Acharon Shel Pesach

Okay. So I quit for a little bit. Or a lotta bit.
But now I wrote one. Apparently.
Probably a bad idea.
Oh well.

Livin' the Soggy Life

Life is filled with projects. Projects we take upon ourselves to enhance our lives, to improve our selves, or even just to pass the time.

Anything from spiritual resolutions, to diet & exercise, to writing semi-interesting articles, to squashing a pigeon with a large hammer (vulgar, I know, but hey – these are your projects, not mine…)

Some have a higher frustration rate than others; some take a lot longer; some require a lot more patience and dedication.
But we do our best to try and work through them.

Sometimes, we reach our goals – and it’s an amazing feeling. We throw a party; we tell all our friends; we pat ourselves on the back…

And rightfully so - we came; we saw; we conquered. Yay.

But sometimes, we’re not so fortunate. We try and we try, but despite our best efforts, our goals still just seem so … distant.

And (especially if you’re not one of those “glass half-full” types) it’s easy to become frustrated with the seemingly small amount of progress we’ve made in our efforts so far; and even easier to get overwhelmed and discouraged by the long distance still to go.

Those visions and ideals - once the focus of so much passion and energy - slowly become nothing more than a nice “Once upon a time…” story – with no happy ending in sight.

And most people don’t like non-happy endings.

So is that it, then? Are we all hopeless? Hopefully not.

So where should we start?

How about at the very … middle.

Why the middle?

Well, the problem’s not the beginning. We’re obviously motivated enough to take on projects in the first place.
And the end – well, that’s the goal.

But somewhere it between, something’s going wrong.

We seem to be doing the best we can. For the most part. But it’s just working out.

So are we all just helplessly flawed in some way?

I don’t know about you, but I’m not blaming it on myself. I don’t want to believe that I’m simply doomed to failure. And neither should you.

And G-d, being the designer and assigner of a very many projects, obviously doesn’t either.

So maybe if we take a look at some of His proposed projects, we can gain some insight into our own miserable undertakings. Maybe.

So let’s start with Pesach:
We cleaned everything – the rooms, the closets, the cars - even that pointless antique vase on top of the bookcase holding that entire collection of outdated Poughkeepsie road-maps.

Our project was to take all the Chametz – the “bad” bread – representing ego, selfishness, haughtiness, impurity, etc. - and get rid of it; burn it; destroy it.

Or, to get a little sophisticated: To cleanse ourselves of those negative elements that constantly interfere with the realization of our true selves and the actualization of our potentials. Namely – selfish, egotistical individualism. Or something to that effect.

Now, with that interference out of the way, it’s time to polish what’s left.
We call that project Sefirat HaOmer.
The goal (marked by Shavuot) is to get fully polished and all nice and shiny, so we can revisit our refined individuality and use the strengths and capabilities we have recently developed, and get back to realizing our true selves and our true purpose.
And to bring an offering with two loaves – the “Good” bread.

So, let’s check out the middle: the polishing / refinement project.

It’s a tough one. Real tough.
It’s a very long, hard, difficult process.

But G-d did something interesting with it: He split it up. (Or broke it down. Whichever.)

We got a whole bunch of little steps. 49 to be exact.

Why? Because He’s smart. Because He knows if we’d just gotten one BIG project, we’d all go crazy and eventually need to seek professional assistance. Or maybe we’d boycott Him. Or at least sign a petition. And for some reason, He didn’t want that.

But there’s also another reason. A really cool one that can do more wonders for poor-personal-project-perception than three self-help books, a prescription of Prozac©®™ and a Phillips-head screwdriver:

He wants us to know that everything we do is significant. Everything. Every effort, every step.
That it’s not just the destination that matters, but also the journey that we embark upon to get there.

That with each and every action we perform in the process of trying to improve ourselves, we are accomplishing wondrous things. It’s not just about perfecting ourselves – even though that is the goal; but about BETTERING ourselves.

And that’s something we can do even when our goal is still far off. Because it’s not just about what we’re hoping to BECOME, but also who we are NOW – and how we’re utilizing our potentials and capabilities in the present moment, to be all that we can be.

But, that being case, it would seem a little unfair that the big party is only thrown on Shavuot – by when we’re supposed to have already reached our goal. What about this whole “journey” thing we’re talking about? Shouldn’t that also be acknowledged?

So apparently, He was aware of that too. And He realized that we could use the recognition.

So He makes sure we get it. Every year.

We call it Acharon Shel Pesach.

It’s the day every year when we’re told:

“Hey – good stuff! You’re putting in the effort, and you’re accomplishing amazing things! True, you may not have reached the ideal state yet, but don’t underestimate the value and significance of everything you’ve done up until now.

Maybe I won’t throw the major bash now – I’ll bring out the breads and cheesecake on your graduation; but We should celebrate nonetheless, to mark the accomplishments of the first leg of your journey.

And with food, of course: we’ll have a special treat called “Matzah Sheruyah” (lit. “Soaked Matzah”) - because you’ve begun the process of developing yourself - even if you haven't quite risen yet. Keep up the good work!”

Acharon shel Pesach is the time we’re made sure to understand that just because we’re not perfect, doesn’t mean we’re flawed.

There’s significance in every step of the journey, even if we haven’t reached the destination yet.

Sure there’s more to go. But don’t get overwhelmed.

Take a step back: Recognize the progress you’ve made. Cherish it. Celebrate it.

Soak it up and internalize it.

Happy Wet-Matzah Day

PLEASE NOTE: WET-MATZAH DAY DOES NOT BEGIN UNTIL AFTER NIGHTFALL, MONDAY NIGHT. PLEASE WET RESPONSIBLY.

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Vayishlach / Yud-Tes Kislev

This article was never meant to have been published. I personally feel it's poorly written, very repetitive, and doesn't at all do justice to the topics discussed. But, in keeping with the theme of the article, I decided, at the last minute, to send it in to crownheights.info anyway. And hence the title.

If anyone - for whatever reason - is interested in what exactly it has to do with anything - parshah-wise, etc. it's sorta something like this:

The whole "reed/cedar" thing is a topic discussed in Chassidus as reflecting the two spiritual worlds/states of Tohu ("chaos" or intolerance - cedar) and Tikkun ("rectification" or tolerance - reed). These two worlds/states also parallel the two spiritual models of Esav and Yaakov respectivley. The details are kinda beyond the scope of this blog-thingy.

(There's a Mashpia in a lcoal Yeshiva who disagrees with my interpretation of all this - though there's another who very strongly supports me on it. I therefore chose (aside from the fact that it would be very confusing if I were to try to fit it in) to leave this stuff out of the actual article.)

Additionally, the terms "wholeness, peace, perfection" used throughout the article, are all different, yet essential definitions of the words "Shaleim"/"Shelimus", used in reference to Yaakov in the Parshah.

Hope this helped a little. If you were interested to begin with.

Not Great, But I Won't Let That Discourage Me...

A High-Priest. A South American Indian. Your average guy with a pencil behind his ear…

What do YOU aspire to be?

And this isn’t just one of those “What do you want to be when/if you grow up?” types of questions…

What do you want for yourself in life? What are your ideal circumstances? What goals do you set for yourself?

We all have our own answers to the above questions. We each have our own particular goals we establish for ourselves, that we hope to reach in the course of time. We make plans, resolutions, assume different tasks and undertakings, decide which particular things to accomplish, and envision and shape for ourselves specific models of perfection we resolve to do our utmost to fit. We each develop our own definitions of what exactly constitutes success or achievement in our lives.

And it’s a beautiful thing. Noble. Ideal. Visionary.

And hopefully things will work out…

But the unfortunate reality is that these kinds of things don’t always turn out the way we’d like.

We’ll often find ourselves confronting various obstacles in our paths and difficulties along the way; and most often we let them get the better of us…
We become annoyed and frustrated. We get aggravated. We pull out (whatever’s left of) our hair. We destroy Styrofoam cups for absolutely no reason. Etc.
I’m sure you know the drill…

We form in our minds what we consider to be objective models of perfection, in whatever area it may be; but what usually happens is, that in our occasional inability to reach those specific goals – for whatever reason – we dub the project as a failure, and pretty much drop the entire thing.

And we can sometimes become so determined, and develop such a high level of expectation, that once we encounter obstacles that weren’t part of our original game-plan - which threaten to compromise our visions of perfection - the frustrations created from failure to meet those expectations only serves to discourage us and make those goals seem further and further away.

We can build up such dependence, and attribute such value to those objectives and goals, that when things get in the way to compromise that – sure we’ll fight it – but when it seems too tough and unrealistic, and the odds seem to be against us – the seeming futility of the battle can be very disheartening. Our lives don’t seem to be working out the way we want them to; and that hurts…

--------------

There’s a Talmudic maxim/dictum-type thingy that goes: “A person should always be soft like a reed, and not hard like a cedar.”

Isn’t that nice?
What does it mean?

Maybe it goes something like this:
Sometimes, storms will approach and the winds will blow with all their force and threaten to destroy everything in their path. The cedar, standing tall and firm in all its glory, won’t stand a chance; the raging winds will snap it and send it crashing down. The flexible reed, however, will allow itself to be blown to and fro; flowing with the winds, bending with them… and when the winds subside, the once proud cedar is nothing more than a pile of fire-wood. The reed however, remains just as before, in its simplistic, resilient - and now triumphant - state.

In our lives, we will always be confronted with obstacles and challenges which may temporarily throw us off track.

If we choose to stay stubbornly still and refuse to tolerate any sort of changes to the “grand” game-plan, or insist on making our attainment of satisfaction and sense of fulfillment in life dependant on reaching particular ideal states of perfection — when we face those adversities which are beyond our ability control - if we can’t learn to tolerate them - we’ll snap; everything will come crashing down… (aka Tohu / Esau)

I’m sure you can see why that might be a problem…

But if we can learn to bend with the winds, and allow ourselves to tolerate what may come - despite the momentary inconvenience, then when the storm subsides, we’ll still be able to continue on our journey with the same resilience as before.

We all have our goals and aspirations; and though there are obviously certain places we need to get, we can’t let fulfillment of those aspirations be the end-all in how we see ourselves in terms of inner perfection and fulfillment in life
True perfection and wholeness in life isn’t an objective, static goal you reach, but a dynamic, ongoing process in how we choose to conduct our lives, despite whatever obstacles we encounter.

The Chassid R’ Velvele Villenker once said: “A ‘Misnagid’ is a portrait – as today, so too tomorrow; a Chassid climbs in and out – but ultimately, he climbs out.”

Perfection and accomplishment in life isn’t a plateau we strive to reach to sit on the top and have a picnic – and anything other than that perfect picnic is just a plain party-pooper. Wholeness in life is a constant journey; one in which there will be obstacles and road-blocks along the way. And if we stubbornly set our sights on one particular path to our destination, and refuse to allow ourselves to move on in spite of the various complications – we probably won’t end up getting very far at all.

We must learn to find ourselves in the journey; if we haven’t arrived at our destination yet - so what?
Even if one obstacle proves too great, and doesn’t allow us to reach a particular goal – we have to make our peace with it and move on in life, and continue to work to get to where we need to go.

It’s unfair to deny our lives a sense of wholeness, and prevent ourselves from feeling complete and at peace with who we are, because we haven’t reached that ideal state…

We mustn’t define our value and self-worth based on attainment of objective perfection and goals; rather, let’s define it in the way we deal with and cope with struggles that arise along the way, and the way we live our lives every step of the journey…

Then, even when things get in the way – not only will we avoid the “destruction”, but we’ll struggle with it as part of our perfection – this is how we define ourselves, and this is how we define our perfection.

Failure is not defined by our inability to obtain that picture-perfect state, but rather by our surrendering ourselves to the complications that arise along the way.

If we insist on living our lives chasing distant perfection - we may forget to live; If we learn to live our lives and show who we are in the current moment, in the current battle, and can allow our selves and our sense of purpose to be found in the in the ongoing journey and experience and in the process we’re using to get wherever it is we need to go - our lives will always be fulfilled, whole and complete ones – because we’ll live knowing that we’re not compromising ourselves and our potential.

So this (Chassidic) holiday-season, when resolution time rolls around – let’s try and keep all this in mind; let’s not allow ourselves to be intimidated or discouraged by the inevitable obstacles we’ll face along the way, but stand strong, firm, and resolute in our determination to be all that we can be – no matter how that opportunity may present itself.

In the end – hopefully - we’ll learn to be at peace with our selves and with the world around us, and allow ourselves to feel alive - to know that we’re not doing this all in vain; and to finally feel at home in our world – the world we create for ourselves in the present moment.

But I call “High-Priest”...

Happy Chassidic New Year

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Toldos

I had the opportunity to Farbreng with Bochurim of a local Yeshiva on Rosh Chodesh Kislev, and one of the issues that naturally came up was the question of how Bochurim can have a real Hiskashrus to the Rebbe, and how they can even feel any sort of relationship, when they have no real memories of the pre-Gimmel-Tammuz era...

Others at the farbrengen made the usual points of being connected to th Rebbe through studying his teachings, doing what the Rebbe wants, etc.

I chose to answer the question a little differently, based on the ideas discussed in this Article:

Sometimes, it may be better to have some questions than to have all the answers. They push you to struggle to find solutions, to feel uncomfortbale with the way things are, to not be satisified...

I would go so far as to say that the connection and bond a present-day Bochur can create and forge with the Rebbe is a much stronger one, one that runs much deeper, than one that can be had by many of those who did live and experience the Rebbe pre-'94.

When a Bochur sits in a zal, and stares at the picture of the Rebbe hanging on the wall, and tries to figure out what that means to him - why it should even mean anything to him - and how he can feel a connection to that man...

Or if a Bochur having problems in whatever area of his life, and he's in that room, glaring angrily at that picture, thinking "Rebbe, this is YOUR problem, this is YOUR fault, how could you allow this? This is YOUR mess, YOU clean it up!" The connection, the bond, the deep relationship that exists between these two that have NEVER EVEN MET - is one that runs so deep and so intimate, the conection created at that instant is one of such powerful strength that no actual real-life experiences could compare to...

(I know I should probably have sat down to write this whole intro-thing properly (and half-decently) instead of just writing and posting it like this - I hope the ideas are still somewhat clear and I apologize for not spending more time on it...)

No Title Yet, But that’s Ok…

Ever read your horoscope? Ever follow what it says? Ever base your life on it? Ever sell your child on E-bay©®™ because of it? No? Why not?

Perhaps you yourself were sold on E-bay©®™ as a child.
Or perhaps you’re one of those conceited individuals that are simply too stubborn or too proud to take advice from someone else. Or perhaps you just simply believe that your fate – despite the penetrating astrological insights of others – isn’t determined by the workings of the zodiac but by the consequences of your actions; that YOU control your destiny. AKA free-choice.

But even if, for whatever reason, that happens to be the case, doesn’t it sometimes seem that there are some things that are just out of your hands? Certain things which seem to have been determined for you, without so much as a telegram consultation? What exactly happened to your choice?

Case in point:
You may be familiar with the story of great-uncle Esau. Apparently, he wasn’t the greatest guy. To say the least. In fact, we’re told that even since BEFORE day-one he had a strong natural predisposition for all things “idol”: kicking and screaming during every trip past their houses of worship. So can you really blame him? Didn’t seem like he had much choice in the matter…

And if you think about it for a minute, you’ll probably discover the same to be the case with you in your life.

Now I’m not saying that you have a thing for idol-worship or spend your waking hours dancing around a two-foot statue of Kermit-the-Frog, singing the alphabet song. But perhaps you’ll find that there are certain things in your life – certain inborn traits and dispositions that are kind of just … there. You happen to have blue-hair, blond-eyes and a propensity for taking candy from strangers…
Or any other natural tendencies you possess that often drag you places you probably shouldn’t go; or those innate characteristics that aren’t necessarily the most conducive towards getting things done - and not just your abnormally pathetic inability to solve Sudoku puzzles, but the really important things you need to accomplish in your life.

“Free-choice”, huh?

But then a bunch of Rabbis came along and cleared things up a little (while managing to make everything a lot more complicated):

Esau was never meant to be a bad guy. He just got a little distracted. True, he was born with strong evil inclinations, but his mission in life was precisely to take those negative traits and wrestle them to the ground; to suppress those negative urges and to live his life properly IN SPITE of those impulses.

Our lives aren’t always going to be simple. The question is how we will choose to conduct ourselves when the going gets tough.
To struggle is to live; to grapple in the mud and wrestle your enemies to the ground is (aside from being a nationally-televised event) a truly invigorating experience; one that breathes new life and spirit into our mundane, lifeless beings, and strengthens and fortifies our character. And when we learn to discipline ourselves through the suppression of our negative traits and characteristics, we empower ourselves with a new intensity and strengthened resolve in our ongoing battle for inner dominance.

Hurray! Sounds wonderful!
Yes, but … wouldn’t everything just be so much better if we simply didn’t HAVE to deal with all this to begin with?

I struggle to wake up; I struggle to bring myself to do what I have to do; I struggle to keep myself from doing what I shouldn’t; I struggle to continue the struggle, and I struggle to figure out why I even care about the struggle. (A word you’re probably sick of after struggling through this paragraph. I apologize.)

Wouldn’t things be so much simpler if we didn’t have these internal enemies to battle in the first place?
So how do we just get rid of these problems once and for all?

And the big answer to the great question is … you don’t.

Disappointing, isn’t it?

So yet more Rabbis came along and put it this way:

There’s no need for any solution. Because there’s no real problem to begin with.

Apparently, our reluctance to unreservedly accept the uglier side of our selves stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of just what our mission and purpose in life truly is.

Our self-worth doesn’t have to be evaluated in terms of inner perfection – perhaps our purpose is precisely to be found in the ongoing battle we wage within ourselves, every day of our lives.

We can’t necessarily change who we are; but we don’t have to. An integral part of our mission and our calling in life is precisely to wage this particular battle, and to subdue and suppress the urges and inclinations that threaten to throw us off track.
And each and every time we manage to refuse those impulses, and reject those unattractive traits which wrongly assert their influence on our lives, we allow the soul that lies beneath to break through and shine with all its brilliance.

As the Zohar puts it: “When the ‘other side’ is subdued here below, the glory of the Holy-One, Blessed-be-He rises above all … and this ascent is greater than all else.”

Which basically means:
Every time we deny an urge, resist a temptation, brush off a negative impulse and don’t allow ourselves to fall prey to the entrapments of the uglier sides of our personalities, we manage to shatter and break down the barriers that conceal our true nature and the nature of the world around us, and banish the darkness and negativity that threaten to prevent our true selves from rising to the surface.

Each and every situation is an opportunity to prove and reveal ourselves at that moment – to uncover the beauty and strength of our soul and reveal the inherent G-dliness that exists within us and within our world.

So is it fair? Not really.
Is it bad? On the contrary – it’s a chance and an opportunity that should be celebrated and cherished.
Lots of very nice things can be picked up off the ground, but only through the toil of chiseling away deep into dirt and stone will you discover and unveil the most precious gems.

Sometimes it’s better to have problems than to have all the solutions. They propel us to dig deeper and push farther; and we’ll never be satisfied until we fully, truly get there, because our situation is simply one that doesn’t allow us to. And that itself is the beauty of it all.

And in those moments of clarity -- at the times when everything momentarily falls away and it all becomes crystal clear, we will find ourselves possessing something more powerful than we could ever have obtained otherwise: a strength infused with the incredible might and intensity of that light which defiantly struggled and broke through the darkness and obscurity.
This newfound energy will forever serve to provide us with the spirit and resilience to continue on the never-ending journey of self-improvement, and continually give us the incredible strength and vitality to triumph, every step of the way.

As for the whole E-bay©®™ thing – don’t worry, you’ll get over it.
Unless you don’t. Then maybe you won’t. But try to enjoy life anyway.

Happy Shabbat.

Comments on this article from Crownheights.info

Vayeira

I kinda liked the way this one turned out (despite the fact that it compelled some reader to write that "Lubavich was better off without [me]").

Though I think if I had to rewrite it, I may do it a little differently:

Friday night (p. Vayeira) I was asked to speak at a Shabbos meal arranged for a local Yeshiva. I didn't prepare anything, so I chose to speak on the ideas disussed in the article, and in the course of the talk found the ideas presenting themsleves this way:

For better or for worse, we have each been given the power over own lives, and the ability and freedom to choose how we wish to live it. We know - for the most part - what we need to do. (I highly doubt there are many Bochurim who don't believe the right thing to be doing is utilizing these years for learning, spiritual and intellectual growth, etc. and that certain things may not be the most conducive towards that...)

The problem is that we, for whatever reason, allow ourselves to ignore that which we know to be right to make room for that which we'd rather be doing.

And that's where Kabbalas Ol comes in. Contrary to common misconception, Kabbalas Ol isn't doing certain things because you're too stupid to know what's good for you, and therefore, we'll tell you how to live your lives instead; it's the fact that you know that you can't always rely on yourself to choose to make the right decision. And therefore it's necessary that there are certain rules and authorities you have to allow yourself to be influenced by, to be able to continually progress on your journey of self-discovery and fulfillment in spite of your inclinations otherwise.

So that's the concept. Unfortunately, hanhalos in yeshivos use Kabbalas Ol as the basis for which to deny "room for any individuality, whatsoever" (- verbatim quote from a Rosh Yeshiva of mine). And as long as they continue to treat the bochurim along those lines, the bochurim will continue to despise them, and everyone will continue running around in circles...

(p.s. You can imagine the feedback - the bochurim liked it; Hanahlah - not so much...)

A Llama, a Trumpet, Inspiration and Lots of Other Words...

Once there was a llama. He had a trumpet. And he played his trumpet every day.

Oh, how he loved his trumpet. He was the happiest llama in the world.

But one day he got sick of his trumpet. So he broke it.

No more trumpet. No more happy llama...

(Based on a true story. Sort of.)

--------------------

Inspiration: So amazing. So powerful. So transforming. So ... fleeting.

We all experience it. And we all lose it.

For the time you had it, you were so content; everything felt so right. From the moment you lost it, everything towards which you were so driven became such a drag.

Whatever it was - a job, an undertaking, a mitzvah, a prayer. You enjoyed every minute of every part of it. It was great.

But then those feelings – as feelings tend to do – faded away.

And now it all seems so empty. None of it really excites you anymore. Nothing can spark that enthusiasm.

Problem is, in our daily routines and obligations we don’t have much of a choice to simply drop those things. The show must go on - whether we’re excited about it or not.

So now what?

Once upon a time, the prophet Elisha told an impoverished widow with nothing in her possession but a simple small cruse of oil:
Find empty vessels and pour everything you’ve got into them. Then watch them overflow with an endless supply of the purest of that which you possess.

Sometimes, we run out of all the fire and passion that has been so effectively vitalizing all the actions of our lives. In the motivation field, we’re plain broke.

But who says empty actions don’t have any value?
The truth is, they have a lot more than you think.

You see, emotions and feelings are nice. And they’re great for getting things done. But as wonderful as they may be, there will always be a downside – they remain YOUR feelings and YOUR emotions – with all of the shortcomings that come with them.

They’ll only take you so far. And they’ll only last for so long. And then once they’re gone – so are you and your ambitions.

But sometimes we have to put all that aside, and take things for what they are; we must learn to separate and distinguish between the acts themselves, and everything else that tags along with them.

The true value of something isn’t determined by our feelings towards it; because subjective values will always remain … subjective: subject to OUR moods and OUR situations.

Our reliance on emotions won’t allow us to move beyond our current state and condition – because it’s coming from where we are NOW.
In order to get where we NEED TO BE, it’s sometimes necessary to isolate our actions from our particular feelings and inhibitions. (Or what is referred to in Chassidic literature as “Kabbalas Ol”.)

But that doesn’t mean they need to be lifeless acts. There’s something more we can add: Our selves. The essence of who we are; that part of us that drives us to do the right thing, regardless of the restrictions of our meddling emotions, because it’s simply who we are, and what we have to do.

The prophet is telling us: Don’t minimize the value and significance of an empty vessel, of an action devoid of subjective feelings. On the contrary – you now have the capacity to fill it with that which you must, without having to worry about any obstructing contents.

What have we left to pour in? Our oil. Our soul. Our desire to dip into the essence of who we are, and into the infinite potential of who we can and need to be; and to, of course, gain an appreciation for the thus far lifeless acts of a dormant spirit.

Up until now we had no reason to look beyond the surface. But these obstacles push us to probe farther and dig deeper into our selves, past all the complex layers of mind and emotion. And now what we’re left with is nothing but the essential core of our very beings.

When we take that and invest it within that which we know to be true, we allow our soul to find ultimate expression in the pureness of our actions.

In doing so we will end up with more profit than we could ever have imagined, and find within ourselves a never ending fountain of inspiration.

Insist on operating solely according to emotion and you’ll never be able to reach to the essence of who you really are; begin each undertaking with the pristine aspirations of the very core of your being, and what will follow will be an unsurpassed satisfaction and contentness in your journey of self-discovery, and the awakening of a passionate appreciation for the tasks you surrender yourself to.

Pure acts of pure soul. Acts with no screens, no barriers, no concealments … no limits.

Don’t break the trumpet. Rather, clear your mind of all the monotonous, superficial predefined compositions, and let break though a brand new uninhibited song from the essence of your soul.

You’ve never heard anything quite as beautiful.

Poor llama. Lucky you.

Happy Shabbat.

PLEASE NOTE: NO LLAMAS WERE HARMED IN THE PRODUCTION OF THIS ARTICLE.

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Noach

First article I wrote. Warning: It's repetitive - the entire second half of the essay is basically written twice (in different words though. It's still worth reading... )

It received lots of feedback (which you can read by clicking on the link at the end) - mostly good, though some not-so-good.

This article was also recently published in Lubavitch of UK's magazine "The Central". (With some minor changes - to the humor...)

Water, Water Everywhere... So Drink Up!

Face it – you've got problems. Who doesn’t? (Unless you really don’t. Then I apologize.) And it’s ok. Most normal breathing, walking, talking, yoga doing, karaoke singing people type persons constantly find themselves in situations that call for a couple less margaritas than usual.

Much of the time, your woefully woeful woes may not even be within your ability to control; what can you do about the sad fact that your pet moth has contracted severe cortical dysthymia? Not much.

But fortunately for us, not all the issues we face are necessarily all that life-altering.
Just because your iPod decides to only play tracks ending in “Q” isn’t much of a reason for you to start planning which Star-Wars©®™ costume you’re going to wear for your trip to the nearest bridge…

But the reality is that at some point you will inevitably make (one of) the worst mistake(s) of your life.

And maybe you already have (I’m not talking about YOU…).

Maybe you didn’t do something you REALLY should’ve; or maybe you did do something you REALLY shouldn’t have. Omission or commission. You took one too many easy way outs and now you’re just … out. Or you betrayed a trust. Or you lit the neighbors’ cat on fire (PETA people: it was a long time ago – let it go.).

Whatever the case, you messed up. Big time. And now you find yourself in a place you’d really rather not be.

Much of the time, we simply post bail, make amends, and get on with our lives.

But sometimes it’s not that simple. Sometimes the world isn’t so forgiving. Sometimes, we don’t get that second chance. And even if we are lucky enough to get another opportunity, things will almost certainly be very different – tougher, harder. Your once carefree life has (at least to a certain extent) been turned on its head, and now you need to find a way to get back on your feet.

No matter how you decide to go about that, though, you won’t be able to escape from the realities of your past mistakes.

But your life handing you lemons doesn’t mean you have to go ahead and start a lemon collection. It certainly won’t do you very much good. And chances are they’ll eventually rot.

Besides, even if you can’t change your past, you can decide how your past changes you.

Meaning…

To make a very long story very short: You were born, as you, with certain you-isms, into a certain family, with certain them-isms, into a certain environment, etc. etc. And through a combination of nature and nurture, you (for better or for worse) developed into the person you are today.

And naturally, we’re comfortable with who we are. And we develop a certain complacence with the way we run our lives – even though we know it may not always be the best for us.

Perhaps the single-most difficult thing for any person is attempting to change these naturally programmed “settings” he has become so accustomed to.

Unless you happen to be a very different kind of human-being (in a good way), accomplishing anything of the sort simply by setting your mind to it seems about as practical as organizing a Bolivian goat jihad in Times Square to benefit Spanish spinach victims.

And so most of the time, as important as they may be, the much-needed changes in our lives simply don’t happen.

But every once in a while, something wonderful happens – we mess up (no, I’m not sadistic – keep reading, you’ll see). We make that one mistake that takes our comfy little lives and lifestyles and blows it all to pieces. Everything you so naively took for granted until now is swept away in a single instant. Any contentness you may have had up until this point is completely gone; in fact, there’s a good chance that that’s what got you into this mess in the first place.

And now, things aren’t too pretty. To say the least.

You could just turn this all into an excuse to stay home in your PJ’s devouring family-sized packages of mini chocolate-chip cookies while watching reruns of the World Knitting Championships.

Or you can recognize it for what it could (and really should) be – an opportunity. A really really good one.

Huh?

Here it goes:

Up until this point in your life, you were you (hopefully). Bob was Bob, Pierre was Pierre. Everyone’s who they naturally developed to be. Everybody - you included - stuck to the “script”. Sure you changed a couple of lines here and there, but the storyline was still basically the same.

But then you carelessly lit a match (or forgot to put one out) and your script went up in flames. Or your little experiment went very wrong and your house blew up (dramatic, I know – but it makes a point. I think.).

And now you have the chance to do something you previously couldn’t (or didn’t have the guts to) do. You have the ability to write a brilliant new script, to design a beautiful new landscape, and to define, in the most extraordinary way, a magnificent new character.

And of course you’ll be sure to see to it that it doesn’t have the original glitches. But you’ll also add a few new “enhancements”. And even an entirely new dimension – one of transcendence: the ability to rise above and go beyond the obstacles and hindrances that previously prevented you from realizing your true potential.

You won’t just be creating a new path – you’ll be adding a … well, a trampoline. And not just the cheap kiddy kind you find on the dusty clearance-shelf at K-Mart; the really good kind. The kind that’ll enable you to jump so high, the roof of your old house looks very, very small.

And now you can soar high above the clouds that once obstructed your sight, open your eyes and see the radiant colors of your soul.

Or in the (not-so-verbatim) words of the Torah:

When your world has corrupted and the storm comes crashing down and turns life as you know it to devastating ruin, hold on tight with the vision that when the chaos calms and the fog clears - there will be a rainbow.

Make it a pretty one.

Happy Shabbat.

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