On the (side of the) road...

"...Anyone whose good deeds exceed his wisdom is compared to a tree whose branches are few, but whose roots are numerous. Even if all the winds in the world were to come and blow against it, they would not budge it from its place..." (Ethics of Our Fathers, 3:22)

I write this to remind myself - the more random acts of kindness I commit, the more natural it will become, and stories such as the following will end differently:

While driving to school, I drove past a brother stopped on the side of the highway. He was getting out his spare tire from the trunk, and he had raised the car on the jack. Instead of pulling over immediately, I thought about it a few moments. By the time I decided to stop, I was 1/2 mile past this fellow, and it was too dangerous, perhaps, to drive backwards that distance on the highway. I thought to myself how happy I could have made this man, just by stopping and helping change his tire, and I resolved to stop and help at the next opportunity.

If I act goodly more often, such opportunities will result in my reflex to help, instead of a few moments of indecisive deliberation.

There are so many opportunities to better ourselves: holding the door for someone whose hands are full, smiling at a stranger on the street, complementing a friend for their efforts, praising a freind's yummy cooking, etc. It's so exciting!

Blessings to all for a joyous day of wise action :-)

Wednesday's Special Psalm

Clic the pic for more photos...

Jews. We're people of The Book (תנ’ך).

Interestingly, selections from one of the many in The Book - psalms, (which were written mostly by King David a long long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, /not so far away, and in a land we know of as Israel), have been inserted and integrated into our daily prayers. At the end of our daily morning prayers (שחרית), we read a Psalm that has a special link to the day, so check this out..

Wednesday's Psalm is Psalm 94:1 - 95:3. Please read the full text at your leisure, this is a brief, simplified summary, in poetic form, because, frankly, I like poetry:

Avenger of evils, G-d of the world:
The wicked, rewarded. How can it be?

The poor and the strangers, the widows, the orphans:
they loom in sad darkness, and cry in affliction,
Why don't you redeem them? Are You not supposed to?

Bestower of knowledge,
Enchanter of wisdom,
The earth teems with fools;
Is this not Your kingdom?

Yet I'm led to believe
that Justice You breathe.
For time and again,
You've proven your might,
and I'm in no mood to start up a fight.

My soul you do comfort.
When up and when down,
Like pillows of love,
your loft knows no bounds.

I now take the time to gather my peers
We'll sing and we'll praise, The L-rd's holy Name.
Thank You dear G-d, for bringing us cheer!

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Well, that's an artistic rendering of Wednesday's selection, but what's its significance?

Well... I think it reflects quite aptly a transition point in the week. Just as the song journeys through difficult questions and queries, it reflects how often I feel by Wednesday - worn out and weary of my purpose and actions in this world. The Psalm then flips to optimism by remembering G-d's helping Hand, even when we can't necessarily "see" it. I like this idea - it's also similar to the waxing and waning of the moon, of which the weeks are its parts (food for thought).

It's a fitting time to think about - you guessed correctly - Shabbos! As we round the bound, make it over the metaphorical hill, we now have the finish line in sight - Shabbos! and we can rejoice and sing songs of praise to Hashem for giving us another week to fulfill His Divine Will and make something of ourselves!

Thus, I ask you to join me, dear friends:
"Come sing to Hashem with joyous praise. Call out to our rock of salvation. Let's greet G-d with thanks and praiseful songs. Hashem is great, the king above all powers in heaven" (לכו נרננה לה' נריעה לצור ישענו. נקדמה פניו בתודה, בזמירות נריע לו. כי ק–ל גדול ה', ומלך על כל הארץ).

(Special points to whichever one of you can identify where else we sing these special songs...)

Have a GREAT Thursday, and a wonderful shabbos!

Why blog Shabbos?

Shabbos is the focal point, destination, goal, and driving force of every day, week, month, year, lifetime, existence. It is both the fuel and the energy, through which Hashem sustains our lives.

I've never lived without Shabbos, and I could never imagine doing so. It is a "Sanctuary in Time" (Abraham Heschel), a retreat from the craziness of our weekday lives, a brief escape into eternal bliss to turbo-charge us and prepare us for the following week, and help us recooperate from the previous one as well.

I hope to write and read lots more about shabbos as this blog evolves and transforms into an organic entity of its own. Please indulge yourself with my words.

For now, I hope to post stuffs I learn and thoughts i think about shabbos, the parsha (weekly Torah portion), upcoming holidays, and any other Jewstuffs I deem appropriate. I'd love your feedback and responses.

Peace, Love, and Happiness (read: Torah) to all.

Best,
Yosef