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Date Posted: 01:58:39 06/29/12 Fri
Author: d
Subject: fb132


#500 Be Humble, Be Happy

A person who is sincerely humble will be constantly happy. A humble person realizes that nothing is owed him, and therefore feels satisfied with what he has. He does not have expectation of receiving that is above him. He constantly has peace of mind and always feels the joy of life.

(see Rabbi Chaim Meir Hagar; cited in Le'anovim Yitain Chain, P.201; Gateway to Happiness, p.37)
#501 You can Learn to be Happy

Happiness is a skill that can be learned. The essential factor whether or not you will live a happy life is based less on external factors such as wealth, success and fame, and more on your attitude toward life, toward yourself, toward other people, and toward events and situations. Regardless of your attitudes in the past, you have the ability to change and become a master of happiness.

Today is the best day to improve your skills. Either things will go EXACTLY the way you want -- and then you can focus on the feeling of joy. Or things will NOT go the way you want and you'll have the opportunity to attain greater mastery over your attitude.

Throughout the day, keep asking yourself: "What attitude will enable me to experience joy and empowerment RIGHT NOW?

(see Preface to Gateway to Happiness)


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




9 Tammuz

In 423 BCE, Nebuchadnezzar's troops breached the walls of old Jerusalem and entered the city. Four weeks later, the Holy Temple was destroyed, and the Jews were exiled to Babylon. Originally, a day of fasting and mourning was observed on the 9th of Tammuz. Seventy years later, however, when the Second Temple was built, the fast was abolished and the day was turned into a holiday. Some 500 years later when Jerusalem fell on the 17th of Tammuz -- prior to the destruction of the Second Temple -- the Sages decreed the 17th of Tammuz as a fast day to commemorate both tragedies.
10 Tammuz

In 423 BCE, King Tzidkiyahu was captured by Babylonian troops in the plains of Jericho, as recorded in Jeremiah ch. 39. The evil Nebuchadnezzar forced Tzidkiyahu to witness the slaughter of his sons, and then Tzidkiyahu's eyes were gouged out. Till today, Tzidkiyahu is remembered as a righteous man, while Nebuchadnezzar -- like a long list of tyrants who sought to oppress the Jewish people -- was degraded and reduced to the dustbin of history. The biblical Book of Daniel (4:30) describes how Nebuchadnezzar "was driven from mankind; he ate grass like oxen, and his body was washed by the dew of heaven, until his hair grew like eagles' feathers and his nails were like birds' claws." (Nebuchadnezzar later regained his sanity and returned to rule.)



9 Tammuz

He created him [Adam] in the image of God (Genesis 1:27).


Since God is not corporeal, the term "image of God" obviously refers to humanity's capacity for Godliness, i.e. to share in the Divine attributes of rational thinking, spirituality, sanctity, creativity - attributes that distinguish us from all other living things.

The serpent seduced Adam and Eve to eat of the forbidden Tree of Knowledge by convincing them that doing so would enable them to become God-like (ibid. 3:5). Why did they succumb to this argument, since they already knew that they were created betzelem Elokim, with the capacity to be God-like? Today, sadly, we have found one answer.

Misguided proponents of drugs claimed that certain drugs would create new senses of perception, and that users would thereby be able to perceive the "real truth" of the universe. As a result, millions of people, many of them young people with minds still in the delicate formative stage, have had their brains poisoned and their thinking distorted.

The tragic mistake of the Sixties bears great resemblance to the first sin. God bestowed humanity with a mind fully capable of participating in Godliness in its most comprehensive sense. Artificial substitutes proffered were treacherously deceptive; far from granting new vistas of truth, the forbidden fruit was described by God as something that would bring only death and destruction. We have witnessed an analogue of Adam and Eve's sin.

We are fully endowed to be able to know the truth. All we must do is make the effort. Chemicals are not a shortcut to truth, but a sure road to destruction.


Today I shall ...
...

utilize my God-given mental capacities to search for truth and not be misled by false promises for instant spirituality.


10 Tammuz

[Man was created in God's image, and the Israelites are children unto God.] It is an extra measure of love that man was informed that he was created in God's image ... it is an extra measure of love that they [the Israelites] were informed that they were called children unto God (Ethics of the Fathers 3:18).

It is one thing to be gifted, and another thing to know that one is gifted.

A woman who was admitted for treatment for alcoholism insisted on test after test to determine whether she had suffered brain damage because of her use of alcohol. When she could not be reassured, I became suspicious that some- thing was preventing her from accepting this reassurance.

A long psychiatric interview revealed the reason for her reluctance. This young woman wanted the test to prove that she indeed had sustained brain damage.

Why would anyone wish to have such a terrible diagnosis? The answer is that this young woman feared taking on the challenges of life, and brain damage would have provided her with a lifetime of excellent excuses: "Stop trying to help me stay sober. It's too late. Sobriety is difficult enough to achieve for people who have a properly intact brain. I am beyond recovery - I am brain damaged! You expect me to go to school or hold a job? I am too brain damaged for that."

As horrible a diagnosis as brain damage may be, for this young woman it had a redeeming feature: it would absolve her of responsibility. Knowing that one has talents and abilities makes one responsible to use them.

We have been informed that we have God-like attributes and that we are the children of God. It may be more comfortable for us to make believe this is not so, but we should not deny the truth.


Today I shall ...
... confront myself with the realities of my abilities and avoid taking refuge in a delusion of inadequacy.

See more books by Rabbi Abraham Twerski at Artscroll.com


9 Tammuz

Suffering of Children

I believe that God is just, yet I cannot reconcile this with the countless innocent children lost in the Holocaust. Did these children do terrible misdeeds? How can we justify God allowing this terrible suffering?
The Aish Rabbi Replies:

The idea that no one suffers unnecessarily is a fundamental concept in Judaism. The reasoning is as follows:

It is unthinkable to imagine that God would create a world and walk away from it, even momentarily. That would make God less responsible than His very own creations!

Therefore, it is a truism that God is very much involved in what happens in the world, and does not allow madmen to do as they please without license.

Your question is how to understand suffering in the lives of children. Since a child is not responsible for his actions until the age of 13, how can the child's suffering come as a result of their misdeeds?

One answer is that the misdeeds which brought about the suffering may not have been done by this particular soul in this lifetime, but rather in a previous lifetime.

Although the soul is in a child's body, the soul is actually much older than the body. When the child is born, it is for the purpose of refining and perfecting the soul which has been placed in this particular child's body.

Indeed, when the soul reaches perfection, the child may die, having fulfilled its mission in the world.

Another possible understanding of children's suffering is that God doesn't only deal with individuals, he also deals with nations.

For example, when God decided to destroy Sodom and Gomorra, Abraham asked God, "If I can find enough righteous people in Sodom and Gomorra, will you spare the cities?"

Apparently there were some righteous individuals, and although they were not the catalyst for the disaster, now that the disaster is going to happen, you need a tremendous amount of merit to be saved from it in a miraculous way. Because God deals both on a national and individual realm. And that complicates our understanding of the equation.

The bottom line is that it is very difficult for us to "judge" God, because we are stuck in time and space and thus limited in knowing which ground rules God is employing. When "bad" things happen, there are so many possibilities why. "Is this a challenge in life that was given to me so I could become an example to inspire others? Or is this to get me to fix a wrong I've done? Or is this due to historical/national forces that are affecting me as an individual?"

In Exodus 33:13, Moses asks God, "Make Your ways known to me." The commentators explain that there are "50 Gates of Wisdom," and Moses had reached the 49th Gate. This means that only one aspect of existence was still unknown to him. And which was that? The issue of "why bad things happen to good people."

God answered Moses: "No, you can never fully understand this. Perhaps in retrospect you can see how the pieces fit into this complex jigsaw puzzle. But in general, you ultimately are not to privy to the reason.

Still, God has a terrific track record, and we are certain that He knows what He's doing. That knowledge alone - that God has a reason - goes a long way in helping us cope with suffering.
10 Tammuz

Grasshoppers

One of my co-workers brought a box of chocolate-covered grasshoppers to the office. Many people tried them, but since I keep kosher I begged off, saying that I was grossed out. Did I do the right thing?
The Aish Rabbi Replies:

You did the right thing not to eat the grasshoppers, because they most likely weren’t kosher.

Many are surprised to discover that four species of grasshoppers are kosher (Leviticus 11:22). However, all other insects are not kosher.

One might think that this has little practical application to our modern eating habits. But in truth, many leafy vegetables (lettuce, broccoli) often contain insects and must be carefully examined before they can be eaten.

Some fruits like raspberries and strawberries are also problematic. Rabbis have developed specific methods to properly check these fruits and vegetables for insects. For details, see www.kosherquest.org/book.php?id=INSECTS_IN_FOOD.htm

One more point I’d like to add: The commentators say that when we are offered a non-kosher food, rather than decline by saying that we are “grossed out,” it’s actually better to say: “I’d really like that, but since I keep kosher I don’t eat that.” In this way, we communicate the ideals of holiness that the Torah instills, and this can serve as an inspiration to others.



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