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Date Posted: 00:30:07 07/27/12 Fri
Author: r
Subject: fb172



#528 Grow From Your Daily Routine

Character is developed one positive action at a time. Therefore nothing is actually trivial in our lives. To grow in character development, pay attention to seemingly trivial matters. Someone who grows from each minor life event will eventually reach high levels of character perfection.

Today, think about one character trait that you can develop further by paying close attention to a seemingly trivial aspect of your daily routine.

(see Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv - Chochmah Umussar, vol.1, p.9)
#529 Virtues are Gifts of the Almighty

Ultimately, any virtue a person has is a gift from the Almighty.

If a person has nothing of his own and someone gives him a present, he does not feel arrogant. It was an act of kindness and he feels fortunate to receive it. This will be the attitude of anyone whose eyes are open and who sees the reality of his own human frailty, yet was fortunate to receive the kindness of the Almighty.

A person with true humility has these behavioral aspects:

- He speaks in a pleasant manner to all people.

- He does not insult others or put them down.

- His posture and mannerisms are in the average range - neither boisterous nor meek. - He is willing to sit next to simple people and not only those he considers important.

- He is able to tolerate the slights and insults of others.

- He flees from personal honor.

- He shows honor and respect to every human being - both in speech and behavior.

Today, ask yourself: "What am I most proud of?" View it as a special gift from the Creator to you. This will give you a more profound appreciation, and a greater sense of humility.

(see Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto - Path of the Just, ch.22)
#530 Wish for the Good of Others

When you envy the good fortune of others, you destroy your own happiness and wellbeing.

On the other hand, when you sincerely wish for the welfare of others, you make others feel good, and you yourself live a good life.

Today, undertake to give a blessing of good wishes to five people.

(see Vilna Gaon - Proverbs 11:25; Rabbi Pliskin - "Consulting the Wise")


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




8 Av

In 1942, the Nazis ordered the deportation of all Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto. The Warsaw Ghetto held 400,000 people (30% of the entire population of Warsaw), crammed into a tiny area. In its three years of existence, thousands of Jews died of disease and starvation. Yet despite all, the Jews managed to continue religious and cultural activities in the ghetto. Then on the eve of Tisha B'Av, the saddest day of the Jewish year, the Nazis began the deportation of 265,000 Jews, lasting for a period of two months, to the Treblinka death camp. When the Nazis sought to liquidate the ghetto, Jewish resistance fighters took action, digging hundreds of bunkers under the houses, connected through the sewage system. In the spring of 1943, some 750 Jewish partisans began the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, killing approximately 300 Germans in one month of fighting.
9 Av

In 423 BCE, the first Holy Temple was destroyed by fire, as Nebuchadnezzar's Babylonian troops conquered Jerusalem. Also on this day, the second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. Tisha B'Av has long been a day of calamity for the Jewish people: On this day, during the time of Moses, Jews in the desert accepted the slanderous report of the spies, resulting in the decree postponing entry into the Land of Israel. Other grave misfortunes throughout Jewish history occurred on the Ninth of Av: The Spanish Inquisition culminated with the expulsion of Jews from Spain on Tisha B'Av in 1492. World War I broke out on the eve of Tisha B'Av in 1914 when Germany declared war on Russia; German resentment from the war set the stage for the Holocaust. On the eve of Tisha B'Av 1942, the mass deportation began of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto, en route to Treblinka. Today, Tisha B'Av is the Jewish national day of mourning, when we don't eat, drink or bathe. Lights in the synagogue are dimmed, and we read the Book of Lamentations, Jeremiah's poetic lament over the destruction of Jerusalem.
10 Av

In 2005, the government of Israel began the Gaza Disengagement, where 9,000 Jewish residents were evicted from their homes. Despite mass rallies against the disengagement, and an orange-ribbon campaign, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon implemented the plan with the hope of reducing security concerns and diffusing the demographic problem of Gaza's 1.5 million Arabs. Upon completion of the evacuation, all 21 Jewish communities in Gaza were bulldozed and destroyed. Only the synagogues were left standing; these were then torched by Arab mobs.



8 Av

If a person commits a sin and repeats it, it appears to him as permissible (Yoma 86b).

As every scientist knows, different substances have different properties. Some liquids freeze at 0 degrees C; others at minus 60 degrees C. Some materials burn at higher temperatures than others, and some metals have greater resilience than others. In order to know how to work with any substance, we must know what its particular properties are. Ignorance of a substance's properties results in failure of the project at best and disaster at worst, as in the case of an engineer who overestimates the strength of the cables that suspend a bridge.

What are the properties of a human being? Physically, we know that we can survive only within a certain range of temperatures. But what about the guidelines for our spiritual survival? It would be foolish to think that there are no limits. Excellent guidelines do exist, and these are available in Jewish works on ethics.

The above Talmudic passage is an example. A person knows that doing something is wrong, but submits to temptation and does it anyway. He or she is likely to feel guilty, do teshuvah and thereby avoid repeating the act. However, if he or she fails to do so and repeats the forbidden act, the stimulus necessary for teshuvah may be lost. The Talmudic authors were astute students of human behavior, and they tell us that two consecutive commissions of a wrong act may cause people to totally lose their perspective; they are now apt to develop an attitude whereby what was once wrong is now perfectly permissible.

We do not have much leeway. If we do not promptly try to amend a wrong act, we may lose the opportunity to do so, because if we repeat it a second time, we may no longer realize that it is wrong.


Today I shall ...
... resolve to promptly do teshuvah at the first awareness that I have done something wrong.

9 Av

How she [Jerusalem] sits in isolation! (Lamentations 1:1).

The opening verse of the book of Scriptures that depicts the fall of Jerusalem cites a state of isolation. Badad connotes loneliness, abandonment, and the state of being shunned by others. This term also appears in the Torah in regard to the expulsion of a metzora (someone who suffers from a disease called tzaraas), who is to be isolated from the community (Leviticus 13:46).

The Talmud states that the affliction of the metzora is in retribution for the sin of lashon hara. Indulging in harmful talk brings about enmity and divisiveness. Gossip and slander can turn people against one another and sow suspicion where once there had been trust and friendship.

The Talmud states that when Jews were united, and when there was no lashon hara among them, they were triumphant, even though they were far from perfect in other respects. On the other hand, when lashon hara causes dissension, all other merits may not suffice to tip the scales.

On the ninth day of Av, Jerusalem became badad, shunned by its neighbors, shunned its former friends, and to all outward appearances, even shunned by God. Why? Like the metzora, the Israelites had been guilty of behavior that brought about divisiveness. By bringing about the state of badad within their ranks, they themselves became badad, isolated from God.

We must jettison all personal whims and desires that stand in the way of Jewish unity, for in unity lies our salvation.


Today I shall ...
... try to find ways in which I can bring myself closer to other Jews and fastidiously avoid any behavior that can cause divisiveness.

10 Av

You shall honor an elderly person, and you shall fear your God, for I am God (Leviticus 19:32).

This mitzvah is of particular importance in our times, when many people are living to an older age.

Living longer does not always bring the joys of the golden years that some people expect. The "fifty-two weeks of vacation a year" after retirement are often not a blessing; finding themselves with much time on their hands, many retired people are extremely bored.

Not all couples age together; as our life spans increase, so does the possibility of losing our partner and remaining alone for many years. Children may live far away, and even when close, they may lead busy lives with little time to devote to their aging parents. The wear and tear diseases - emphysema, arthritis, osteoporosis - may make many people housebound. Failing sight and hearing make the radio and television useless companions. While we pray for long life, the "golden years" may be very, very lonely.

In a society which prizes productivity, the elderly do not have much value, and although society may pay its debt to them (albeit in inadequate payments), it may be done with an attitude that is characteristic of a debtor to a creditor: resentment.

As is evident in the construction of the verse cited above, the Torah equates honoring the elderly with honoring God Himself.


Today I shall ...
... do something to make the life of an elderly person a bit more pleasant.

See more books by Rabbi Abraham Twerski at Artscroll.com


8 Av

Hunting

I always thought that was hunting was not a Jewish sport. But I recently read about a rabbi who took his congregants on a hunting safari of sorts. Is this acceptable?
The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Hunting animals for sport is viewed with serious disapproval by our Sages. (Talmud – Avoda Zara 18b; "Noda BiYehuda" 2-Y.D. 10)

While it is certainly true that hunting has never been thought of an activity that Jews do in their spare time, there are legal principles at stake as well. The great scholar Rabbi Yechezkel Landau (18th century Prague) listed several reasons why Jews should not hunt for sport:

1) It causes pain to animals, which is forbidden by Jewish law.

2) It senselessly destroys God's creations.

3) It is characteristic of the behavior of the evil Esau and Nimrod, who were both hunters.

4) It is indicative of cruel behavior. One of the 613 mitzvot is to emulate God. One of God's attributes is mercy, which is the antithesis of cruelty.

5) It is a dangerous activity.

To hunt for food would theoretically be permissible, if not for the fact that it is virtually impossible to slaughter an animal in accordance with Jewish law while hunting.
9 Av

Atonement Today

I am a bit shocked by the Bible's emphasis on animal offerings. It seems quite violent and inhumane. Is that really what Judaism teaches?
The Aish Rabbi Replies:

The idea of how animal offerings worked is often misunderstood. Many believe that sacrifice was the only way to achieve atonement. Actually, atonement always was accompanied by sincere prayer, teshuva (spiritual return), and charity. Hoshea (8:13) decries people bringing offerings without making an attempt to get closer to God. For this reason, their offerings were rejected.

Animal offerings aided the atonement process, as they drove home the point that really the person deserved to be slaughtered, but an animal was being used in his/her place. The offering also helped atonement in many mystical ways. But we should not mistake the animal offering for more than what it is. It was an aid to atonement. I; it did not cause atonement.

Logically, how can one think that the death of an animal could atone for their sins? If a person were to commit an atrocity, such as murder, could one possibly think that slaughtering a cow and a sheep would atone for that sin? Of course not. God is not appeased by gifts and animal slaughter. God, the true judge, provides atonement for those who sincerely desire to fix their ways. An offering must be accompanied with the will to get closer to God (prayer), a promise to observe the words of the Torah more carefully (teshuva), and concern for God's creation (charity).

The verse says: "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit" (Psalms 51:19). This teaches us that a person who does teshuva is regarded as if he had ascended to Jerusalem, built the Temple, erected the Altar, and offered all the offerings upon it. (Midrash - Vayikra Rabba 7:2)

When a person transgresses a mitzvah in the Torah, he destroys some of his inner holiness. He cuts himself off from the Godliness that lies at the essence of his soul. When a person does teshuva -- "spiritual return" -- he renews and rebuilds the inner world that he has destroyed. On one level, he is rebuilding his personal "Temple" so that God's presence (so to speak) will return there to dwell.

Today, without the Temple service, one of the most powerful ways to teshuva is through the inspiration of prayer. In fact, the Talmud (Brachot 26b) says that's why the main "Amidah" prayer is recited at the exact same time that the daily offerings were sacrificed!

The text of the "Amidah" was formulated by prophets who knew how to awaken deep yearnings within the Jewish soul. Through prayer, we are to achieve a spiritual desire for a full and total connection to God.

The following is from the Jewish prayer book:

"Master of the Universe, You commanded us to bring the Daily Offering at its appointed time; and have the Kohanim perform their service, and the Levites sing and play music at the platform, and the Israelites attend at their stations. And now, because of our sins, the Holy Temple is destroyed and the Daily Offering discontinued. We have neither a Kohen at his service, nor a Levite on his platform, nor an Israelite at his station. However, you have said, 'Let the offerings of our lips replace bulls.' Therefore, let it be Your will, our God and the God of our ancestors, that the prayer of our lips be considered and accepted and regarded favorably before You as if we had offered the Daily Offering at its appointed time, and stood in attendance at its service."

Also, we have an oral tradition from the time of Moses (when the sacrifices started) that God considers the study of offerings as if the offering was actually brought. This is evident from Leviticus 7:37 in which it states, "This is the law of the elevation-offerings..." (Talmud - Menachot 110a)

(additional sources: "Noda Beyehuda" I, O.C. 35; "Chatam Sofer" Y.D. 236 & 318; "Kovetz Teshuvot Chatam Sofer" 59)
10 Av

God Knowing the Future

If God is omniscient and knows the future, how can we have free will?
The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Dr. Gerald Schroeder, double-Ph.D. in Nuclear Physics and Earth and Planetary Sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, explains:

God knows the end already. God knows the future, but not as a future. Having created time, God is outside of time. In such a dimension, future, past and present are meaningless. They are all simultaneous. The four-lettered Hebrew name of God, Y/H/V/H, is composed of the letters that spell in Hebrew "I was, I am, I will be." The three tenses fold into one eternal "now."

We, however, live in time. So for us, the future has not yet occurred.

Nature gives a hint of what it means to be outside of time. The laws of relativity have shown us that at the speed of light, time stands still.

To our perception, light travels for eight minutes as it moves from sun to Earth. But if we could move along with the light in its journey, we would record that zero time passed during the flight from sun to Earth.

Here on Earth, being inside of time, those eight minutes afford us the opportunity to choose among a variety of activities. Yet their beginnings and endings would appear as occurring simultaneously from the perspective of the light.

In this sense, although totally outside of human experience and so difficult to comprehend, God knows the ending even at the beginning.



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