AM Inspiration

A long time ago, I watched the The   Jett Jackson Movie. Yes i was a Disney Channel junkie. For those who haven't seen it, which I am assuming is most people, the bad guy is basically stealing cities from earth and putting them into his world. First New York City disappears and then Chicago, LA..etc. Dr. Kragg (the bad guy) occasionally looks into his world, through his peep hole, checking in on his world.  This is how I feel our world is. We are going about our daily lives, doing the things we do. We have our conversations, our tears, our laughter. We shop, we eat, we sleep. But none of this is real. This is not the true life. Lately, I've been more aware than ever of this. I walk around and i try my best to do what it is that i am supposed to, yet it just seems so meaningless.  I find myself constantly asking myself " what is it exactly that Gd wants from me? Why am I here?" Sure, the Torah gives us guidelines. We have rules tha...

The last post got me thinking about the heart on a different level.  We often refer to the heart as the source of our emotions, our spirituality. In essence it is our life source on so many levels.  A defective heart has catastrophic ramifications. Someone who is emotionally stunted will have difficulty with relationships. A spiritually defective heart will have a hard time connecting to G-d, to one's own spirituality. No one needs me to go into the myriad of problems that come about for a person that has a physical defect.  We all do things to make sure we keep "heart healthy." We eat our cheerios, exercise. We carefully guard who we let in and who we don't. Spiritually, the Torah gives us guidelines. What will keep our hearts healthy. Clearly, keeping the mitzvos all 613 of them, maintain the strength of our heart, it allows for us to maintain a relationship with G-d. But there are certain mitzvos we know that define us as Jews. Certain mi...

In the immortal words of Shakespeare "some people are born great  some achieve greatness  and others have greatness thrust upon them" We are often told that nothing great comes easily. But is that true? Some people have a higher affinity for greatness. They are born on a higher spiritual plateau. Yes they must achieve greatness on their own level.. But they do have it easier. They don't have the distractions. They don't have the temptations. Some have never been exposed to the tantalizing treats that float right in front of most of us. The question is what is greatness? Is there a global standard or is it more personal? There are certain standards that we maintain for someone to be considered a "גדול״ " among the Jewish people. But those standards don't withstand the test of time. Every generation is different. The gedolim we have now pale on comparison on an objective scale to those 100 years ago. Yet, for us they are great. We are obliga...

"If you want to catch beasts you don't see every day, You have to go places quite out of the way, You have to go places no others can get to. You have to get cold and you have too get wet, too." —  Dr. Seuss I think this is very applicable now in the days of Elul. If we want to fight the Yetzer Hara you have to go look in places that are not comfortable. It gonna take us into the deepest and darkest part of us. Places that we have locked up eons ago..determined to forget. But they don't go away. They just stew. They simmer and eventually it may boil over. This is a fight that we have to do. No one can do it for you. We can ask for advice, but no one is going to go into your deep, dank and dark cellar and fight the fight for you. Its not comfortable. Its not easy. There is a reason that we have stored it away for so long. There is a reason that it has been under lock and key for years on end. We have to get cold and wet. There may be tears. We may need to get...

 I am honored to have Nechama Ralsk, the author of Words From The Soul    guest post. So show your love by commenting, leaving feedback...you know what to do.. Words  you say them without thinking, not aimed to wound the heart, but simply unfiltered, you didn't mean it, regretted it rather quickly, but it was just a joke, after all, right? they laugh right along with you, but they are crying inside, words once thrown away, can never be retrieved. On a separate note-  would you rather say something and regret it? or regret not saying something you should have?

I never worked really hard in elementary, middle or high school. I did well..I just didn't have to work hard B"H. I loved reading, math came naturally. My only subject that I had any difficulty was English. I blame that on the fact that I have immigrant parents and no one ever corrected my essays for me. :P College obviously required that I up my game a little. I'm pretty sure PA school is gonna kick my behind if I don't get my act together and start studying in advance. My sister is different. She is vastly talented in other areas. School is a four letter word in her vocabulary. She does not enjoy any of it. She doesn't like being involved in school events, does not like most of the classes. It frankly stresses her out. She cannot fathom why I would read for leisure. "its ridiculous-its called summer VACATION  for a reason!' Reading is enjoyable for me. It is not difficult. For her, it takes considerable effort. She reads one chapter, look...