A Soulful Journey

  "And you shall love the stranger. .."   Lev 19:18 "But you do not have to make him the Lemsburger Rav.  As humans we have the tendency to overcompensate."  - Rabbi Louis Jacobs Every person is a human being with all the foibles and idiosyncrasies that tag along with being human.  Therefore treat each person on their own merit, knowing full well that no one is perfect.

“In the Talmud there is a competition-which is the most important person in the Bible. Only two verses are selected as finalists. The sage, Rabbi Akiva, says it is, “Love the neighbor as thyself,”-an obvious choice.     But the sage, Ben Azzai, counters with a rather obscure choice that none of us would likely pick.   His s election for the most important person in the Bible, "This is the book of the generations of Adam, on the day God created him...". Far too many of us show affection and respect for those we know, those who look like us, we have the same color of skin, who live in the same neighborhoods, who are of the same economic strata, and share the same religious beliefs.   So along comes Ben Azzai and raises the bar.   He warns that it is not enough to impact the neighborhood we know, that human beings have an obligation to impact our generation in those not yet born.”   - Rabbi Marvin Hier

The Talmud tells us in turn that  Hakhnasat Or h im  (welcoming passersby) is a greater mitzvah than receiving a direct revelation from God.  -Shabbat 127A. Lesson: Be kind.  Be a  friend.

"He had made himself really comfortable, had unbuttoned his coat and put his feet up on the seat.  Just then a gentleman in modern dress entered the compartment.  The Jew promptly pulled himself together and took up a proper pose.  The stranger fingered through the pages of a notebook, made some calculations, reflected for a moment, and then suddenly asked the Jew: "Excuse me, when is Yom Kippur?"  "Oho!" said the Jew, and put his feet up on the seat again before answering."  - Charles Silberman How we wish to be viewed by others determines our behavior.  Wouldn't it be better to be consistent?

There is a legend told by the Eastern European Jews.   Rabbi Hayim of Volozhyn died and was told that he would be admitted immediately to Heaven so rich was he in good deeds.    Rabbi Hayim refused to enter until a guarantee had been given him that the pupils and teachers of the great Yeshiva would also be admitted without further ado.   After all, he argued, the success of the Yeshiva is their achievement not mine.   When this was acknowledged, Rabbi Hayim argued further for the admission of all Jews since Jewish householders everywhere contribute to the Torah.    But even this did not satisfy Rabbi Hayim.   After all, he argued further, the Gentiles have provided a home for the Jews.   They, too, have a share in the Torah.   In short, Rabbi Hayim refused to enter unless he were given a guarantee that all men would be allowed to enter.   He was told that at that time this was not possible since it had not yet been decreed that the...

My next-door neighbor was devoted to her Yiddish speaking father and invariably understanding of his idiosyncrasies. One morning, however, her patience wore thin.  "Just once, Poppa,” she pleaded, "couldn’t you say ‘please’ or ‘thank you’?" ”What happened? The old gentleman asked. “All of a sudden you’re a stranger?” – Charles Silberman Question: Do you treat strangers better than family?