A Soulful Journey

Groucho Marx used to say that he was so busy reviewing books that he didn’t have time to read them.   –Rabbi Louis Jacobs Is this you?  Slow down.

"Let him write a bestseller," they say, "then we'll call him a success."  -Clive Sinclair There are times when you wanted to achieve something great, something you knew you could do.  But people stood in your way and told you to come back when you "had made it."  Catch 22. Let no one get away with saying that.  Be what you can be.

Mr. Rosen came to Canada to sell his friend, Dr. Berg’s, books.   He went to the home of a wealthy Jew and began to discuss Dr. Berg’s brilliant discoveries in medicine. “Who the devil is this guy?   I never heard of him!   What did he do that I should buy his books?” “Don’t you know?   He discovered pinochle,” said Dr. Rosen. “Oh is that so?   He certainly must be a great man.   I’ll take all you have.” Not everyone is interested in expanding their knowledge.  They are only interested in what they already know.  Yet, if we can find something in which they take an interest and then bring them around change is possible.  W should be "our brother's keeper."

A man enters a bookstore on the lower Eastside of New York in order to buy a siddur for his einekle.   The bookseller shows him many different editions, yet he rejects each one in turn. The customer points to huge tome on the top shelf, an enormous Kol Bo siddur that includes dinnim, minhagim and perushim.   Climbing the ladder to retrieve the volume, the mokher sefarim, impressed, asks “At which yeshiva does your grand son study? He must be a real lamdan! How old is he?” “He’s only two.” ”So why are you buying him such a siddur?” “Because my friend, when you give a child a book, what does he do? He rips out the pages!   If I buy him a thin book, by the time he’s ready to use it, there will be nothing left but the cover.   This way I can at least hope that when he grows up is ready to use it, there will be some pages left in the book.”   - Rabbi Al Lewis 

“There are three rules for writing the novel.   Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.”   -Somerset Maugham

A young rabbi, envious of his colleagues who had become authors decided to write a book.  When he completed the work he went to see his rabbi, the Brisker Rav, and ask for his commendation. The Brisker Rav looked over his work and said, “I am sorry young man but I cannot endorse your work.” “Why not?” “It seems your ideas are contrary to the rest of the world.” The idea which motivates can often make all the difference between success and failure, good and bad.

I received gifts of books in the hospital and during my recuperation.  But I have come to learn what Buber concluded when he grew older.  When in his youth he was asked which he  preferred, Buber thought he preferred books to people.  Books are easy to handle, easy to open and to close, to remove or place back on the shelves.  Books are manna from heaven, while humans are like hard, brown bread on whose crust he breaks his teeth.  But as he grew older, Buber changed his mind. “I knew nothing of books when I came forth from the womb of my mother, and I shall die without books; I shall die with another human hand in my own.”  - Rabbi Harold Shulwies 

He was never idle in the bullpen, Red Sox catcher Moe Berg.  Whenever he had  a spare moment he would read.  The dugout and bullpen around him was a mess of stacked books and discarded magazines.  Joe Cronin, then manager of the Red Sox, complained, "Moe, our pitching would be drastically improved if you devoted more time to catching in the bullpen." Glory days fade.  Knowledge is forever.

An author once brought his book, called “The Hands of Moses” to Rabbi Charif for his approval.   After reading it and not finding it worthwhile, the Rabbi wrote: “I would suggest that you change the name of the book.   Instead of calling it “The Hands of Moses,” call it the “Face of Moses”   because it is something one can’t look at.” Humor is often funny.  Even more often it is harmful.  Laughter at another's expense can cause lasting pain.

We often find ourselves confused about the things that matter and the rest of life.  Here is a story to put it in perspective: A learned scholar from the Jewish Theological Seminary had just finished his magnum opus - a painstakingly involved academic work - and was approached by one of the students at the school.  The student informed the professor of a new book that was in the press and was a remarkable bestseller. "Professor, can you imagine?  They are printing one hundred thousand copies of this novel?!  Doesn't that make you wonder about the work you are doing?" "Ah," replied the scholar. "One hundred thousand copies in a year.  My book will sell one hundred copies in a year but will continue to be sold and read for a thousand years." Remember what is real, most important, and life will be less confusing.

"There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island...and best of all, you can enjoy these riches every day of your life."   -Walt Disney If this is true for Robert Louis Stevenson's novels, how much more true would this statement be for the Torah?  God's gift to us?  Best of all, it belongs to you.

"...I have come to learn what Buber concluded when he grew older. When in his youth he was asked which he preferred, Buber thought he preferred books to people. Books are easy to handle, easy to open and to close, to remove or place back on the shelves. Books are manna from heaven, while humans are like hard, brown bread on whose crust he breaks his teeth. but as he grew older, Buber changed his mind. "I knew nothing of books when I came forth from the womb of my mother, and I shall die without books; I shall die with another human hand in my own. " " -Rabbi Harold Shulweis