A Soulful Journey

An American army unit entered into a concentration camp and were stunned at the gruesome sight that they beheld. A Jewish soldier was especially affected by what he saw. He ran over to a skeletal Jewish prisoner and shouted in Yiddish, “Ich bin doo! I am here! Ich bin a Yid!” He fully expected to be greeted in joy. Instead the Jewish concentration camp prisoner slapped the American soldier across the face and said, “ You came too late!” -Rabbi David Blumenfeld If help is needed do  not  vacillate, do  not  overthink. Do something.  Now.

 I n the words of former Chief Justice Earl Warren, "not to mistake the urgent for the necessary." Be mindful. Think. What is needed and what is wanted.  Can you tell the difference? 

Moishe Lieb Sassover repeated a conversation he overheard between two peasants, while they were drinking. “Do you love me?” one asked. “If you love me,” the first one continued, “do you know my needs or my wants?” “How should I know” was the answer. “Since you don’t know my needs,” the first peasant retorted, “how can you say that you love me?” “From this conversation you can learn," the Sassover Rabbi said, “that to love one’s fellow means to know what he is lacking and to share his needs and sufferings.”

The late Malcolm Forbes, editor of Forbes Magazine, stated that, “anybody who thinks money is everything has never been sick, or is.”  Pastor David McKenchie, who found this quote, expands its meaning:  “The two most important days of our lives are the day we will born and the day we discover why we are born. We spend most of our lives conjugating three verbs: to want, to have and to do. They have no real significance for us, except as they are transcended from the verb to be. The essence of life is tied up in being, not wanting, having or doing.”   -   David McKenchie, Experiencing God’s Pleasure

God and the doctor all men adore When sickness comes, but not before; When health returns, alike requited. God is forgotten and the doctor is slighted. -unknown The trick to life is to appreciate every one, every moment.

The Hasidic master Rabbi Moshe Leib of Sassov taught that no attribute that was created was created in vain. His student could not resist challenging him:  “So what use can denial of God’s existence have?”  The master looked at him and answered: "When some one comes to you and says they are in need you should not say “God will provide” but act as if in fact there is no one to act but you."

A beggar arrived in a small town, but was ignored.  Occasionally he would receive a penny or a dry crust of bread.  One day the man fell and broke his leg and had to be taken to the hospital. When the townspeople heard they became concerned.  He received the best food and finest medial attention.  When he was well enough to leave the hospital they provided him with food and money. Moral: People would rather help the fallen than keep them from falling. What do you do?

Everybody knows about the famous pony express. Riders would travel vast stretches of land in order to bring the mail to the distant reaches of civilization. Men on horseback made the arduous journey from one point - sometimes on one coast - to a destination far, far away. These men would often travel for two thousand-miles or more in less than two weeks. Pony-express men needed to travel light to conserve their horse’s energy. Clothing had to be thin, saddles were narrow and weapons were too heavy to be carried. The men themselves would have to agile and light as well. They were often small in stature as well as in weight. Their horses wore small shoes, or sometimes none at all. The letters they bore had to be written on thin, parchment-like paper and postage was costly, $5.00 per ounce. With all these limitations the rider always carried a full-sized Bible that was presented to him when he signed on. Question: what is necessary and what is extraneous? What is truly needed and what ca...

There is so much to want and need. We want a nicer car. We need food. We want a cushiony bank account. We need to pay our bills. We want people to like us. We need companionship. There are big differences between wants and needs and yet often they become confused. It seems that the more we have, the more we seem to need. The inverse also seems true: the less we have, the less we need.Still, to be more accurate our wants always outnumber our needs. Thank God for that! Baruch HaShem . In the Talmud a great Sage asks, "Who is rich?" He answers, "The one who is happy with what they have." This rabbi understood the need to make sure we understand the difference between wants and needs. If we are content, the difference becomes much more obvious. When I really think about it we need very little. Needs are pretty elemental and basic; food, water, shelter, companionship, clothes and protection.... Some would say that we need pain. Yes, pain. Pain brings us to an awareness ...