A Soulful Journey

Rabbi Zushya once said: "I learned seven things from the thief: 1) What he does, he keeps to himself. 2) He is willing to take risks to attain his goal. 3) He does not distinguish between "major" and "minor" things, but takes equally exacting care of each and every detail. 4) He invests great effort in what he does. 5) He is swift. 6) He is always optimistic. 7) If at first he fails, he is back time and again for another try." We can learn from every one in every instance...if we are attentive.

  Said Rabbi   Yehoshua ben Hananiah : "I was traveling, and I met with a child at a crossroads. I asked him, 'which way to the city?' and he answered: 'This way is short and long, and this way is long and short.' "I took the 'short and long' way. I soon reached the city but found my approach obstructed by gardens and orchards. So I retraced my steps and said to the child: 'My son, did you not tell me that this is the short way?'  Answered the child: 'Did I not tell you that it is also long?'"     - Talmud , Eruvin 53b There are many shortcuts in life but often they do not lead to the place we wish to go.  Only with time, effort and study can we achieve the heights we dream of.  

  Not so long ago and old man in Russia started learning Hebrew.  That was illegal. A man from the KGB approached the old man and asked, "Tell me, what do you think you are doing?" The old man replied, "I am old.  I could die any time.  I want to learn Hebrew so I will understand what they are saying in heaven." "And what makes you think you are going to heaven, old man? Perhaps you are going to hell." The old man gazed at the KGB and said, "In that case, I already know Russian."  -Rabbi Jacob Radinsky   We work for heaven today.  What we do impacts our present and informs our future. For this reason, nothing is meaningless.  Nothing.

  Rabbi Menachem the son of Rabbi Yossi taught: “ ‘A mitzvah is a candle. The Torah is light.’ The verse used the analogy of a candle for a mitzvah and that of light for the Torah teaching that just as a candle only offers protection for a brief period, so too, a mitzvah offers protection only temporarily. The Torah, on the other hand, is described as light. Just as the light offers protection forever, so too, the Torah offers protection forever.” ~Talmud Sotah 21A Sit in the light.  Absorb its energy.  Then become the light.

Rabbi Pinchas entered the Beit Midrash, the House of Study, and viewed his students animatedly talking.   When they saw their master they quickly fell silent.     Rabbi Pinchas’ curiosity piqued.     He asked, “What were you talking about?”     One student shyly murmured, “We were talking about the   yetser ha-ra , the evil urge, that chases after us day and night, whispering for us to do bad things.” “Do not worry,” said the venerable rabbi.  “You are not advanced enough that the  yetser ha-ra  is pursuing you, you are chasing after it.” The stronger, more learned, and wise we become the more powerful becomes the Yetser-ha-ra. What is most critical is to not give in.

  “Instead of saying   you frighten me , what if we said   you interest me ?’ -Richard Bach   I laughed as I read those words.   Can you imagine a world where interest was a stronger impulse than fear?  There would be no more wars.  An end to hatred and likely poverty.  Much suffering would disappear from the world because we would learn from one another.

When Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan taught homiletics at the Jewish Theological Seminary, his practice was to explain the portion of the week on a Monday in a sermonic manner. On Wednesday, a senior student would present his version of the same biblical text. Dr. Kaplan was a very demanding and critical instructor, and the students dreaded the ordeal. Once in our class, a student took down verbatim what Dr. Kaplan said on Monday. When it came the student's turn to explain the passage on Wednesday, he repeated Kaplan's Monday interpretation word for word. At the end of the presentation, Dr. Kaplan said, "That's a terrible exposition." 'The student then complained, "But, Prof. Kaplan, that's exactly what you said Monday. And Kaplan replied, "Young man, I have grown since then."   Rabbi Bernard K. Raskas  Heart of Wisdom

 "To what can scholar be compared? The Rabbis answer, "To a vial of fragrant perfume.  When its cover is removed, its fragrance is diffused.  When covered, its fragrance remains inside, not diffused."  - Avodah Zarah 35b The purpose of learning to to share what we know with others.  The world then benefits as its fragrance is spread.

 "We call a fool a chacham , which really means 'wise.' "A chacham has already arrived.  He thinks he knows everything and that makes him a fool. A Talmid chacham is the eternal student. He knows that he needs to learn more. He is willing to sit at the feet of others. A T almid chacham is the symbol of wisdom because he never arrives...." - Rabbi Ralph Simon

 "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.

“Little Aby’s parents were not religious and he was not in the habit of saying his prayers at night.  One day he went to spend a holiday with his grandfather, who was very frum and who insisted on prayers.  The night before his return home, Aby finished his evening devotions with the words, “…and goodbye, God, I’m, going home tomorrow.”  - Friday Nite Book   You have a task, a vital one.

  "Noah was a tzaddik in his generations." (Genesis 6) Why in his generations (plural)? A person lives in a single generation.  But a tzaddik must live in two generations.  he must be able to talk to the young as well as the old.  - Rabbi Israel Levinthal The task of any right person is not simply to aggregate knowledge but to disseminate it.

 " Everything new must have its roots in what was before." - Sigmund Freud Turn the pages back in time.  The ancients were wise beyond their time. It is all here, a part of your heritage.  Learn it. 

“That is the problem of Dante’s Divine Comedy too.  The crisis comes in the “middle of the way of our life,” when the body is beginning to fade, and another whole constellation of themes comes breaking into your dream world.  Dante says that, in the middle year of his life, he was lost in a dangerous wood.  And he was threatened there by three animals, symbolizing pride, desire and fear.  Then Virgil, the personification of poetic insight, appeared and conducted him through the labyrinth of hell, which is the place of those fixed to their desires and fears, who can’t pass through to eternity.” – Joseph Campbell If you hold onto the past you cannot access the  possibilities  of the future.   Be open. That is the  gateway  to heaven while the  other  is the  pathway  to hell.

The first step in liquidating a people is to erase its memory. Destroy its books, its culture, its history....   Before long the nation will forget what it is, and what it was."   -Thomas Butler It is our duty to study, grow and learn.  Every day. That is why we are the eternal people. Do not forget. Remember. Learn.

"History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives. " -Abba Eban

"It is not enough just to know laws.  One must strive to perform them and understand them."  - Rambam It is a vital that we open our minds to fathom the "whys" of life.    As Socrates uttered, "an unexamined life is not worth living."  This is profoundly true with Torah.

The famous Slominski, a famous astronomer, lived in great poverty.  One day he sat absorbed in a thought trying to discover a new planet. "What are you trying to do, my husband?  I need money to buy food!" "Be patient.  Soon I will make a discovery that will improve our condition." "Yes,'"said his wife.  "It is much easier to find a star in the than a ruble on the earth." The Mishna clearly teaches us, “Rabban Gamliel, son of Rabbi Yehudah the Prince said: Study   Torah    together with a worldly occupation."

And the knowledgeable will be radiant like the bright expanse of the sky,  And those who lead the many to righteousness will be like the stars forever and ever.  -Daniel 12:3 Forward.  Always move forward in your learning.

Rabbi Chanina said, "I have learned a lot from my teachers, more from my colleagues, and from my students most of all."   -Talmud, Ta'anit 7a