A Soulful Journey

  If I hadn’t lifted the shard off the ground, would you have found a precious stone underneath? - Yevamot 92b Look.  Examine. Think. Explore. There is more than you think.  Always.

A stranger finds a man on his hands and knees under a street lamp in front of his house. He asks what he's doing there. The man replied he's looking for his keys and the stranger than gets down on his hands and knees to help.  After while the stranger asks, "Where did you drop them?"   "In my house,"he says.   "Then why are you looking out here?"   "Because it is dark in the house."  There are times when, seeking to avoid pain or difficulties, we look for enlightenment where it cannot be found.

"The Window” A young couple moved into a new neighborhood. The next morning while they were having breakfast, the young woman sees her neighbor hanging the wash outside. “That laundry is not very clean,” she said, “She doesn’t know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap.” Her husband looked on, but remained silent. Every time her neighbor would hang the wash to dry, the young woman would make the same comment.  About a month later the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband, “Look, she has learned how to wash correctly, I wonder who taught her.” The husband said, “I got up this morning and washed our windows.” And so it is with life. What we see when watching others depends on the purity of the window through which we look. Before we give any criticism, it might be a good idea to check our state of mind and ask ourselves if we are ready to see the good rather than to be looking for something in the person we are about ...

A former Marine who was studying Aikido.  Despite the fact that Aikido is supposed to be peaceful, this individual was most anxious to test his skills in a combative environment.  He thought he had an opportunity on a Tokyo subway, when a drunk day laborer entered a subway car, hurling insults and curses.  The Marine was about to leap into action, when a little old man called to the laborer from the other side of the car.  “Hey!  Come here and talk to me.”  “Why should I talk to you?” the man replied?  “What have you been drinking?” the elderly man persisted.  “Sake, and it’s none of your goddamn business.” The wise elder persisted, engaging the laborer in conversation.  He shared how much he and his wife loved sitting in their garden at sunset and sharing a little bottle of sake.  “I’m sure you have a lovely wife too,” he said.  The laborer’s eyes teared up- “I don’t got no wife, I don’t got no home, no job, no money, nowhere to...

"It was taught in the Yeshiva of Rabbi Yishmael that blessings are only found in things that are hidden from the eye. "  - Baba Metzia 42a Consider: Do not think that which you guard and carefully watch is the most valuable thing in the world.

Once upon a time, a young girl who lived at the edge of the forest and loved to wander in the forest became hopelessly lost. As it grew dark in a little girl did not return home, her parents became worried. They began calling for the little girl and searching in the forest, as it grew darker. The parents return home and called neighbors and people from the town to help them search for that little girl. Meanwhile, the little girl wondered about in the forest and became very worried and anxious as it grew more dark because she could not find her way home. She tried one path and another and became more and more tired. Coming to a clearing in the forest, she lay down by a big rock and fell asleep. Her frantic parents and neighbors scoured the forest.  They called and called the little girl’s name but to no avail.  Many of the girl’s searchers became exhausted and left, but the little girl’s father continued searching throughout the night. Early in the mornin...

A Jewish traveler was going through China at the turn of the century and found himself in a remote Chinese village one day. Looking at his calendar he was surprised to find that that very evening was Yom Kippur. Quickly searching through the area he finally came across a Chinese synagogue. Just in the nick of time, he prayed with them. The Chinese Jews were dressed in their finest white clothes with her hair tied in ponytails. At the end of the service he was approached by the president, "What are you doing here?" He asked. "I came here to pray since it is Yom Kippur," came to reply. "Funny, you don’t look Jewish.” Truth be told there is no “Jewish” look.  We are Semitic in origin, although that is far distant in time from today.  Jews come in all sizes, shapes and hues.  And we are all  related  by blood and  covenant.

A policeman noticed a shabbily dressed man looking down at the base of a street light a streetlight.  “Sir, can I help you,” asked the cop.  “Yes,” said the man. “I just now dropped a quarter/shekel  on the ground. Can you help me find it?” “Sure,” said the cop looking downward near the streetlight.” A minute later the cop tells the man he does not see the coin there. The man pauses and says, “That’s because I dropped it over there” - pointing to an unlit area a few feet away. “So why are you looking here, instead of there,” asks the cop.” “Oh,” says the man. “I’m looking here, where here where there’s light, because over there it’s too dark!” Nowadays, we delude ourselves thinking we can find happiness as we walk in darkness. But like our prophets of old let's shed some light on this matter.  Rabbi Joshua Adler

“Earth's crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God, But only he who sees takes off his shoes; The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.” ―  Elizabeth Barrett Browning But you will never see it until you look.

There is a story told of the Baal Shem Tov, the 18 th century founder of Hassidism in Easter Europe, that his disciples could learn more by watch the fringes of his tallis than most others could learn from a week immersed in the study of Talmud.”  - Rabbi Steven Carr-Reuben

A young boy wrote to his father in New York.   “Can I go to Simhat Torah celebration with Satmar Rebbe?” Came back the reply, “As long as you only look.”   - Rabbi Louis Jacobs We ant our children to follow our path. We hope they we will from our actions and words.   Yet, they will be tempted and move toward their own destiny.   Letting someone you love go is hard but may be critical for their growth.

One day a rabbi looked out upon the marketplace. Everyone was hurrying through the marketplace attending to his or her particular business. Suddenly the rabbi saw a familiar face. “Moshe, come in, I want to speak with you.” “Shalom Rabbi, how are you?” “Thank God, I am fine. Tell me, Moshe, what were you doing in the marketplace?” “Oh, I’m very busy. I have a lot of business to take care of.” “ Moshe,” asked the rabbi, “Have you looked up at the sky today?” “At the sky, Rabbi? No, of course not. I’m too busy to look at the sky.” “Moshe, look out the window and tell me what you see.” “I see people and horses and carriages, all rushing around doing business.” “Moshe, in fifty years there will be other people in other carriages, drawn by other horses, and we will no longer be here. And, Moshe, in a hundred years, neither the marketplace nor this town will even exist. Look at the sky, Moshe, look at the sky!”

One of the notable universal events of every parent's life is when their child turns to them and shouts, "Look, mom and dad!"  Like all of us, children want to be recognized, acknowledged that they are valued. Robert Gordis was a famous teacher at the Jewish Theological Seminary.  One anecdote that relates to an exam he once gave.  A paper was returned to the professor which was quite lengthy, over twenty pages.  As it stretched on beyond page twenty the student wrote, "Professor Gordis: If you're still reading by this page, please call me." Later that week he received a call from Gordis, "I just wanted to tell you that I'm on page twenty-one."  Acknowledging another is not hard to do but it is very important.