A Soulful Journey

  A Lie Can Travel Halfway Around the World While the Truth is Putting On its Shoes …attributed to Mark Twain, by Jonathan Swift.

  In 1983, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan said, “ Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts. ”  Search for the truth and always question.

"The authenticity of the scrolls is currently in great doubt, particularly since the word "Oldsmobile" appears several times in the text..."  - Woody Allen In our days, perhaps more than we have known in generations, we need to filter what we read and hear through the lens of fact-checking and healthy doubt.  It is a Jewish ideal that we question everything in the pursuit of truth.

Christian author Frederick Buechner once wrote: “There is no evidence of a prophet ever being invited back a second time for dinner.” People often do not wish to hear the truth; the would rather listen to the voices that agree with them. Or as  Israel Salanter said,  “A rabbi about whom there is no controversy is not much of a rabbi.”

Three men were playing poker in New York, a Roman Catholic priest, Protestant minister and a rabbi. During the course of the gambling the police broke in and arrested all of them. Sometime later the three were brought into court on charges of gambling without a license. First, the court called upon the Roman Catholic Priest. “Did you or did you not gamble?” The judge asked. ”May I have a moment to pray?” Came the reply. ”Certainly.” The priest picked up his rosaries and began to petition God. He asked the Almighty, “Please forgive me for this sin."  “No, I was not playing poker,” came the reply. Next came the Protestant clergy’s turn. “How do you plead?” ”May I have a moment to pray?” Came the reply. “Certainly.” He asked Jesus and Mary for forgiveness and then said, “I am innocent.” Finally, the rabbi was brought up and the judge requested that the man take an oath on the holy Bible. Assenting to the judge’s wish the rabbi took the stand. ”How...

"Half a truth is a whole lie." "When you add to truth you subtract from it." - Sam Levenson

He was a high school teacher for 27 years and used to ask his students to bring stories from their families, and this is one of them.  This fellow in the story was kind of a pest and when the blacksmith saw him coming he put a hot horseshoe on top of the pile.  The fellow came into the shop and dropped it quickly.  "Was it too hot?" the blacksmith asked.  "No," the fellow said. "It just doesn't take me long to a a horseshoe." It is remarkable how often we deflect from the truth.  Even little "white lies" ebb away at our soul.  They steal something invaluable from us.

Three retired old guys sat on a beach in Palm Beach.  “How’d you get here?” the first asked the second. “I had a textile factory in Passaic,” the second guy replied, “and I did pretty well for a long time. Then the competition from down south got fierce.  One day my water pipes burst and ruined all my machinery. I retired and came here on the insurance money.  How about you?” “I had a box company in Bridgeport,” the first guy said, “and was doing pretty well.  Then the price of materials shot up, and I nearly went broke-until a fire destroyed my whole plant. Luckily I was insured and I moved down here.” He turned to the third man. “And what brought you here?” ”Well,” the third answered, “My clothing factory in Puerto Rico did okay, but when Far Eastern manufacturers started underselling me, I thought I would go bankrupt. Then a hurricane flattened the building. I got the insurance, retired and came here.” The other two looked at ...

“The income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf has.   Even when you make a tax form out on the level, you don’t know when it’s through if you are a crook or a martyr.”   - Will Rogers Must be time to start getting taxes together.

A wandering merchant came to a town square offering to sell the elixir of life.   Of course, large crowds would surround him, each person eager to purchase eternal youth.   When pressed, the merchant would bring out the Book of Psalms and show them the verse: “Who desires life?   Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from guile.” -Rabbi Brad Artson

"Truth lives and endures." -Talmud, Shabbat 104a

"The devil quotes Scripture." - George Bernard Shaw You can say virtually anything and back it up with a verse from the Bible.  Taken liberally from any one of the many biblical books it is possible to find words that "proofs" for even absurd statements.   In your soul you always know the truth.  You cannot be deceived without your consent.