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Don’t Wait for Happiness |
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Written by Rabbi Max Weiman
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 I feel bad for people that aren’t convinced in a “next world” or hereafter, as they call it. Where is their comfort when they lose a loved one? How do they understand anything that’s going on in the world now or throughout history? What do they have to look forward to?
The Next World puts all of life into perspective. After all, if God can do anything, and there isn’t a next world, He sure made a very flawed existence for us. Don’t get me wrong, there are awesomely beautiful and wonderful things about life from beginning to end: love, accomplishment, wisdom, Beethoven, Michelangelo, etc. But we could have done without all the war, ignorance, tyranny, and famine, Hitler, mosquitoes, Beevis and Butthead, etc. |
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MARCHESHVAN |
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Written by Rabbi Max Weiman
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When you are down, problems seem larger than normal, and sometimes they seem insurmountable. That's when it takes a large amount of self-resolve to get back up. Inside, we all have an endless reservoir of motivation to succeed and accomplish. It's not easy, however, to access that supply when we need it the most. That supply of energy and resources is actually our soul, a piece of the Infinite that's ingrained in the heart of our psyche. The month of MarCheshvan is related to the ability to get up after a 'fall.? Therefore, it is also directly connected to the ability to tap into our reservoir of energy and motivation. |
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MARCHESHVAN |
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Written by Rabbi Max Weiman
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The potential for separation and the potential for return are inherent in God's creation. When He created the universes, God formed the illusion of a separation between Himself and that which He created. The intent was that the creation would return by drawing themselves closer to God, and also by them bringing God into creation. The Torah outlines many ways to draw closer to God, e.g. prayer and meditation, study of the Torah, etc. It also outlines many ways to bring God into the world, e.g. love your fellow man, honesty in business, etc. When man does good acts, the presence of God (known as the ("shechinah") rests among us. (Some mystics have a special prayer they say just for the return of the Shechinah.) We can bring down an influence of Godliness into the world. There is a short kabbalistic statement in the prayer book that can be said before any good act or mitzvah. It loosely translates as "I am about to do this act in order to unify God's presence with His creation." (See Artscroll page 59) |
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