A Soulful Journey

Rabbi Hiyya Ruba said, “I never had kavannah in my life.     Once I tried to have kavannah and I thought in my heart and said, “Who will enter before the King first the tax collector of the head of the community?”   Learning to pray with intensity is no simple task.  As Rabbi Hiyya Ruba admitted, the mind ceaselessly wanders to all kinds of extraneous thoughts when we should be focused solely on HaKadosh Baruch Hu. -Yerushalmi, Berakhot 2:4

And no one heard; I wrote a word, And no one cared, Or seemed to heed; But after half a score of years, It blossomed in a fragrant deed. Preachers and teachers all are we, Sowers of seeds unconsciously. We never know To what one little word may grow. See to it then that all your seeds, Be such as bring forth noble deeds. -John Oxenham Be careful.   Words are like arrows.   Some hit their intended target.   Other wildly miss.   But it is the one shot indiscriminately, thoughtlessly, that you may be remembered for.

“A man shall not marry with the mental resolution that he may divorce her.” – Yevamot 37b Does intent matter?  It surely does.  It can ruin a life.

What do we learn from each moment? What can we learn from a flower? A leaf? A story? A joke? “The Inspector was asking the class where they hopes to go when they died. All the replies were satisfactory with the exception of that little Aby, who said he hoped to go to hell! “To Hell,” exclaimed the Inspector. “Yes. That’s where father says all the business has gone to.”          - from The Friday Night Book   The meaning? We give energy to whatever we choose to speak of, or work toward. If love is what we focus on, we will create that all around us. If we strive for kindness we will make it reality. If we elect business, we will succeed in it, no matter the cost. Choose wisely.