Its the life!
Second shabbat in the holy land..went to some awesome classes at Moreshet...watched some classes by Rabbi Wallenstein...and as usual..the same question- mah lichtov?
Yesterday actually last night i was going to the kotel and it was kinda late so i decided teh safest walking venue was to walk through town. and let me tell you a mob scene. i dont know how many of u know taht yesterday was yom yerushalayim- personally i didnt till i walked down town. man alive, id never seen so many kids in one place! they just kept coming outta every crack adn crevice. the farther along i walked the more congested it got. once i got up yaffo it seemed that i was walking against the tide. it seemed as if everyone was walking back from the kotel and i was the only strange one actually heading toward to the kotel! as i neared shaar yaffo i stopped in my tracks- there were fireworks being projected into the air. ad i stood there for about 15-2o mins watching i dont think i saw fire works since i dont even remember maybe fourth of july...lo meshaneh...finally fihgting the tide i got to tohe kotel. there was a masssive concert there they were singing "im eshkachech" it was really beautiul. this time last year it was amazing cuz it was right after the attack on mercaz harav adn the entire yeshiva danced/walked at 12 from the yeshiva to the kotel (its on kanfey) the kotel plaza was packed with families, teenagers, tourists, everyone was there. the wall was packed as well i was hoping for a nice quiet night at the kotel and instead i got a full house! i stayed, davened barely gotto actually touch the wall and then i started my treck home. as i was walking up ben-yehuda i was walking along listening to my ipod minding my own business when all of a sudden outta no where these isreali boys started charging down the hill. at first it was only one chasing the other but then sudden en masse they all sprinted full speed down teh street. i was petrified taht i was gonna get hit by them it was seriously a stampede. at first i stood still then i thought maybe not the best idea but when i tried to move..well that wast a much better idea so i just stood there waiting for them to pass. andonce they did i just kept going on my own merry way!
so now taht my story is over- what was the point what is the inspirational lesson from the whole saga? i dont know yet..any ideas anybody?
well it seems the first thing is obvious so im just gonna start with that and see where it goes. it seems the most of our lives is spent going againt the tide. for some this may be on a societal level, some on a community level and for some even on a familial level. we have a goal- Torah. we wanna get to that kotel, but that doesnt seem to be where the party is. yes, people go to the kotel becsause that is where every jewish neshama is inexplicably pulled to but we cannot seem to stay there too long, we get pulled by the tide back to town , back to where the "real" party is. but we know better. we know that the truth doenst lay between froyo and cafe rimon. we know that tho it seems to be where the hock is the real life teh real emet is at the kotel.im staying by my OCA lady and her son came home from Gan and he says " mah at ohevet kesef v'zahav oh toyrah?" and of course i said "TOYRAH!" his teacher had taught him that the "Toyrah yoter matok mekol ha'adashim beolam!" the truth lies within those old stones who seem to have stood the test of time. the fact taht the kotel hasnt been destroyed yet is proof in itself that Hashem is who He is.
but what happens when we get pulled back by the tide, what happens when we get too tired to swim upstream to fight the waves? thats what happens when we isnt strong enought in the begining, one needs to know his strength before he tests them. we cannot put oursleves in a position and hope that it'll be okay. we cannot just say taht oh, ill figure it out ill be fine. NO! we have to prepare ourselves. we need to know what to expect and then some, only with the right tools and weapons can we survive. i was watching this shiur from R' Wallenstein about knowing who we are and i think that it really fits here. he was talking abt purim and saying that what was the big deal taht the jews went to the party? there was kosher food kosher wine - there was seperate seating (seems better than a lot of weddings i go to ) whats the big deal? u know what teh big deal was? the party was a trap- haman adn achashverosh planned this party to get the jews to follow the tide, sure your eating kosher u did yoiur jewish responsibility now u can have fun0 this is the life right? wednsday i was at the beach, adn i was just laying there with my friend and we was drying off and we were listening to musicm, eating pretzels and chummus just chilling and i found myself saying as we often do in such situations 'this is the life!" but really as soon as i said it i knew i was wrong. no this is not living. we all need relaxing we all need vacation but chofesh lo chayim. it gives us a chance to recharge our batteries give us that extra energy but "the life" naaa. this is the life of beach bums and we are definaelty not beach bums.
we have been put on this planet, with our parents, in our city, with out siblings, with our talenst adn our failings it is an individual package created by G-d for what? for us to spend our time chiiling? to spend it on the beach partying? absolutely not. it is a special made to order combo created for us to be able to fulfill our destiney. there is a reason taht we were put on this earth. we each have a mission in the world and only we can fulfill it, no one else. so much so that if we dont finish it in our lifetime we come back again in order to do so. we live in a world of substitutes. if the teacher cant come in get a sub, we cant have sugar use splenda cant use butter there is margarine, no salt? there is this st uf that tastes like salt but isnt..you get the drift, soy for milk, tofu for meat..the list is endless. but for YOU? there is no substitute, there is no one that can do what u are meant to do. Rebbtizen heller was saying that how do we know what our tafkid is and she said that its where your soul takes yoiu adb the possibilities of your life merge. when the two connect that is where your mission lays.
back to R' Wallenstein for a sec, he was saying that the party was designed to make us stop fighting the tide. relax, take a break stop figting society so hard....but we all know taht when someone is being taken away in a tidal wave the moment he stops fighting, the moment he stops using every ounce of strength he has to keep his head above water that is the moment he has lost the battle. that is the moment he has dies, he believes taht he has nothing left living for. and taht is what Haman was going for, he wanted our death and he knew better than we that the moment we stop fightin then we have lost, we have given up. we have raised the white flag and said we give up, you win , well do what u want. the jews gave up that day at teh party. they gave up what was inherntylyl their's they gave up on theior tafkid, they gave up on being Hashem's children in favor of being able to hang out with everyone else. to look like everyone else..they were tired of being differnt, tired of standing out at evey family event. they were just tired. so they went to a party..big deal they thougt..
but we know better..we know that we can never stop fighting, tryin to keep our head above water. even the people in heiligeh flatbush, lakewood, Yerushalayim for that matter..we all have someone who tells us "chill man, whats the big deal if this one time you...." fill in the blank, we all have it whether its a friend, a parent distant cousin, teacher, neiggberhood busy bodym the shadchan..doenst matter, cuz the fight, the achievment of the goal- now thats the life!
Yesterday actually last night i was going to the kotel and it was kinda late so i decided teh safest walking venue was to walk through town. and let me tell you a mob scene. i dont know how many of u know taht yesterday was yom yerushalayim- personally i didnt till i walked down town. man alive, id never seen so many kids in one place! they just kept coming outta every crack adn crevice. the farther along i walked the more congested it got. once i got up yaffo it seemed that i was walking against the tide. it seemed as if everyone was walking back from the kotel and i was the only strange one actually heading toward to the kotel! as i neared shaar yaffo i stopped in my tracks- there were fireworks being projected into the air. ad i stood there for about 15-2o mins watching i dont think i saw fire works since i dont even remember maybe fourth of july...lo meshaneh...finally fihgting the tide i got to tohe kotel. there was a masssive concert there they were singing "im eshkachech" it was really beautiul. this time last year it was amazing cuz it was right after the attack on mercaz harav adn the entire yeshiva danced/walked at 12 from the yeshiva to the kotel (its on kanfey) the kotel plaza was packed with families, teenagers, tourists, everyone was there. the wall was packed as well i was hoping for a nice quiet night at the kotel and instead i got a full house! i stayed, davened barely gotto actually touch the wall and then i started my treck home. as i was walking up ben-yehuda i was walking along listening to my ipod minding my own business when all of a sudden outta no where these isreali boys started charging down the hill. at first it was only one chasing the other but then sudden en masse they all sprinted full speed down teh street. i was petrified taht i was gonna get hit by them it was seriously a stampede. at first i stood still then i thought maybe not the best idea but when i tried to move..well that wast a much better idea so i just stood there waiting for them to pass. andonce they did i just kept going on my own merry way!
so now taht my story is over- what was the point what is the inspirational lesson from the whole saga? i dont know yet..any ideas anybody?
well it seems the first thing is obvious so im just gonna start with that and see where it goes. it seems the most of our lives is spent going againt the tide. for some this may be on a societal level, some on a community level and for some even on a familial level. we have a goal- Torah. we wanna get to that kotel, but that doesnt seem to be where the party is. yes, people go to the kotel becsause that is where every jewish neshama is inexplicably pulled to but we cannot seem to stay there too long, we get pulled by the tide back to town , back to where the "real" party is. but we know better. we know that the truth doenst lay between froyo and cafe rimon. we know that tho it seems to be where the hock is the real life teh real emet is at the kotel.im staying by my OCA lady and her son came home from Gan and he says " mah at ohevet kesef v'zahav oh toyrah?" and of course i said "TOYRAH!" his teacher had taught him that the "Toyrah yoter matok mekol ha'adashim beolam!" the truth lies within those old stones who seem to have stood the test of time. the fact taht the kotel hasnt been destroyed yet is proof in itself that Hashem is who He is.
but what happens when we get pulled back by the tide, what happens when we get too tired to swim upstream to fight the waves? thats what happens when we isnt strong enought in the begining, one needs to know his strength before he tests them. we cannot put oursleves in a position and hope that it'll be okay. we cannot just say taht oh, ill figure it out ill be fine. NO! we have to prepare ourselves. we need to know what to expect and then some, only with the right tools and weapons can we survive. i was watching this shiur from R' Wallenstein about knowing who we are and i think that it really fits here. he was talking abt purim and saying that what was the big deal taht the jews went to the party? there was kosher food kosher wine - there was seperate seating (seems better than a lot of weddings i go to ) whats the big deal? u know what teh big deal was? the party was a trap- haman adn achashverosh planned this party to get the jews to follow the tide, sure your eating kosher u did yoiur jewish responsibility now u can have fun0 this is the life right? wednsday i was at the beach, adn i was just laying there with my friend and we was drying off and we were listening to musicm, eating pretzels and chummus just chilling and i found myself saying as we often do in such situations 'this is the life!" but really as soon as i said it i knew i was wrong. no this is not living. we all need relaxing we all need vacation but chofesh lo chayim. it gives us a chance to recharge our batteries give us that extra energy but "the life" naaa. this is the life of beach bums and we are definaelty not beach bums.
we have been put on this planet, with our parents, in our city, with out siblings, with our talenst adn our failings it is an individual package created by G-d for what? for us to spend our time chiiling? to spend it on the beach partying? absolutely not. it is a special made to order combo created for us to be able to fulfill our destiney. there is a reason taht we were put on this earth. we each have a mission in the world and only we can fulfill it, no one else. so much so that if we dont finish it in our lifetime we come back again in order to do so. we live in a world of substitutes. if the teacher cant come in get a sub, we cant have sugar use splenda cant use butter there is margarine, no salt? there is this st uf that tastes like salt but isnt..you get the drift, soy for milk, tofu for meat..the list is endless. but for YOU? there is no substitute, there is no one that can do what u are meant to do. Rebbtizen heller was saying that how do we know what our tafkid is and she said that its where your soul takes yoiu adb the possibilities of your life merge. when the two connect that is where your mission lays.
back to R' Wallenstein for a sec, he was saying that the party was designed to make us stop fighting the tide. relax, take a break stop figting society so hard....but we all know taht when someone is being taken away in a tidal wave the moment he stops fighting, the moment he stops using every ounce of strength he has to keep his head above water that is the moment he has lost the battle. that is the moment he has dies, he believes taht he has nothing left living for. and taht is what Haman was going for, he wanted our death and he knew better than we that the moment we stop fightin then we have lost, we have given up. we have raised the white flag and said we give up, you win , well do what u want. the jews gave up that day at teh party. they gave up what was inherntylyl their's they gave up on theior tafkid, they gave up on being Hashem's children in favor of being able to hang out with everyone else. to look like everyone else..they were tired of being differnt, tired of standing out at evey family event. they were just tired. so they went to a party..big deal they thougt..
but we know better..we know that we can never stop fighting, tryin to keep our head above water. even the people in heiligeh flatbush, lakewood, Yerushalayim for that matter..we all have someone who tells us "chill man, whats the big deal if this one time you...." fill in the blank, we all have it whether its a friend, a parent distant cousin, teacher, neiggberhood busy bodym the shadchan..doenst matter, cuz the fight, the achievment of the goal- now thats the life!
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