Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Prayer
God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.
- Reinhold Niebuhr
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.
- Reinhold Niebuhr
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Uncomfortable questions for comfortable Jews
Although the title (as some of you know), is taken from the famous book by R. Kahane, our topic is quite different- it's just a little insight on this week Torah portion.
Jews are taken out of Egypt (E.), and slavery's left behind- or so it seems- until they are to face their masters in hot pursuit, driven all the way to the sea, helpless, and miserable- WHY?
Why G-d is doing this to me/us- we all ask in such dreadful situation.
And here's the point- this question ASSUMES something- namely- that life is supposed to be COMFORTABLE - but the bitter truth is- IT IS NOT!!! Some of us are going to learn this lesson a hard way, as these days we are enjoying great level of comfort (possibly, unmatched in any given generation!)- and yet, when the world hits you back, you HAVE to face this UNCOMFORTABLE realisation- which eventually may become your stepping stone to greatness!
As R. Noach Weinberg puts it, this is the CHOICE Torah gives us- Life or ..Death.!
Really? I never understood that literally, but R. Noach is making a simple point- We choose between Comfort (staying where we are) and Action (ALWAYS uncomfortable, even painful- but certainly with a reward- no pain, no gain, as they say!). Now, what is the ESSENCE of this choice- what is the ULTIMATE COMFORT? Death! And Life is about Action! (This world is called Olam ha Asiya- the World of action- precisely for that reason!)
And yes, life is UNCOMFORTABLE- as our sages put it, both Bet Shammai and Bet Hillel came to that realisation. But from spiritual perspective, we can grow ONLY by making right choices- stepping out of our comfort zone- getting out of Egypt!
"Никто не обещал, что будет легко"- life is not meant to be easy- it's meant for GROWTH!
Greatness of Nahshon ben Aminadav, who stepped into the sea, became possible under the huge pressure of the dreadful situation Jews found themselves in- in other words, HUGE problem became a HUGE opportunity for greatness!
Our sages tell us, we should be doing what we are good at, and at the same time, should life present us with a challenge- let's remember- WE NEED TO BE WILLING TO DO WHAT IS UNCOMFORTABLE!
2 questions we can ask ourselves (to wake up!)
1. When was the last time I did something that was UNCOMFORTABLE- because it was the RIGHT thing to do ?
2. Is there something I'm AVOIDING that is the right thing to do- simply because it's uncomfortable ?
Let's cross the sea of our fears- to see it split!
Jews are taken out of Egypt (E.), and slavery's left behind- or so it seems- until they are to face their masters in hot pursuit, driven all the way to the sea, helpless, and miserable- WHY?
Why G-d is doing this to me/us- we all ask in such dreadful situation.
And here's the point- this question ASSUMES something- namely- that life is supposed to be COMFORTABLE - but the bitter truth is- IT IS NOT!!! Some of us are going to learn this lesson a hard way, as these days we are enjoying great level of comfort (possibly, unmatched in any given generation!)- and yet, when the world hits you back, you HAVE to face this UNCOMFORTABLE realisation- which eventually may become your stepping stone to greatness!
As R. Noach Weinberg puts it, this is the CHOICE Torah gives us- Life or ..Death.!
Really? I never understood that literally, but R. Noach is making a simple point- We choose between Comfort (staying where we are) and Action (ALWAYS uncomfortable, even painful- but certainly with a reward- no pain, no gain, as they say!). Now, what is the ESSENCE of this choice- what is the ULTIMATE COMFORT? Death! And Life is about Action! (This world is called Olam ha Asiya- the World of action- precisely for that reason!)
And yes, life is UNCOMFORTABLE- as our sages put it, both Bet Shammai and Bet Hillel came to that realisation. But from spiritual perspective, we can grow ONLY by making right choices- stepping out of our comfort zone- getting out of Egypt!
"Никто не обещал, что будет легко"- life is not meant to be easy- it's meant for GROWTH!
Greatness of Nahshon ben Aminadav, who stepped into the sea, became possible under the huge pressure of the dreadful situation Jews found themselves in- in other words, HUGE problem became a HUGE opportunity for greatness!
Our sages tell us, we should be doing what we are good at, and at the same time, should life present us with a challenge- let's remember- WE NEED TO BE WILLING TO DO WHAT IS UNCOMFORTABLE!
2 questions we can ask ourselves (to wake up!)
1. When was the last time I did something that was UNCOMFORTABLE- because it was the RIGHT thing to do ?
2. Is there something I'm AVOIDING that is the right thing to do- simply because it's uncomfortable ?
Let's cross the sea of our fears- to see it split!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
The beauty of Simple Goodness
Yesterday at the bus stop, something truly beautiful happened in my life
I was totally in my own thoughts, and hardly noticed as someone approached me with a question.
"Must be, he needs some money, or simply asking for directions"- registered quickly in my mind-
But to my utter surprise, the stranger gave me his unused bus ticket (what they call here "kartis maavar"- they give you a transfer for the same price, which you can use only within a certain time limit).
"I'm not going to use it"- he smiled to me, noticing my astonishment. "That's what I always do"- he continued. It turned out, this simple act of kindness and attention from a total stranger totally changed my mood, and a cold winter day became so much warmer.
It doesn't take much to live your life in such a great way- I thought- all it takes is a little attention and good will
May we all become messengers of kindness and good will!
What a lovely day!
I was totally in my own thoughts, and hardly noticed as someone approached me with a question.
"Must be, he needs some money, or simply asking for directions"- registered quickly in my mind-
But to my utter surprise, the stranger gave me his unused bus ticket (what they call here "kartis maavar"- they give you a transfer for the same price, which you can use only within a certain time limit).
"I'm not going to use it"- he smiled to me, noticing my astonishment. "That's what I always do"- he continued. It turned out, this simple act of kindness and attention from a total stranger totally changed my mood, and a cold winter day became so much warmer.
It doesn't take much to live your life in such a great way- I thought- all it takes is a little attention and good will
May we all become messengers of kindness and good will!
What a lovely day!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
