Category Archives: Judaism

Connecting with G-d, Man and Self – the Jewish Way

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This week’s Parasha / Torah reading is Vayera / and He [G-d] Appeared.

G-d Visits Avraham

Hash-m / G-d appears to Avraham after the third day of his brit milah / circumcision to do bikur holim – visit the sick. Avraham – sees travelers and is so desirous to do the mitzvah of hachnasat orchim / inviting guests – he asks G-d to wait for him while he does the mitzvah.

Angelic Visitors

The 3 visitors are really angels. The angels ask – “Where is Sarah your wife?” Avraham answers “she in the tent.” (Bereshit / Genesis 18:9) The angels come and inform him that he will have a baby boy. Sarah laughs and wonders if she will birth children when her husband is so old. Avraham also laughs inside when he hears the news. G-d asks Avraham “Why did Sarah Laugh? Why did she say that she was old?”

Torah of Kindness

The Torah starts with Hesed / acts of loving kindness – Hash-m clothing Adam & Hava / eve – and ends with acts of loving kindness – Hash-m buries Moshe. Avraham is the Av / Forefather – that is exemplary in hesed / kindness.

Three Things upon which the World Stands

Pirkei Avot / Ethics of the Fathers contains teaching of qualities for a person to emulate to reach perfection. It says in pirkei avot Chapter 1 – mishna 2 “Shimon Ahatzadik says … Al shelosha devarim holam omed – al hatorah, al haavoda ve algemilut hasadim.” The worlds stands upon 3 things – on Torah, On Divine service – prayer & on acts of loving kindness.

Three Things for Spiritual Satisfaction in Your World

We usually understand this mishna on a macro level – as the reason that the entire world survives – is because of these three things. But we can also understand it on a personal level – that the reason why a person lives – meaning has meaning and fulfillment in life – is because of these three things.

Judaism – How to Connect

Judaism is the the ultimate teacher of making connections. There are three ways to connect in life – connecting to our fellow person, connecting to G-d and connecting to ourselves. The Torah is teaching in the mishna 3 ways to connect – Our world stands because of the Torah – that teaches us to connect and better ourselves, prayer allows us to connect with Hash-m and doing acts of kindness is our manner of connecting with others. Each of them giving us spiritual satisfaction.

The Source of Satisfaction

We are basically souls clothed in a body. What gives the soul satisfaction is what makes us happy. The Three things above give our soul satisfaction and make us happy. Things that are the opposite make us not happy.

Let’s take connecting with others. It is best done through doing kindness. A great thing that we learn that we gain satisfaction more from giving to others than from receiving.

To Have satisfaction – we develop our relationship with Hash-m. Thus prayer and learning Torah – helps us to develop that relationship. Someone said “When I Pray – I talk to G-d. When I learn Torah – G-d talks to me.”

Torah teaches us how to be a stable person. How to deal with situations. What attitudes are healthy in life. What is a healthy productive lifestyle. It affects our mentality to allow us to ultimately achieve more of our potential in life. It helps us to put our priorities in place. (See article on Torah teaches Marriage – Society teaches Divorce)

Why do the Angels Ask – to Help Increase Appreciation of Others

In the parasha  – the angels ask Avraham “where is Sarah?” Avraham answers “She is in the tent” Why do they ask that question? –

Rashi – the Torah Commentator – says they ask the question to endear Sarah to Avraham. Avraham will answer she is in the tent & it will help him to realize Sarah’s great modesty. He will thus appreciate her more.

It is a mitzvah to make a person love another person more. You are motivating Veahavta lereacha kamocha – you shall love your fellow like yourself. And we do not do the opposite – to speak badly of others – because it causes gratuitous hatred – sinat hinam.

Why did G-d not ask Why Avraham laughed? – to Help Avraham Connect with Himself

Hash-m asks “why did Sarah laugh?” he didn’t ask why did you Avraham laugh

One answer is – because Sarah was a bit skeptical. Avraham was not. If Sarah was a bit skeptical – it was a reflection on Avraham.

Avraham was possibly skeptical about another matter – like when he asked G-d “How will he know that his descendents will really inherit the land. Avraham should also look into correcting himself. Hashem was  teaching Avraham to be connected to himself – knowing what really is motivating him and to teach him to better himself as well.

Changing words for peace

Sarah was astounded that her old husband would have a child. Hashem told Avraham  says that Sarah said that she – not Avraham – was too old to have children. He did this to not ruin the peace between Avraham and Sarah.

I Didn’t Laugh – Know Your Messages

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When Sarah hears she will have a baby by the angels at the age of 90 she laughs inside. She asks how old people like her and her husband Avraham will have children – at the age of 99 – him being so old.

G-d asks Avraham why did Sarah ask how will she have a child? – she being so old. Here we learn that people can change their words (ie, tell an untruth) for peace. G-d mentioned that she said that She was so old – but not mentioning Avraham being so old.

G-d asks – why did she laugh when she heard that she would have a baby. Sarah denies it – and Avraham says she did laugh.

Avraham also laughs when he hears the news. But G-d isn’t concerned about his laugh. But G-d seems upset at Sarah’s laugh.

Apparently Avraham was laughing for Joy that he would have a child after all these years. Sarah laughed because it seemed like the fact she would have a child seemed unlikely.

If G-d wanted to cause peace between the couple – why does He bring up this fact to Avraham that she laughed.

One reason is  because either G-d wanted Sarah to correct herself – to have the proper Torah perspective – that she laugh should have been a laugh of Joy – not a laugh of skepticism.

Perhaps also that G-d wanted Avraham to correct this Middah (character trait) of skepticism in himself as well that caused it to manifest itself in Sarah.

It’s good for us to understand why react in a particular way. It behooves us to improve.

 

 

 

Why Are You Sad? Be Happy

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There is no Beit Midrash / Torah House of Study without a New Idea / Hidush.

I was in the Beit Midrash Today. I overheard a snippet of a conversation between a Rav and a Talmid / Student. He was explaining why people become sad when something bad happens.

He asked why does a person feel badly when something bad happens. A person gets a big dent in his car. He or She becomes upset.

But why? the car drives the same way as before? OK – you say – the price of the car goes down with a big dent. OK – let’s say it is a small dent – that is covered by your lease.

Possible answers why people are sad when bad things occur

One answer I thought – was that a person subconsciously wants to be perfect. Subconsciously he wants to emulate G-d. If his car is not perfect – he is deviating from being like G-d. Is that the right answer? I don’t know. Perhaps.

He answered why are people sad when bad occurs – he said that it is possible that deep down inside we realize that the bad that occurred was at least in part due to our failing.

For instance – let’s say we pray for an ill person to recover – and they do not. We may feel guilty that we did not pray enough for their recovery. Perhaps if we had prayed with all our hearts – the person would have been healed.

The concept of the Domino Effect – called Middah Keneged Middah / Measure for measure – exists in Judaism. Do good and get good. Do bad and bad is created.

Aside from the bad itself – we feel sad that perhaps we were the cause of the bad thing that happened.

Why Some are More Upset For a Car Dent than a Loss of Human Life

He explained that sometimes a person is more upset that he got a dent in his car than if an earthquake happened in a distant land. Shouldn’t it be the opposite – a person should be upset more for the loss of human life more than a car dent.

He attributed it to that reason – that a person can see that he was responsible for the dent. He feels badly for – either not obeying traffic rules, driving recklessly or that he dented someone else’s car and he didn’t make restitution.

But he can’t see why he is responsible for an earthquake that occurs in some country overseas.

It’s not that we are upset for just the loss – it is that we are also upset for being the cause of the loss.

I thought that that was a Hidush – perhaps I should ask him where are his Torah sources for this point.

Eavesdropping Again – the Real Repentance

A Rabbi at another table told a story. I believe it went something like – a woman was selling fruit. All of a sudden a gang of robbers came and started stealing her fruits. She was so upset she started crying while they were stealing. A friend said to her “Don’t cry – grab some of your own fruits for yourself!”

What do we do when we realize that we did wrong? At times we get depressed. How could I have done this bad thing? We become demoralized and become lackadaisical to continue performing good deeds. Our negative inclination says “You are such a lowly person for doing such a thing. You should be ashamed and sad and stay in that state of sadness.”

That is the trick of the negative inclination – to make you regret and resign from doing good. The point of feeling badly for a deed is to become better. So when someone feels badly for a bad thing – he or she should take a resolution to become better in the future.

If not – they are like the woman that cried and let the robbers take her fruits.

If a person sees that in their youth they wasted time from doing good – make a commitment that in the future they should put their time to better use.

Correct the thing that you think may have caused the bad thing (ie, the car dent) to occur. You’ll be happier in the future.

Go To Yourself

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This Week’s Parasha / Weekly Torah Reading – Hash-m tells Avram (soon to become Avraham) – Lech Lecha … – Go For Yourself from your land from your birthplace from your father’s house to the land that I will show you. Avram goes.

Lech Lecha – can also mean “Go to Yourself”

People say “I want to be Me!” but they end up imitating friends, society, media characters and the like. Hash-m is telling Avram – Be Yourself. Develop the good you have in yourself and express it outside. Avram is well known for his kindness. He has guests. He defends the lives of wicked people – Sodom – from being destroyed.

When Defending Sodom – he asks G-d are there righteous people within the city. When G-d says no. Then Avram relents. Why – righteous people “within the city”? A righteous person is like a candle – they can bring light to a room full of darkness / evil. Avram asked this to assure that these people “within the city” – ie, influential people – would influence the others to become better.

Becoming Your Real Self

One way for a person to reach their real selves is to learn & observe Torah. This allows a person to become their true good self. It allows them to bring out the good in them. The Torah is like salt – it brings out a person’s true nature. Thus one should work on perfecting their nature – while learning Torah. For if one has a bad nature – it might bring that out as well.

One way for a person to more easily become their true selves is to move a way to a community that they can be positively influenced to the good. A community that has a good Orthodox Jewish congregation that encourages personal growth.

When I was younger – I moved to Geneva, Switzerland for a Job as a Marketing Director for a Private Banking Software Company. There – I was away from my old environment. I attended Shiurim / Torah lectures. I participated in community Shabbat gatherings. Being away from my home town helped me to reflect and to grow.

 

Leadership – Eight Qualities that Made Moses a Great Leader

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Moses or Moshe Rabbeinu / Our Teacher – was the ultimate leader. He was a king of Ethiopia. He confronted Pharaoh to let the Jews out of Egypt and initiated plagues against him. He led the Jews out of Egypt. He negotiated with G-d / Hash-m to save the Jewish People. He Fought wars against Amalek and other Enemies of the Jews. One of his most challenging tasks was to Judge and lead the people of Israel for 40 years in the desert.

I recently heard a Shiur / Lecture of Rabbi Meir Eliyahu. He said the secret of Moshe’s success is found in the words : Hazak VeEmatz / Be Strong and Resolute – (in Devarm / Deut 31:7) – when Moshe is transferring the Mantle of leadership to Yehoshua / Joshua:

Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel: “Be strong and resolute, for it is you who shall go with this people into the land that the HASH-M swore to their fathers to give them, and it is you who shall apportion it to them.

These are the qualities that successful leaders have:

H’et – H’ochma – Wisdom and Haritza – effectiveness. It is not just any wisdom – it is Torah wisdom. Torah gives a person wisdom to deal with people and all situations properly. Torah is the thought’s of G-d. Thus after thinking a situation out according to Torah Hashkafa and wisdom – a person makes more intelligent decisions. Effectiveness comes from getting things done – Moshe wasted no time to implement decisions.

Zayin – Zerizut – alacrity / quickness. When Moshe received the commandment to make refuge cities – he quickly established them – even though they were only to be used many ears later. He did not push off the war against the Midianites – even though he knew he would die after the war ended.

Kuf – Kedusha – holiness – When a person is holy – according to Torah – he is able to see things the average man will not.

Vav – Vatranut – yielding and overlooking slights – Moshe overlooked slights to his honor and opportunities for advancement to make peace.

Aleph – Amitzut – Strength / Resolute – Moshe was resolute to do something when he made a decsion to do it.

Mem – Metivat Ishit LaTzibur – Doing personal good for the congregation / Metinut – thought Out and deliberate – Moshe’s primary interest was the good of the congregation – not his personal popularity in the public’s eyes. His concern was to find favor in the eyes of G-d and man. He did not seek votes – seek the lowest common denominator of morality to get approval. He had and lived by the standards of Hash-m & His Torah – and sought to bring people up to those standards.

Tzadi – Tzadik – being righteous – Righteousness is a trait that helps a person keep their position. How many people have fallen because they took bribes, or worse holding a public office.

Moshe was the most humble of all men – yet he was the ultimate leader.

Getting a Sunny Personality – Accepting Insult with Grace

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People insult.

The Giving End of Insults

We are sometimes on the giving end. I try not to insult people. I think – what do you gain? You make another person feel badly and you didn’t gain anything. Now that they are more angry at you because you insulted them – they are going to do what you want?

The concept of “Sticks and Stones may break my bones – but names will never harm me.” is not a true concept according to Torah. Words can hurt. Onaat Devarim / Pain With Words are a set of halachot / Jewish laws that Jews learn to not hurt others with words.

The Receiving End of Insults

We sometimes are on the receiving end of insults. I try not to get insulted by insults. I figure the other person had a bad day or something. Because the other person called me a donkey – did that make me into a donkey? No. It says in Torah – if someone calls you a donkey – prepare a saddle for your back. (Baba Kama 92b) Meaning – Don’t answer their insult – and acquiesce – rather than respond angrily – to their words.

The Healthy Sun

A French expression says “Sickness does not enter where the sun is.” So it is good to live in a place that has sunlight. Also – when a person has a sunny personality – he or she is less likely to become ill. People who let insults slide – do not hold grudges and feel anger or hatred. They avoid negative emotions & stress to have a negative physical effect on their bodies.

The Reward for Not Responding to Insults

The Torah says “Someone who is insulted but does not insult, One Who hears their degradation and answers not is like the Sun in it’s zenith” (Talmud: Tractate Shabbat 88b)

The atonement that does for all of his sins is greater than any other reparation he can make.

When One is Like the Sun

I was speaking with my friend Yossi. He explained to me why that kind of person is compared to the Sun. Why not say – he is like a lion?

Why is the Moon Smaller than the Sun

He answered – when Hash-m created the sun and the moon He created them the same size.

The moon complained – he said – “Hash-m there cannot be two rulers in the sky. G-d answered him – you are right. Make yourself smaller.”

When the sun was summoned to the discussion by Hash-m – Hash-m asked the sun – what does he have to say? The sun responded – with astonishment. He didn’t understand why he was summoned. He meant to say: “I don’t understand why I am summoned – It is You Hash-m who knows all. It is You who are the ruler of the world – what can I say?”

In that – the insulted who does not respond is like the sun. He accepts Hash-m’s judgement favorably, without complaint.

King David’s Reward

When Shimi ben Gera insulted David HaMelech / King David – His general said this man is rebellious against the King – let us kill him. David Hamelech replied – it is not he who insulted me – it is Hash-m who organized this.” His reward was so great – that his face was placed on the Throne of Glory.

The Best $250 I Ever Lost – Finding the Right Jewish School for Your Child

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I remember “Back to School” days. I was so excited. I had fresh new notebooks, new pens and pencils in a tidy pencil case. Everything was spiffy and new. I had new clothes for the new school year. I was eager to meet my new classmates and talk with my old friends.

It was a time of innocence.

The Jew Who Started Formal Education

By the way – the person who started schooling for the general population was a Jewish sage – Joshua ben Gamla – who lived about 1900 years ago. He – the Talmud (Tractate Bava Bathra 21a) states – instituted formal Jewish education and primary schooling. Prior to this, parents taught their children informally. He instituted schools in every town and made education compulsory from the age of 6 or 7.

Consulting G-d About Your Child

Three partners are responsible for the creation of man – the father, the mother and Hashem. The man and woman provide the physical parts – and G-d provides the soul. Thus I mention that before deciding on the welfare of one’s child – they should consult all partners – meaning the Mother, the Father and Hash-m. So when a person wants to send their child to a school – they should also consult the Torah opinion – which represents the view of Hash-m – by asking a competent Orthodox Rabbi.

Difference Between Torah Day Schools and Secular School

Today’s Torah Day Schools teach Kodesh / the Holy – Torah Subjects – and Hol / the Profane – like Math, English, History, Science and the like.

Secular schools do not teach ethics, proper behavior or religion. In secular schools it may even be prohibited. Torah schools – teach Torah topics – which teaches the children to respect parents, do kindness, respect the environment, respect authority and more.

Secular schools offer free tuition. One pays tuition for children enrolled in Torah Day schools. Many offer scholarships. Even if one cannot afford the tuition – they work with parents.

Is Free Really Free?

Free is not free. The money Jewish parents save in sending children to a secular school – is lost by the lack of respect, involvement with drugs and immorality children learn in the secular schools. The secular studies in Torah day schools is of high quality – reaching or exceeding the levels of the secular schools.

Jewish Continuity and Torah Schooling

Those who enroll in a Torah day school are much more likely to adhere to the continuity of the Jewish people – by eventually marrying within the faith. A statistic from a National Jewish Population Study found that Over 95% of those that attend Torah Day schools for 12 years marry within the Jewish faith – as opposed to 30% of people who marry within the Jewish faith of Jews that never had a Jewish education.

Reward for Parents and Kids

Every word of Torah learned gives tremendous reward to the learner – so parents and kids benefit in two ways – the children become better individuals & they get rewarded for learning Torah. The parents get part of the reward because they chose to put their child in an Orthodox Torah Day school.

Better Children

Torah day schools teach – mussar – how to be a better person – but also kids learn Yearat Shamayim – fear of Heaven or of Hash-m. I heard a child develops their awe of G-d before the age of three – so it is well worthwhile to put a child in a Torah day school from a young age.

Neutrality or Partiality of Secular Schools

I heard from school faculty – that Public Schools Today are not as “Parve” / neutral as one would think. A lot of secular schools impose societies “mores & morals” on children. Many which go against Torah ideals. So today it not a neutral thing to place a child in a secular school – the schools try to indoctrinate the children with society’s values.

G-d is with You – the Importance of Yireat Shamayim – Fear of Heaven

Some will ask why is fear of Hash-m important? A person is most of the time on their own. They act the way they feel. Nothing is really stopping them from doing, saying or thinking things that are harmful to others or themselves. When one fears Hash-m – they act with more restraint – for they know G-d is always with them watching them. But it also teaches a child that they are never alone – One of their parents – Hash-m is always with them.

The Choice between Two Jewish Schools

About 20 years ago – we were trying to select a school. We had a choice between – a Traditional Torah day school and a more Modern “Jewish” Nursery School. After weighing the Pros and Cons – we decided to enroll in the Modern “Jewish” Nursery School. We paid $250 for registration fees.  We went to the orientation session. Sitting in the little children seats – the teacher was proudly explaining what they were going to teach the innocent children.

As part of the demonstration – she proudly pointed to a large Television. She said “and every day we show the kids cartoons of popular cartoon characters.” A red flag went up in my and my spouse’s mind. “What? You want children to learn Torah values – from Mickey Mouse?! What kind of Jewish education is that? Is a misrepresentation to call yourself a Jewish school and teach the children street values.”

After the orientation – we politely exited and registered in a Traditional Torah Day School – not far from our home – that was under the auspices of a well-known and respected Orthodox rabbi. We lost the $250 registration fee from the other school. If I remember correctly – the Traditional Torah Day School – waived the registration fee. We were very satisfied with the education and the Yireat Shamayim they learned there.

The Torah day school staff was kind in letting us register at such a late date. Usually – registering for a Torah day school takes place about 8-10 months before school starts. We registered last minute.

That’s the best $250 I ever lost.

Hospital & Doctor Statistics – Should They Have Checks & Balances & Standards to Live up to as Well?

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In Torah it says – you shall surely guard your soul. One Meaning is – you should do your utmost to be, and remain healthy.

I was discussing the Covid era. Some Hospitals were marking the cause of certain non-covid related deaths as Covid-related. For Covid patients – they might have received $50,000 dollars per patient from the government.

I heard one hospital reported a Covid related death – when a person fell from a ladder.

OK. They can Report what they want. But there should be a consequence or a check and balance. For instance – let’s say they are obligated to report – amount of people treated – based upon who they bill. Then they would report – how many people healed. For instance let’s say 100 people were treated for covid – and 98 people survived. So they would have a 98% covid healing rate rate.So if they report more Covid related deaths – yes they would get more money from the government – but they would lose in terms of “percent of people healed by ailment” statistics. Thus they would not be so quick to report a death as Covid related. Their income might go up. But in the long term that doctor or hospital would lose customers because people would “shop” for the best hospital or doctor based upon statistics.

Caring Doctors would apply for jobs to hospitals that have high healing statistics. Or Caring doctors might go to hospitals with low healing statistics – to help bring up the healing statistics of the hospitals.

These statistics should be readily available for a person to make informed decisions. They do it for cars – shouldn’t they do it for hospitals.

I think also they should have statistics for amount cesarean sections per pregnancies. If the hospital is high in that statistic – women would have the information necessary to choose a hospital best suited for her needs.

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This Post is Dedicated to My Friend Reuven Ohayon, z”l – who recently succumbed to Covid.

 

 

Dreams – What are they Telling Us? – the 4 Kinds of Dreams

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In Talmud Tractate Berakhot (55a) it talks about interpretation of dreams. It says a dream that is not interpreted is like a letter that is not opened.

How to interpret Dreams

How can you interpret dreams? Interpret them in a positive way. Once two rabbis went to a dream interpreter. One paid his fee – one did not. To the one that paid he interpreted the dream positively. To the one that did not pay – even though the dream was very similar – he interpreted it in a negative manner. Everything that he interpreted came to fruition. In the end one saw in his dream interpretation guide – that dreams go according to the interpretation.

When someone tells a Moroccan Jew – they had a dream – they usually reply “Halom Tov. Halom Shalom.” / A good dream. A dream of peace. Thus it’s better to ask a person who likes you to interpret it rather than someone who holds a grudge against you.

I was talking with a person – he mentioned that there are various forms of dreams. He mentioned two – but I think there are more.

Dreams of Day’s Events

One is a dream that was prompted by the events of the day or the ideas in the person’s mind. This kind of dream – could be just a fear being put into a story or a thought of the days happenings.

This dream might reveal to a person ways to correct themselves. I read a story from Torah about a similar incident – where one used the message of a dream to correct themselves.

He gave me an example. Once someone dreamed about Sadaam Husein. He was taken aback that in the dream Sadaam was inviting him to sit next to him. When he woke – he expressed his thoughts about Sadaam – that he was cruel and heartless. He thought of his deeds of that day – and found that he acted in a heartless manner to someone he spoke with on the phone and hung up on him. He realized that that was the message of the dream and called up the person to apologize of his cold and heartless behavior.

Dreams of the Prophetic Kind

Some have dreams similar to prophecy. In English (or really French) – we call them Deja Vu – which is the French for “already was seen.” If a person has a disturbing dream – according to halacha / Jewish law – he or she may fast on Shabbat – the day where we are to eat 3 meals – to nullify the the dream. Like we learned in the Yom Kippur Prayer and in the Gemara / Talmud – Teshuva / Repentence, Tefila / Prayer [to Hash-m], & Tzedeka / charity [to a Torah sanctioned cause] – removes a bad decree. Fasting is one way to do Teshuva. In the section of the Humash that talks of Joseph’s dreams – he had prophetic dreams, The cup bearer & the baker had prophetic dreams. Pharaoh also had dreams. In Masechet Berakhot – it says that dreams are one sixtieth of prophecy.

Dreams of Nonsense

Some dreams are nonsensical. It could be the whole dream or part of the dream. In part of Joseph’s dream – there was an untruth. He dreamed that the son & the moon and 11 stars were bowing to him – representing that his father & mother and 11 brothers would bow to him. His mother already passed away – so it couldn’t be that the moon would bow to him.

Dreams of People of the Past

Some dream of people who already died. At times these people are given the right to transmit a message to a person. I have a friend that dreamed that he should hit the person who broke into his apartment on the head with a pan. Someone soon after broke into his home looking for drug money. He listened to the dream and abstained from hitting him – he scared him away.

Someone else I know had a dream of their mother. Their mother was plucking a chicken. Her mother was about to put the chicken in the oven – then at the last minuted she said “Throw the chicken away – it is spoiled” The Dreamer interpreted that – the girl her son was dating – was not a good match for her son. She consulted rabbis & did research and found that she was not a suitable match.

 

The Man with a Thousand Lives

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You learn a lot in the Beit Midrash / Torah house of Study. I overheard a conversation between a rabbi and a new student. He said – how does Torah compare to my life. I like to go skydiving – that’s exciting.

The rabbi answered him – “When you live for yourself you live one life. When you live Torah – you live a thousand lives. You learn about your study partner’s life, your student’s life, your friend’s. People come to you for advice for their concerns. You are not living only your life – but the lives of all those people.”

Real people. Real friends. Real concerns.

The boy tried to answer – I live for others when I skydive. The Rabbi made a joke – “What as a Kapparah / atonement for others?” The boy said “Has VeShalom / G-d forbid.” The rabbi also said the same – but he persisted with his question – “How do you live other’s lives when you skydive?”

The boy wasn’t able to answer.

I thought it was an interesting way of looking at things. I don’t really think I ever thought of it that way.