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Jewish World Review Nov. 13, 2001 / 27 Mar-Cheshvan, 5762
http://www.jewishworldreview.com --
Think of all the time and
mental energy a well-intentioned
person spends pondering
whether his
next move is
right or wrong,
good or bad.
The gray area
in between
those poles is a
vast one, which
many people
get lost navigating.
But living a
moral life was
not meant to be
so complicated.
King Solomon
said, "G-d created
man simple,
but they sought
many intrigues," and in fact, we
often see in hindsight that we
manufacture most of our own
problems by creating complicated
rationales to suit our hidden
agendas.
The Rebbe of Rizhin offered
one of his disciples a simple
means of judging for himself
whether or not he was heading
in the right direction.
The disciple,
considering himself
an unlearned
man who couldn't
always discern
right from wrong,
had come to the
Rebbe for guidance.
"Consider
yourself a tightrope
walker," the Rebbe
said. "When a
tightrope walker
feels he is being
drawn to one side,
he maintains his
balance by leaning
slightly to the
other side. Most of a person's
drives come from the desire to
gratify his baser instincts. If
you find yourself being drawn
to do something, pause and
lean a bit toward not doing it.
That way, you will maintain an
even balance and be better
positioned to judge the situation."
Adapted from "It's Not as Tough as You Think," by Rabbi Abraham
Twerski M.D., with permission
from Mesorah Publications. The author also has a daily JWR column, which can be viewed by clicking here.
Effective prayer
ALL I ASK
The obligation to pray
encompasses three types of
communication with the Creator:
praise, thanks, and requests.
To
our minds, the requirement to
praise the Creator is perfectly in
line with the concept of serving
our King. Thanking Him, also,
makes perfect sense. But why
are we required to ask Him to
fulfill our personal needs?
Doesn't He already know what
they are?
The seminal ethical work, Chovos Halevavos, explains
that our personal requests are,
in fact, a powerful means of
praising the Creator. When we ask
Him to fulfill our needs, we
acknowledge His power over
every aspect of our lives. We
admit our total dependency
upon Him, and His graciousness
to us.
In fact, this pouring
forth of the heart was the original
form of prayer, practiced
from the time of our
Forefathers, through to the Holy Temple. And still, today,
nothing more definitively
expresses our acknowledgement
of the Creator's power than our
reliance on Him for everything
- rain for the crops, wisdom
and understanding, healing for
the sick, justice, righteousness,
redemption.
Adapted from "Shemoneh Esrei," by Rabbi Avraham Chaim Feuer, with permission
from Mesorah Publications.
Life's lessons
THE REAL JOB
An American gentleman once
paid a visit to the late Brisker Rav, Rabbi Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik, ZT'L, of Jerusalem.
"What are you?
What is your occupation?" the
Distinguished rabbi asked. "I am a lawyer," replied
the man.
Not long after, the rabbi asked
the same question again, and was
given the same answer.
"That is
not how a Jew answers such a
question!" the rabbi told him. "I
will tell you how the prophet
Jonah answered it."
He then related the incident in
which Jonah's ship was being
tossed about by a storm, and the
sailors determined that Jonah
was the cause. They asked him his
trade, to which he replied, "I am a
Hebrew and I fear the Creator, the
G-d of the Heavens."
That, observed the rabbi, is every
Jew's primary occupation. Being
a lawyer, real estate broker, doctor,
farmer, sailor, teacher---that is
merely how one earns his living.
Adapted from "Echoes of the Maggid," by Rabbi Paysach J. Krohn, with permission
from Mesorah Publications.
A Balancing Act
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