A Soulful Journey

I believe in the human race.  I believe in the warm heart.  I believe in man’s integrity.  I believe in the goodness of a free society.  And in the largest sense, I believe that what I did was done for me–that it was my faith in God that sustained me in my fight.  And that what was done for me must and will be done for others.                             — JACKIE ROBINSON With all the abide and scorn hat he took, he is an paragon of how a real mensch behaves.

“Every couple is not necessarily a pair.” –Yiddish proverb Like does not have to translate to love.  As long as respect is present we are being menschen .

Rabbi Israel of Rizhin once asked a student how many sections there were in the Shulchan Arukh, the Code of Jewish Law.  The student replied, “Four.”  “What,” asked the Rizhiner, “do you know about the fifth section?”  But there is no fifth section,” said the student.  “There is,” said the Rizhiner.  “It says:  always treat a person like a Mensch.”

A man sees seven worlds [in his lifetime].   A one-year old is like a king carried in a litter, with everyone hugging and kissing him. A two or three year old is like  a pig, grabbing for everything. A ten-year old prances like a young goat. A twenty- year old neighs like a horse, dresses up and seeks a mate. Once wed, he becomes like a donkey. When he has children he scrabbles shamelessly for bread like a dog. When old he becomes a monkey.  -Kohelet Rabbah 1:3 Let it be said of us that we were a mensch and not giving into our worst instincts.