A Soulful Journey

 "Whoever survives a test, whatever it may be, must tell the story.  That is his duty." Elie Wiesel

 “Myth” as the Greek Statesman Solon said,  is not something that never happened. It’s something that happens over and over and over again. - Krista Tippet

When the great Rabbi Israel Baal Shem-Tov Saw misfortune threatening the Jews It was his custom To go into a certain part of the forest to meditate. There he would light a fire, Say a special prayer, And the miracle would be accomplished And the misfortune averted. Later when his disciple, The celebrated Magid of Mezritch, Has occasion, for the same reason, To intercede with heaven, He would go to the same place in the forest And say: “Master of the Universe, listen! I do not know how to light the fire, But I am still able to say the prayer.” And again the miracle would be accomplished. Still later, Rabbi Moshe-Leib of Sasov, In order to save his people once more, Would go into the forest and say: “I do not know how to light the fire, I do not know the prayer, But I know the place And this must be sufficient.” It was sufficient and the miracle was accomplished. Then it fell to Rabbi Israel of Rizhyn To overcome misfortune. Sitting in his armchair, his head in his hands, He spoke to God...

Folklorist Henry Glassie quoted an Appalachian man who, when asked about the history of the region, said, "First there was the dinosaurs...and then Daniel Boone...and here we are!" Everyone reads history through the lens of their personal story. It's what gives their life meaning.  What is your story?

There is a Hasidic story about the tailor who comes to his rabbi and says, “I have a problem with my prayers.   If someone comes to me and says, “Mendel, you’re a wonderful tailor,’ that makes me feel good.   I feel appreciated.   I can go on feeling good for a whole week, even longer, on the strength of one compliment like that.   But if people came to me every day, one after another, hour after hour, and kept saying to me, ‘Mendel, you’re a wonderful tailor,’ over and over again, it would drive ne crazy.   It would get me to the point where I wouldn’t listen to them any more.   I would tell them to go away and ley me do my work in peace.   This is what bothers me about prayer.   It seems to me that if we told God how wonderful He was once a week, even once every few weeks, and just one or two of us at a time, that’s all He would need.   Is God so insecure that He needs us praising Him every day?   Three times a day, morning, noon and ...

In Jerusalem, the southern gate to the Old City, the one closest to the kotel, is known as the Lion’s Gate.   It used to have another name: the Dung Gate.   It used to have other names: Sha’ar Ha-ashpot, the Gate of Filth.   The usual explanation is that when the Old City was in Turkish or Arab hands, garbage would be dumped there, to make it harder for Jews who wanted to go to the kotel.   But among the legends of Old Jerusalem there is another explanation, one I like better.   It teaches that Jewish pilgrims would come to Jerusalem from all over the world to pray at the wall.   They would come on foot across the desert.   By the time they reached the gates of the city, their feet would be covered by mud and dirt.   They didn’t want to defile the Temple Mount by entering the city in that condition, so they would wash all the mud and filth off their feet at the southern gate.   – Rabbi Harold Kushner What is the truth? ...

A teacher was explaining to his pupils the part of the Torah where Joseph was sold by his brothers and the subsequent hardships that he endured.   The teacher’s wife sat nearby the entire time and wept bitterly.   The following year the rabbi again explained the same portion and again emphasized Joseph’s misery.   This time the woman went into a fit of laughter, “Are you insane?” the rabbi asked.   “Last year you were crying and now your side are splitting with laughter.” “Shouldn’t one laugh such a fool?”   The woman chuckled.   “After what happened to him last year, why didn’t he learn?” The purpose of rereading the Torah is not to see how it changes form year to year but to measure how we have changed.

"When I was young I had such  good memory that I remembered things that never happened."  -Mark Twain One common feature to humanity is that we create our own narrative.  What's yours?

"It's like the old story of the guy whose only claim to fame was having lived through the Johnstown, Pa. flood.  When he died and went to heaven, he was asked if he had any last wishes.  He said, "I'd like to tell the story of the Johnstown flood just one more time."  God said, "Your wish is granted.  But remember, you'll have Noah in your audience."  - Erma Bombeck

When the great Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov saw a misfortune threatening Jews it was his custom to go to a certain place Forest to meditate. There he would light a fire, say a special prayer, and miracle would be accomplished in misfortune averted.   Later, when his disciple, the celebrated Maggid of Mezritch  had occasion, for the same reason, to intercede with heaven, he  would go to the same place in forest and say, “Master of universe, listen! I do not know how to light the fire but I am still able to say the prayer.”  And again the miracle would be accomplished. Still later, Rabbi Moshe Leib of Sasov, in order to save his people once more, would go into the forest and say, "I do not know how to light the fire. I do not know the prayer but I know the place and this must be sufficient.” It was sufficient and the miracle was accomplished. Then it fell to Rabbi Israel of Rizhin to overcome misfortune.   Sitting in his armchair, his head in his hands, he ...

When Grandpa’s father was in his last illness at the hospital, Grandpa was visiting him and thought to cheer him up by asking him to tell a story of Rabbi Israel Salanter.   Israel Lipkin known as Salanter (1810-1883) was both a student of ethics and an exemplar.   He founded a moral movement based on the study of traditional and ethical literature, and when cholera swept Vilna in 1848, he worked in all the most dangerous relief activities.   When the Day of Atonement fell during the epidemic, he ordered the congregation to partake of food, and he set the example by publicly eating. Grandpa’s father told the following story: Once Rabbi Israel Salanter was in the middle of giving a talk when his favorite student, Rav Isaac walked in.   Salanter said, "Rav Iz’l you’re late,” and then continued with his talk. Shortly after, Grandpa’s father died. The following Shabbas, Grandpa was with Prof. Lieberman and Prof. Ginzberg, and, after talking to them for a while, he ...

“Every life lived is a story. Every life well lived is a story that never ends.” –Leonard Fein