‘Who you are is God’s gift to you; who you become is your gift back to God.’
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Gods Word
Where is the Torah? Does it reside in the heavens with the angels? Or in a parchment scroll in the ark of the synagogue? Or with the rabbis and scholars?
It lives in the heart of each person who learns it, in the voice of the one who discusses it and in the life of the one who lives it.
That heart, that voice, that life - that, too, is G-d's word.
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson זצ״ל
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
For everything there is a season...
I got this message a while back and want to share it today. It’s a mantra that I try to repeat to myself when I don’t understand why something is the way it is. When confronted with the ever present reality that most of life is beyond my control I pray. It’s cathartic at best and harmless at worst. Praying for others is especially difficult, looking for meaning in the answers when outcomes don’t turn out as anticipated can be especially so. But it’s important and necessary and good.
The end of the message offered only this truth: Prayers do get answered; tho I'm not sure by whom. We sometimes do not like the answers.
The end of the message offered only this truth: Prayers do get answered; tho I'm not sure by whom. We sometimes do not like the answers.
Monday, January 10, 2011
A local call
And one more joke for Monday afternoon...
While on vacation in Rome, I noticed a marble column in St. Peter's with a golden telephone on it. As a young priest passed by, I asked who the telephone was for. The priest told me it was a direct line to heaven, and if I'd like to call, it would be a thousand dollars. I was amazed, but declined the offer.
Throughout Italy, I kept seeing the same golden telephone on a marble column. At each, I asked about it and the answer was always the same.
I continued my tour and arrived in Israel. I decided to attend temple services at a local synagogue. When I walked in the door I noticed the golden telephone. Underneath it there was a sign stating:"DIRECT LINE TO HEAVEN: 1 shekel."
"Rabbi," I said, "I have been all over Italy and in all the cathedrals I visited, I've seen telephones exactly like this one. But the price is always a thousand dollars. Why is it that this one is only 1 shekel?"
The rabbi smiled and said,"You're in Israel now. It's a local call."
While on vacation in Rome, I noticed a marble column in St. Peter's with a golden telephone on it. As a young priest passed by, I asked who the telephone was for. The priest told me it was a direct line to heaven, and if I'd like to call, it would be a thousand dollars. I was amazed, but declined the offer.
Throughout Italy, I kept seeing the same golden telephone on a marble column. At each, I asked about it and the answer was always the same.
I continued my tour and arrived in Israel. I decided to attend temple services at a local synagogue. When I walked in the door I noticed the golden telephone. Underneath it there was a sign stating:"DIRECT LINE TO HEAVEN: 1 shekel."
"Rabbi," I said, "I have been all over Italy and in all the cathedrals I visited, I've seen telephones exactly like this one. But the price is always a thousand dollars. Why is it that this one is only 1 shekel?"
The rabbi smiled and said,"You're in Israel now. It's a local call."
Hebrew School
A bit of levity on a Monday morning, enjoy.
The Hebrew School class had just finished and the rabbi asked if the children had any questions. Little David quickly raised his hand. “Yes, David? What question would you like to ask me?”
“I have four questions to ask you, Rabbi. Is it true that after the children of Israel crossed the Reed Sea, they received the Ten Commandments?”
“Yes, David.”
“And the children of Israel also defeated the Philistines?”
“Yes, David, that’s also true.”
“And the children of Israel also built the Temple?”
“Again you are correct, David.”
“So my last question, Rabbi, is: What were the grown-ups doing all this time?”
The Hebrew School class had just finished and the rabbi asked if the children had any questions. Little David quickly raised his hand. “Yes, David? What question would you like to ask me?”
“I have four questions to ask you, Rabbi. Is it true that after the children of Israel crossed the Reed Sea, they received the Ten Commandments?”
“Yes, David.”
“And the children of Israel also defeated the Philistines?”
“Yes, David, that’s also true.”
“And the children of Israel also built the Temple?”
“Again you are correct, David.”
“So my last question, Rabbi, is: What were the grown-ups doing all this time?”
Monday, January 3, 2011
a contrite heart
God harkens to prayer if it rises from a heart contrite over a muddled and faulty life and from a resolute mind ready to redeem this life.
p. 63, The Lonely Man of Faith, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik
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