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Date Posted: 23:04:09 08/09/12 Thu
Author: t
Subject: fb197


#542 Discover your Faults in Others

Whenever you notice a fault in another person, check where you have that fault yourself. We have a strong tendency to notice our own faults in others. This awareness gives us many opportunities to learn about our own shortcomings -since it is easier to recognize a fault in someone else than in ourselves."

What fault do you commonly notice in other people? In what ways do you have that fault yourself?

Use this awareness as a tool to stop yourself from speaking against others. Who would want to speak against others knowing that you are merely drawing attention to that same fault in yourself?!

Today, catch yourself in the act of criticizing others. Then think about the implications for yourself.

(see Talmud Kiddushin 70b; Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin - Ruach Chaim 2:1)
#543 Learn from the Mistakes of Others

Whenever you see that someone has made a mistake, view the situation as a learning experience to prevent yourself from making similar mistakes.

Moreover, utilize this experience to discover what knowledge you may be able to impart to others so they, too, can avoid making similar mistakes.

Today, think of three mistakes you have seen people make recently. In what way have you made similar mistakes?

(see Ralbag - Shaar hachochmah, no.11)


See Rabbi Pliskin's new book "Life Is Now"




22 Av

In 2003, an Arab terrorist blew himself up on the #2 bus en route from the Western Wall in Jerusalem, killing 23 people and wounding 136, many of them children. The attack occurred on a double-length bus crowded with families on a summer vacation outing, and became known as the "family massacre." The bomber, from a Hamas cell in Hebron, was apparently disguised as an Orthodox Jew. Following the attack, the Israeli government decided to wage an all-out war against Hamas and other terrorist elements, and to freeze the diplomatic process with the Palestinian Authority.
23 Av

Yahrtzeit of Rabbi Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky (1899-1985), a Talmudic genius known as the Steipler Gaon. His father was widowed at age 60, and then remarried, fathering Yaakov Yisrael. Yaakov Yisrael was conscripted into the Russian army where he continued strict Jewish observance, despite the harsh conditions. After the army, he was appointed to a leadership post in the Novardak yeshiva. He wrote a multi-volume Talmudic commentary, Kehilos Yaakov, which is studied widely today. He married the sister of the saintly Chazon Ish, and later moved to Israel. Though he held no official position, he was consulted by individuals from all walks of life on every imaginable issue -- business, marriage, health, and matters of Torah law. His son, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, is a leading Torah authority in Israel today.



22 Av

Let us strengthen ourselves for our nation and in behalf of the cities of our God (II Samuel 10:12).

At our rehabilitation center, we used to call the weekly meeting of all the residents and staff "Bus Stop." A great many people may be congregated at a bus station, but each person is going his or her own way. Everyone at the bus stop is detached from everyone else, and there is no common goal. Nothing ties these people together, except that all are making use of the bus station for their individual purposes. Yet, it is not a place of anarchy, chaos, or unruly behavior. All is orderly and peaceful.

Our "Bus Stop" was intended to focus on whether each person was pursuing a private goal, or whether he or she had a sense of community, where people could have a broader perspective and join together in achieving common goals that could not be reached individually.

We have various types of communities where we work together: cities, neighborhood organizations, unions, religious and educational institutions, cultural groups, and various other special interest groups. In some, our membership is merely perfunctory, and while we pay lip service to the sense of community, essentially we proceed on our own. If conflict arises, we choose the individual good over the good of the community.

A true sense of community among all participants would avoid such conflict, and all could benefit from it.


Today I shall ...
... examine my commitment to the various communities of which I am a part, and work toward a sense of community that will be mutually beneficial.

23 Av

A person should do everything in an orderly manner (Rabbi Yisrael of Salant).


Rabbi Yisrael of Salant founded the mussar movement, a formal and programmed study of ethics. All his writings deal with ways to achieve spirituality. How can orderliness and organization be a method to achieve spirituality?

People on vacation use their time haphazardly. They arise at any time of the day and let their whim determine their activities. They feel no accountability and no purpose in what they are doing.

The essence of Judaism is the concept that each person has a mission on this earth. There are no "after-work" hours, and one is never really on vacation from working toward an ultimate goal. While judicious rest and relaxation are necessary for optimum health, they are in fact part of the "workday." One cannot do things according to whim. Within reasonable parameters, a person's life should be orderly and scheduled.

Employees are held accountable for time while they are on the job. Schedules allow for lunch and for coffee breaks, but they are not free to do whatever they wish, whenever they wish.

A person should know that we are on earth "on a job," and since we are accountable for every minute, it is essential that we have order in our lives.


Today I shall ...
...

try to bring greater order into my life, knowing that I am here for a specific mission.


See more books by Rabbi Abraham Twerski at Artscroll.com


22 Av

Learning the Laws of Shabbat

I am new to observing Shabbat, and am a bit overwhelmed by all the rules. Is there a systematic way to get all this straight?
The Aish Rabbi Replies:

First of all, congratulations on your new-found connection with Shabbat. As you will see, Shabbat is the highlight of every week and provides a crucial base for the family structure, the community, and a link to the Almighty.

The best course of study I can recommend is www.jewishpathways.com/laws-shabbat . This is a comprehensive online curriculum which explores hundreds of practical, common cases; the principle behind each of the 39 labor categories.

For a self-check of understanding, this course has interactive online testing: 10 questions based on the class material. Students automatically receive a test score, along with the correct answers. And all your test results are stored in your personal online account, so you can track your progress as you study the material.

Each Pathways class is also available either online or as a user-friendly PDF version, so you can print out the material and study at your own pace -- anywhere, anytime. And finally, there are dynamic video segments that present common scenarios, and help you work through the practical halacha in each case.

Also, I could suggest these fine books:

• "Laws of Shabbos" - by Rabbi Simcha Bunim Cohen

• "39 Melochos" - by Rabbi Dovid Ribiat (Feldheim.com)

• "Shemirath Shabbath" - by Rabbi Yehoshua Neuwirth (Feldheim.com)
23 Av

Jewish Claim to the Land

I have heard a lot of anti-Israel sentiment from my friends who support the Palestinians. A good client of mine questions the validity of Israel’s existence, saying: “How do you justify inhabiting an already populated land through force? How can you contemplate the horrors of the Holocaust and then inflict such suffering on the Arabs?” Some of these people say they respect Judaism, but question why it is acceptable to "steal" land from a people and keep it yourself.

I am not attacking Israel, just trying to investigate the issue. Do the Jews have a valid claim on Israel? From the times of Abraham and Moses, how many years was the land ours? I could also use some info on the history of U.N. declarations, etc. Thank you.
The Aish Rabbi Replies:

The Jewish people are not stealing anything. They were granted the Land of Israel by God, as is stated in Genesis 15:7 and 21:12.

In fact, the very first thing that God said to Abraham was: "Go from your land of your birth… to the land that I will show you, and I will make you into a great nation" (Genesis 12:1). When Abraham and Sarah got to Israel, God promised them, "To your descendants have I given this land from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates River." In God's eyes the deal was considered set in stone, which is why He said "I have given this land" in the past tense, as if the thing were already done and impossible to undo. (Genesis 15:18, Rashi)

Why did God promise to give Israel to the Jews? Why didn't God give them Uganda or Argentina instead?

Because Israel has a special holiness that other lands do not have. Even from before the giving of the Torah, Jerusalem and Israel had taken on great religious significance. The Talmud says that creation began in Jerusalem, and the world radiated outward from this place. Great religious leaders always lived there, such as Malchitzedek (Genesis 14:15). It is there that the patriarch Isaac was bound for sacrifice, and it is there that his son Jacob dreamt of the ladder ascending to heaven.

This inherent holiness is described in the Talmud, which says, "Even the air of the Land of Israel makes one wise."

The first words that Rashi, the preeminent Torah commentator, writes on the first verse in Genesis, is to ask why the Torah begins with the Creation account, and not from the first mitzvah (which is to sanctify the new month)? Rashi explains that the purpose of the Creation story is to establish God’s ownership over the world, in order to justify Jewish possession of the Land of Israel. The land belongs to God. He can give it to whomever He wants, and take it away from whomever He wants. God gave it to the Jews.

Although Abraham knew that God had given him the land, he nevertheless chose peaceful measures and paid exorbitant amounts for a field in Hebron (Genesis 23:4, Rashi). This became the Jewish holy site, the Tomb of the patriarchs, 4,000 years ago. Similarly, Jacob purchased Shechem (Genesis 33:19), and King David bought Jerusalem (2-Samuel 24:24). Note that Jerusalem has been the Jewish capital for more than twice as many centuries as Islam has even existed!

In our time, the Jews have returned to the Land of Israel on the grounds that their ancestors not only bought this land, but were promised it by God. Moreover, the League of Nations was aware of what your friend claims, and yet they declared Israel to be the homeland of the Jewish people in 1922. The United Nations did the same in 1947. And yet the Jewish claim to the land is far deeper than any political vote by the nations of the world.

There are no simple solutions to complex problems, especially when religious beliefs and national identities are at stake. But only through an objective understanding of history, can we hope to arrive at a just and lasting solution.

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