A Soulful Journey

A new president was elected as head of a modern synagogue. During the prayers, the cantor called our “ Barchu !” and everyone rose in response. The president grew irate. “How dare you all get up without my say-so? Why did you do it?" They answered, “ Barchu .” “Who is president here? Me or Barchu ?” The moral? It is vital that our ego never become so large that we end up thinking that universe revolves around us. It does not. We are simply one small part of the vast cosmos. Not more. Not less.

  Complaints occupy a great deal of mental space.  They take up a great deal of room in conversation.  Generally speaking, they go nowhere.  While generating great heat they tend to  to let off little steam.  “A group of Jews in the Midwest were dedicating a shul when the ceiling collapsed.   Two of them perished and immediately went o heaven.   The angel Gabriel met them and said: “Due to the accident, you arrived two weeks earlier than scheduled.   We don’t have room for you just yet.”   He called Satan below and told him to put them up for two weeks.   At the end of two weeks, Satan phoned Gabriel very excitedly.   “You have to take these two Jews out of here.   They’re going to wreck the place.”   “But what are they doing?” “They’re organizing a fundraising drive to air condition the place.   That will put me out of business.” – Rabbi Abraham Besdin It's always better to take action when you are dissatisf...

“ A bureaucrat is a Democrat who holds some office that a Republican wants .” – Alben W. Barkley There is a reason why “covet” figures among the big “Ten.” It is because coveting is so ubiquitous. We fall into the trap every time we begin to salivate over what someone else has. But the Talmud is clear, “Thou shalt not covet” only becomes a sin when we attempt to undermine another for the sake of personal advancement.

We thank You, O God, for our family and for what we mean and bring to one another.   We are grateful for the bonds of loyalty and affection which sustain us and for the capacity to love and to care. Help us to be modest in our demands of one another, but generous in our giving to each other.   May we never measure how much love or encouragement we offer; may we never count the times we forgive.   Rather, may we always be grateful that we have one another and that we are able to express our love in acts of kindness. Keep is gentle in our speech.   When we offer words of criticism, may they be chosen with care and spoken softly.   May we waste no opportunity to speak words of sympathy, of appreciation, of praise. Bless our family with health, happiness, and contentment.  Above all, grant us the wisdom to build a joyous and peaceful home in which Your spirit will always abide.    Amen.      –from Gates of Shabbat, CCAR 19...

Robert Fulgham wrote about traveling to the mountains of Tibet on a pilgrimage.   There he saw old women, pregnant women, and children of all ages climbing up. Also, a  youthful American athlete fought to keep up with their pace. Finally, his energy gave out and he collapsed while the senior citizens kept moving. “Why?” he asked.   “How can they keep that pace and not me?” They were operating on the unseen.   The old ladies had more faith powering their movement while he had only a single goal: to conquer the mountain. Sometimes it is good ask oneself, what I am doing this for?   Just to get to the finish line?   Or is there something more important I should be taking from life?

During her childhood in Eastern Europe, the psychoanalyst, Helen Deutsch, one of Freud’s disciples, was at home alone one day, reading in her bathrobe, when the local wood dealer barged in without knocking.   “I jumped up and demanded angrily, ‘Mr. Stein, couldn’t you knock first?’ “ Deutsch wrote, “The answer was: ‘Why? Isn’t this a Jewish house?’ “  –   Charles Silberman in A Certain People When did life change so that friends need to stand on ceremony?   Do I like it this way?

“France has no permanent friends, only permanent interests.”   - General Charles DeGaulle Is this true for me?   Or am I a faithful friend, no matter what?