   How wonderful it would be if each of us would care for one another to this dredger.  Surely the Master of Creation would be moved to tears.

  “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

  “It is customary to blame secular science and anti-religious philosophy for the eclipse of religion in modern society. It would be more honest to blame religion for its own defeats. Religion declined not because it was refuted, but because it became irrelevant, dull, oppressive, insipid. When faith is completely replaced by creed, worship by discipline, love by habit; when the crisis of today is ignored because of the splendor of the past; when faith becomes an heirloom rather than a living fountain; when religion speaks only in the name of authority rather than with the voice of compassion--its message becomes meaningless.” ― Abraham Joshua Heschel, God in Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism

“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  

The quality of mercy is not strained, It droppeth as the gentle dew from heaven Upon the place beneath; it is twice blessed;It blessed him that gives and him that takes: 'Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes The thrones monarch better than his crown .  - Shakespeare It is so easy to be compassionate.  Just open your heart and your soul will begin to sing.

“The  middah  [aspect of truth] warns against self-righteousness and holding ourselves and our holy curriculum as morally superior to Others.  Rather we are to be guided by the qualities of truth and compassion, and to always remember that while differences exist, it is not for us to judge.” - Rabbi Moshe Cordevero Can we do this?  Be open and compassionate to those with whom we disagree?

A man wants to go to find Elijah the prophet. So he prepares himself, gather his food, set off, because he has heard that Elijah will be at one particular Seder in the small village, in the middle of nowhere.  And finally after a long journey, he approaches a house, old and ramshackle. He looks in through a cracked window as an extended family gathered to celebrate the Seder. They are wearing their finest for Yontif and yet he can see that they are poor because the clothes are patched, the walls are bare and even for this, the greatest meal of the year, there is barely any food on the table. And he wonders, can Elijah really be here? Sadly, he realizes he must have come to the wrong house. Elijah cannot possibly be here at this table. He starts to walk away. As he walks away he forgets about Elijah in the simply heartened by the warmth, the children smiling and singing and the lights of the candles. And then he thinks about the fact that he has so much food and they h...

"The ideal man has the strength of a man and the compassion of a woman."  -Zohar Archetypes do not always work in reality but the force of this statement is clear:  We must never be so inflexible as not not see the other side.

A student asked his rebbe: “We are commanded to love our neighbor as ourselves. But how can I do that if my neighbor offends me?” The rebbe answered: “You must try to understand what these words really mean. Love your neighbor because your neighbor is like you. For all souls are really one. Each is a spark from the original soul, and all are bound together like the limbs of a single body.  If you punish your neighbor, you only hurt yourself.” –Martin Buber, Tales

While we were in Berlin, Franz often went to our local ark in Steiglitz. Sometimes I went with him. One day we met a little girl.  She was weeping an appeared to be in complete despair.  We spoke to her, Franz questioned her, and we learned that she had just lost her doll. At once he invented a sufficiently plausible story to explain the disappearance of the doll: “You doll has simply gone on a journey --  I know because she’s written me a letter.”   The little girl was a bit suspicious: “Have you got it on you?”  “No, I left it at home by mistake, but I’ll bring it with me tomorrow.”  Intrigued, the child has already almost forgotten what made her so upset in the first place.  And Franz went home immediately to write the letter.  He set to work with the same seriousness he displayed when composing one of his own works, and in the same state of tension he always inhabited at his table, even w...

Rabbi Akiva teaches: Note that the Torah does not say, “Since I was humiliated, let it be just the same for my neighbor, or “Since I was insulted, let my neighbor be insulted as well.”  Rabbi Tanhuma says, “If you choose to behave in such a manner, know well whom you are actually insulting, for “God created humankind in the divine image.” (Genesis 5:1)  – Talmud

The calf was being led along the street towards slaughterhouse. As Rabbi Judah passed by, the animal broke loose, sensing that was going to its death. It ran to Rabbi Judah and nuzzled its head in his cloak and whimpering pathetically. Gently, Rabbi Judah turned the calf around to where its owner stood waiting and bent down to whispered in its ear, “Go, this is what you were created for.” That day, the heavenly court decreed that since Rabbi Judah had  shown no compassion, sufferings will be brought upon him. One day, Rabbi Judah’s servant was cleaning the house. A weasel made its home in the dark corner and had deposited young there. The maid was about to sweep them out and throw them away. ”Stop,” cried Rabbi Judah. “It is written, ‘His mercies extend to all his works’.”  Straight away, the heavenly court decreed that since he had shown compassion, compassion would be shown to him.

When Rabba became ill he kept is secret for one day.  If he did not recover it would be announced int he marketplace so whoever wished him evil would dance and whoever loved him would pray.  - Nedarim 30 An odd story.  Was it modesty that kept him silent?  The desire to avoid commotion in the market of those who did not like him?  Or was it the desire to not disturb anyone's day?

A poor man came to the Berdichever and petitioned him to offer prayers for his deliverance from poverty.  The rabbi asked the man to remind him of his request the next day.  “But rabbi,” protested the supplicant, “today I have a chance for a free trip home. “What can I do?” replied the rabbi.   “At this moment, my hear is full of another man’s troubles.   When the Lord will aid him, my heart will be free to take up yours.   I can assist you only when my heart feels your trouble as you do yourself.”   -Newman, Hasidic Anthology Only when we feel, are empathic, can we help one another emotionally and spiritually.

“Religious Jews are those whose hearts smile when their mouths do. Religious Jews feel pain in another’s misery, joy in another’s happiness. They know that perfection is impossible, yet they strive for it. They are trees rooted in the earth with their branches extending towards the heavens. Religious Jews are cisterns who do not lose a drop; they are springs of water which steadily increase. They observe the commandments with an adult’s intelligence and a child’s enthusiasm. They act in a manner that is a credit to themselves and which earns them the respect of both Jew and non-Jew. They are prepared to sacrifice for God, their people, their laws, and their homeland. Religious Jews are a unified mass of sand, yet individual stars who shine on the world.” - Rabbi Hayyim Angel

According to the late Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, our enslavement in Egypt: “Taught the Jew ethical sensitivity, what it truly means to be a Jew.    It sought to transform the Jew into a  rachaman , one possessing a heightened form of ethical sensitivity and responsiveness.” - Rabbi Mitchell Wohlberg Our pain must have purpose.  What higher purpose than to be compassionate?

There’s a story going around about a man trying to cross the street. However, when he steps off the curb a car comes screaming around the corner    and heads straight for him. The man walks faster, trying to hurry across the street, but the car changes lanes and is still coming at him. So the guy turns around to run back, but the car changes lanes again and is still coming at him. By now, the car is so close and the man so scared that he just freezes in the middle of the road. The car races right up to him, then swerves at the last possible moment and stops next to the man. The driver rolls down the window. Lo and behold, it’s a squirrel driving the car. And the squirrel says to the man, “See, it’s not as easy as it looks, is it?    -Rabbi Toba August

Rabbi Steven Wise once visited China.  There, he was carried around by rickshaw.   He was amazed to hear constant coughing from the rickshaw carriers.  They would wheeze and cough non-stop.   He asked a friend, "What is this all about?" "Don't worry," came the response.  "After two weeks you won't notice their cough." And he was right.  After two weeks he did not notice their coughing. Wise later said that was the saddest moment  in his life.  They were coughing and he did not hear them. Lord, Master of all, never allow my heart to become inured to the pain of my fellow.

The Talmud tells of a peace sacrifice that was brought into the women’s court, in order to satisfy a woman’s feelings and bring calm to her soul. Note: Peace offerings are not always for yourself, your personal sense of wellbeing.  It is good to pray for people we love.

Rabbi Lee Levine, professor at Hebrew University, had a son in miluim , the Israeli army.   T he son, on his way home, saw an old Arab woman rummaging through garbage.   He took pity and gave her his sandwich.   His solider buddy said to him, I don’t know whether I can go to war with you.   You might shoot too late.”   Levine’s son responded, “I don’t know whether I can go to war with you.   You might shoot too soon.”   -Rabbi Jack Reimer