A Soulful Journey

A rabbi visited Alcatraz to conduct services for Jewish prisoners.   He found that there were only six Jews on the island and he remarked about it after services.   One of those who participated looked quite uncomfortable, apologized and said sincerely, “Well, Rabbi, we sure appreciate your coming here, and maybe next year we’ll have a minyan!” Even in hell we should never lose hope.

"When I was no more than six years of age, I did something that my father considered of reprimand.  He sent me to the local police station with a note.  The officer on duty read it and locked me in a jail cell for five minutes saying, 'This is what we do to naughty boys.'  I have, ever since, gone to any lengths to avoid arrest and confinement.  To you young people my message is - stay out of jail!'  - Alfred Hitchcock A good lesson to all parents for all children.

A King of Prussia visited a prison and interviewed prisoners one at a time.   He asked each of them what crime they had committed.   They all declared their innocence with the exception of one man who owned the evil he had done and admitted that he was getting what he deserved.   The king ordered his immediate release saying, “This man obviously has no business here among all the innocent people.” While honesty may not always grant clemency, it is what God demands of us.

After the fading celebrity Zsa Zsa Gabor was found guilty of slapping a traffic cop during a minor traffic violation.   The judge then slapped her with an unbearably harsh sentence: she was ordered to put her real age (then 66) on her driver’s license.   She was also sentenced to three days in jail. Coming to grips with reality – like aging, failing mental acuity, waning strength is difficult to face.   Ultimately though it needs to be confronted.