im not a fighter, but ill fight for what i love
so its erev Shavuot, not erev shabbat, but its still an erev, so i get to blog, rather i feel compelled to blog and say something that cud be inspirational, but what haven't you heard already about Shavuot, what cud i say that don't know already?
its only Tuesday, and i feel like its been a whole week already, rather i felt like that yesterday when i was vacuuming thinking i cant believe that its only Monday..u know when that happens that ur in for a long week, but this one is going to fly by..before we know it its gonna be shabbat and I'm gonna be posting again (obviously not on shabbat, but u get the picture,,)
its a common phrase, " I'm not a fighter, but I'll fight for what i love" this is not a chiddush, its not something that is coming from no where, its a phrase, a thought that's been around for centuries ( or at least decades..) what does it mean? well its pretty obvious, pretty self explanatory. and i experienced this phenomena this week. usually I'm a docile personality, i do what i am told, listen without much questioning yet this was different. i wanted to do something, really badly, and it didn't seem to be happening. there where too many obstacles in the way. too many factors that made it seem impossible. and i wud get burst of energy, " the world is my oyster, i can do anything i set my heart on doing.." but then i wud come up against a brick wall..and then id get despondent and id give up..till the next burst of energy. and then just when i was going to give up, really give up.. Hashem gave me a gift, after all that fighting for what i wanted, after all that energy that i had put into it, after begging, pleading using all sorts of tactics, BH i finally got what i needed, wanted..both terms apply in this case..
we know that everything we have is a gift, but seriously how often do we stop and think " wow this world is really a miracle, Hashem is giving me the gift of life now, and wow this second too and another..He just keeps giving me second after second, minute after minute, hour after hour - u get the point. its all a gift. but do we think of it that way? do we appreciate the great kindness He bestows upon us every single moment of our lives? no. plain and simple..why? cuz we don't have to fight for it, someone who is drowning every breath of air- he relishes, he celebrates, one more moment of life. someone who has a cold even, every breath is labored, he appreciates the ability to breath, for about two seconds after he gets better and then he forgets cuz its not hard anymore.
i was talking to someone who was lamenting the fact that its so hard to get married, so hard to find the right shidduch, why cant i know who it is already? why must it be such a search? and as Rabbi Orlofsky said in a speech i heard today..when u work for something, when u fight for it, u will always cherish it. u will take care to protect it and work at it so much more. if a slice of Mrs.abromov's cheesecake is handed to us on a silver platter as delicious as it is, it will not be as pleasurable as the slice of ur own. if u spend hours studying for a test and u get 90% the satisfaction u get from that is incomparable to the 100 u get on a test u don't study for. when we work at something it gives it value, it shows that u care, u have put urslef heart and soul into this and this investment makes it dear to u, connects it to you.
i had this discussion with my friend. when have a disagreement with someone that you care about, u take the time to explain your thoughts, your feelings, why it is that you feel the way you do and together you work through it. if its someone u meet randomly and you obviously have conflicting views on the meaning of life, u are not going to sit there and explain it all..you just nod smile and walk away, its not worth the effort, but someone you care about, you'll take all the hours you need, even if it means not sleeping cuz its important to you and its worth investing in.
we all know that coming to the kotel for the first time is a magical moment, or its supposed to be. the first time u touch those cool stones, press ur lips against the age-less stones, standing where so many other people stood before. this is the exact spot where thousands of our Jewish brethren stood, crying to Hashem, pouring out their plight to their Father. its a place of insane kedusha, a place that cannot be compared to anywhere else in the world. but what happens to the tourist that comes on shabbat morning to the kotel...the one with the cell phone camera dangling from their neck ( the one that asks you to take their picture- happened to me) u think they feel the earth shaking as they touch the walls? do they hear the millions of prayers said fervently at that exact spot? do they feel the cries of all the Jews over the course of history? no! why not? its exactly the same spot where u stood isn't it? its the same wall? or is it? this wall only has meaning to those who ascribe it meaning. it only has value to those who know what sacrifice and devotion it took to bring us to this point. what it took to allow us to be even allowed to stand there! only through proper preparation does it have any meaning.
so we come to Shavuot, we come to one of the most poignant moments of Jewish history, and we are standing receiving the Torah, again , we are accepting the Torah for ourselves, making it a real part of our lives, our neshamos are screaming "NAASEH V'NISHMA!" we want this, we want this so bad! we have spent 49 days perfecting ourselves, recreating ourselves to be the proper kli with which to accept the Torah! and its not just that we had 49 days, the last three days aren't just stam, they are special days of acceptance of us making extra special preparations to accept the Torah, we are scrambling to get ready to receive the most important precious gift of all time! this is not just something you do all willy nilly..it takes devotion it takes dedication it takes fighting for! we are an am kshei oref! we don't give in easily and that has been our strength and what has kept us going and alive after all these years, we don't just bend and give in to the pressures of society.
and we all have to make the commitment to fight, to stand up for the Torah that we love and cherish. its not just another book, and as Rabbi Brown says " Torah is not a way of life, IT IS LIFE ITSELF!" and if we don't fight for our lives that what do we have to live for? another well known axiom is " if u don't stand for anything then you will fall for anything" life is our most precious commodity, without it we wouldn't exist , literally..so we fight even at the last moments when the waves seem too strong, the battle to hard, the knife too sharp, we keep raging on, we keep swimming, we keep yelling, we are there and we insist on life. we don't let people walk all over us, we stand up and fight. Torah is our life, it is what defines us, so this Shavuot, tonight make a commitment to fight for your life!
its only Tuesday, and i feel like its been a whole week already, rather i felt like that yesterday when i was vacuuming thinking i cant believe that its only Monday..u know when that happens that ur in for a long week, but this one is going to fly by..before we know it its gonna be shabbat and I'm gonna be posting again (obviously not on shabbat, but u get the picture,,)
its a common phrase, " I'm not a fighter, but I'll fight for what i love" this is not a chiddush, its not something that is coming from no where, its a phrase, a thought that's been around for centuries ( or at least decades..) what does it mean? well its pretty obvious, pretty self explanatory. and i experienced this phenomena this week. usually I'm a docile personality, i do what i am told, listen without much questioning yet this was different. i wanted to do something, really badly, and it didn't seem to be happening. there where too many obstacles in the way. too many factors that made it seem impossible. and i wud get burst of energy, " the world is my oyster, i can do anything i set my heart on doing.." but then i wud come up against a brick wall..and then id get despondent and id give up..till the next burst of energy. and then just when i was going to give up, really give up.. Hashem gave me a gift, after all that fighting for what i wanted, after all that energy that i had put into it, after begging, pleading using all sorts of tactics, BH i finally got what i needed, wanted..both terms apply in this case..
we know that everything we have is a gift, but seriously how often do we stop and think " wow this world is really a miracle, Hashem is giving me the gift of life now, and wow this second too and another..He just keeps giving me second after second, minute after minute, hour after hour - u get the point. its all a gift. but do we think of it that way? do we appreciate the great kindness He bestows upon us every single moment of our lives? no. plain and simple..why? cuz we don't have to fight for it, someone who is drowning every breath of air- he relishes, he celebrates, one more moment of life. someone who has a cold even, every breath is labored, he appreciates the ability to breath, for about two seconds after he gets better and then he forgets cuz its not hard anymore.
i was talking to someone who was lamenting the fact that its so hard to get married, so hard to find the right shidduch, why cant i know who it is already? why must it be such a search? and as Rabbi Orlofsky said in a speech i heard today..when u work for something, when u fight for it, u will always cherish it. u will take care to protect it and work at it so much more. if a slice of Mrs.abromov's cheesecake is handed to us on a silver platter as delicious as it is, it will not be as pleasurable as the slice of ur own. if u spend hours studying for a test and u get 90% the satisfaction u get from that is incomparable to the 100 u get on a test u don't study for. when we work at something it gives it value, it shows that u care, u have put urslef heart and soul into this and this investment makes it dear to u, connects it to you.
i had this discussion with my friend. when have a disagreement with someone that you care about, u take the time to explain your thoughts, your feelings, why it is that you feel the way you do and together you work through it. if its someone u meet randomly and you obviously have conflicting views on the meaning of life, u are not going to sit there and explain it all..you just nod smile and walk away, its not worth the effort, but someone you care about, you'll take all the hours you need, even if it means not sleeping cuz its important to you and its worth investing in.
we all know that coming to the kotel for the first time is a magical moment, or its supposed to be. the first time u touch those cool stones, press ur lips against the age-less stones, standing where so many other people stood before. this is the exact spot where thousands of our Jewish brethren stood, crying to Hashem, pouring out their plight to their Father. its a place of insane kedusha, a place that cannot be compared to anywhere else in the world. but what happens to the tourist that comes on shabbat morning to the kotel...the one with the cell phone camera dangling from their neck ( the one that asks you to take their picture- happened to me) u think they feel the earth shaking as they touch the walls? do they hear the millions of prayers said fervently at that exact spot? do they feel the cries of all the Jews over the course of history? no! why not? its exactly the same spot where u stood isn't it? its the same wall? or is it? this wall only has meaning to those who ascribe it meaning. it only has value to those who know what sacrifice and devotion it took to bring us to this point. what it took to allow us to be even allowed to stand there! only through proper preparation does it have any meaning.
so we come to Shavuot, we come to one of the most poignant moments of Jewish history, and we are standing receiving the Torah, again , we are accepting the Torah for ourselves, making it a real part of our lives, our neshamos are screaming "NAASEH V'NISHMA!" we want this, we want this so bad! we have spent 49 days perfecting ourselves, recreating ourselves to be the proper kli with which to accept the Torah! and its not just that we had 49 days, the last three days aren't just stam, they are special days of acceptance of us making extra special preparations to accept the Torah, we are scrambling to get ready to receive the most important precious gift of all time! this is not just something you do all willy nilly..it takes devotion it takes dedication it takes fighting for! we are an am kshei oref! we don't give in easily and that has been our strength and what has kept us going and alive after all these years, we don't just bend and give in to the pressures of society.
and we all have to make the commitment to fight, to stand up for the Torah that we love and cherish. its not just another book, and as Rabbi Brown says " Torah is not a way of life, IT IS LIFE ITSELF!" and if we don't fight for our lives that what do we have to live for? another well known axiom is " if u don't stand for anything then you will fall for anything" life is our most precious commodity, without it we wouldn't exist , literally..so we fight even at the last moments when the waves seem too strong, the battle to hard, the knife too sharp, we keep raging on, we keep swimming, we keep yelling, we are there and we insist on life. we don't let people walk all over us, we stand up and fight. Torah is our life, it is what defines us, so this Shavuot, tonight make a commitment to fight for your life!
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