A Rebbe is a Rabbi from which one learns much of their Torah knowledge. A Rebbe could be also a Rabbi that has much Torah knowledge.

In Yeshiva, my Rebbe taught me how to learn Torah. We had many Torah discussions. I tried to serve him the best I could.

The week my Rebbe passed away – walking to my Teaching Job – the sky was purplish-orange but clear. I felt a great emptiness, accompanied by sadness and darkness.

I reminisced the good times we had.

Daylight fading, combined with the darkness of losing my Rebbe left me searching for light.

Teaching, I was more quiet than usual. In spite of difficulty, I taught Torah to the people who were at my table. That’s what my Rebbe would have wanted.

I still felt pain but as I taught the darkness started lifting.

The light started shining again.

Melancholy of Youth Lost

At times I reminisce about times I had as a youth with sweet melancholy. What I’m left with is a semi-regretful feeling, for the times passed.

Some try to hold on to those feelings and relive the times of youth.

The Torah says to go on and grow and continue living fully. Life is to be more than reminiscing of yesterday. Life is to enjoy and rejoice. The Power of a Mitzvah can uproot darkness and bring new happiness into life. Life is to be full of Light.

Torah Light

It says in the Torah :

A Mitzvah (commandments) is a candle and Torah is light. (Shlomo HaMelech / King Solomon in Mishlei / Proverbs 6:23)

Life’s Ups and Downs

In life it is normal to have ups and downs – spiritually and materially.

There were times that I missed the mark spiritually and felt the void and heavy darkness.

When when I took myself in hand again to do Teshuva/Repentance and continue doing good deeds I found the light shining again.

The reason: Hash-m is the source of life. When the Soul is close to Hash-m, one is close to Light. When one distances themselves from G-d’s Torah and Mitzvot, Darkness seeps in.

I speak from experience. A recent Gallup poll survey found the same – those close to Mitzvot are happiest.

Source of Light

A rabbi once remarked to my friend – the only source of happiness is from observing Torah.

My friend countered “My Parents are not observant Jews and they live happily?”

The Rabbi Replied “Are there any particular Mitzvah’s that your parents do?”

He said “Yes. They do a lot of Chesed / Acts of Kindness”

The Rabbi then concluded “That is the source of their happinesss.”

I was pretty good at pool.

Not like the professional billiard players that can call which pocket the ball will fall.

But decent.

Now, I hardly play.

Too busy.

The objective of one version of pool is to knock cue ball (the white ball) into other balls with a pool stick and try to get your balls -either striped or solid – into the pockets before the other player. The Eight Ball must be sunk last.

Emotional Pool Game

Life is a bit like the game of pool.

There is a situation – like a cue ball – that knocks into a person.

The person – the colored ball – moves based upon the direction the cue ball hit him or her.

Choose Your Reaction

For Instance:

The Slow Cashier

You are waiting on line for to buy bread and several other items. The cashier, on his cell phone, slowly punches the prices into the cash register. He makes 5 mistakes on 5 of the items you purchased. You are in a rush.

It is understandable that you are irked.

You could react like what your emotions tell you – “Rank him out! Tell him he shouldn’t be on the phone when serving a customer! Especially you who buys thousands of dollars from the store every year. He should be more careful. Let me call the manager! I’m in a rush and he is taking his sweet time.”

or you could react the way that your mind tells you – “Let me be patient. It’s understandable to make errors. I will point out to him in a gentle manner, without accusations, that he made a mistake on several of the items I purchased.”

or
Child Responsibility

You tell your child for the fifth time to clean up the toys from the floor. Before he cleans up, you inadvertently step on a toy and slip. Trying to catch your balance, Your hand knocks over a bowl of chocolate cake mix and pours all over your brand new suit that you were about to wear to synagogue.

You could react like what your emotions tell you – “Yell at him! I told him five time to clean up the toys. Why doesn’t he listen? This suit was over $750 and now it has chocolate all over it! Tell him he is grounded for the entire day.”

or you could react the way that your mind tells you – “Let me be patient. I myself do leave things out without putting things away. Sometimes children just mimic their parent’s actions. I have to set an example. Let me gently explain to him and set an example of the way to put things away promptly after using them.”

Self-Control

Basically, you can choose at any point in time your reaction to a situation. This is what we call in Judaism – Freedom of Choice. We are expected to make decisions based upon what Torah says is acceptable – even though at times we might feel we know better or our emotions push us in the opposite direction. (See Pirkei Avot 4:1 – Who is Strong? The one who conquers his inclination.)

G-d knows the absolute best decision you can make – these are called the Mitzvot. Choosing them we become free. Choosing them, we do the best for ourselves and the best for the world.

My Rebbe, Rabbi Zecharia Mines, z”l used to tell me – “The mind should control the heart. The heart should not control the mind.”

You control the situation. The situation should not control you.

Recently, a car from a perpendicular street pulled into my lane. I swerved to avoid it. I believe I was driving the speed limit, but a person in a car flagged me down and said “I admit that that driver was wrong for pulling into your lane but… you should slow down.”

Did I take his message to heart?

Obviously not.

A little time after I was in a rush. I passed a person parking on a narrow road and they dented my car as they were pulling into a parking space. Had I waited, I would have avoided the dent. I realize I should have listened to the first message to “slow down.”

After the second message I try to take myself out of “rush mode” when driving even when rushed.

G-d is very close to each individual. If one notices, He guides your life for the good and also sends you messages daily. You just have to be able to pay attention and understand them. Knowing this is comforting in itself. You are never alone. Hash-m is always with you and guiding you for good. When you reach out He is there.

Another Message

The Mikve is a body of natural water – either from rain or an ocean, stream or lake – that purifies. A Jewish man or woman, who observes the Jewish laws of family purity, uses a Mikve for purification. A Gentile who wishes to convert to Judaism also dips there. It purifies one’s body and thoughts from the everyday.

I was in the Mikve to when a man mistook me for someone else.

He turned to me and said “Yitzhak. In case you didn’t notice the clock battery needs to be replaced.” Realizing his error he said “Oh! You are not Yitzhak.”

Most people would be amused for a moment and quickly forget the incident.

Me? Not.

Here is how I deciphered it.

For about three weeks a clock in my home needed a new battery. I took the message that I should replace my own clock battery.

More importantly, the man called me “Yitzhak.” and then said “You are not Yitzhak.”

I might be reading too much into things but here goes…

“Yitzhak” was one of the forefathers of the Jewish nation. He was on a tremendously high spiritual level. He would be learning Torah much of the day.

When he said “You are not Yitzhak”, I took it to mean – that I should reinforce my regular Torah learning.

Listening to G-d’s daily messages can be an important source of self-improvement.

“Shabbat Shalom Dave!” – a True Story:

After returning home from an inspirational trip to Israel, where he learned in Torah in a Yeshiva for the first time of his life, a young man named Dave was grappling with the idea of properly observing Shabbat. It was Friday night – the Night of Shabbat / the Sabbath – and he had a dilemma.:

Should he adhere to the laws of Shabbat or should he cave in to the pressures of those discouraging him?

So he prayed to G-d. “G-d please give me a sign that you want me to observe the Shabbat.” No answer.

“Please G-d give me a sign that you want me to observe your holy Shabbat day.” No sign.

David waited and prayed. Prayed and waited. No sign.

Close to midnight Dave decided to turn on the TV.

At that moment a Talk Show Host was interviewing a guest. He asked him to say something that he had learned on his trip to Israel before they break for a commercial.

Just when Dave turned on the the TV, the guest turned to the screen, and said “Shabbat Shalom Dave!”

He took the message to heart – returning to Israel three days later to continue his spiritual journey discovering life through Torah.

I felt it was going to happen.

I was driving to work teaching.

I hit one pothole. The car drove fine.

Then the second. The thump, thump, thump began.

Pulling over, I noticed it was a flat.

I prudently got off the next exit and changed the tire to the spare.

Good exercise, but I could have avoided it.

The mechanic said to change the tires.

But I avoided it, forgot about it, ignored it and pushed it off.

I know G-d will help me get to work.

But I forgot another thing.

We shouldn’t rely on miracles.

Just take care of it.

My cousin used to bet with a coworker who would be able guess the date in the month when a full moon would appear.

My cousin always won.

His secret?

The Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar that is adjusted for the solar year. Meaning, the length of the month is based upon how long it takes the moon to revolve around the earth. It is about 30 days. In the middle of the Jewish month the moon is full.

Early in the new Jewish month we recite a special prayer for the new moon. One should be able to clearly see the moon in order to recite the prayer.

Lost Blessing

This month I awaited to say the blessing, but unfortunately it was cloudy. Periodically I would go outside to see if the sky cleared, but the sky remained cloudy.

Thus I was unable to make this precious blessing that comes once every month.

I felt badly that I missed this opportunity.

I know I tried but I think I could have tried a little harder to be able to say the blessing. I could have tried to say it from the first time that we are allowed to say it. So technically I lost a mitzvah to sanctify the new moon.

I lost an opportunity to connect with eternity.

A Mitzvah allows a person to connect with eternal life

I was reminded of a story about a man who was intimidated to ask a rich person for a donation for a worthy cause.

His rabbi told him this is what you should say to the wealthy man : “You are nothing and I am nothing for in the end we were both return to the dust. What is it that lasts forever? A Mitzvah.” The Mitzvah of helping a needy person will connect you to eternity.

The man gave a handsome donation.

A Mitzvah connects you to eternity.

This is the job you have been dreaming of.

The interview starts in 10 minutes.

You are on the edge.

An old man pulls in front of you.

He is looking for a parking space – driving 6 miles an hour.

what now?

Honk?

Yell out the window?

Spew Insults?

Poor old man. He doesn’t even know you have an important rendezvous.

Why does he deserve your anger?

Why yell? He always drives like that – at least 15 miles below the speed limit. He is just being prudent.

Now is the time to remember – it is just a test.

A test from above to see if you can keep your cool – even in this situation.

In days of old there used to be a test of the Emergency Broadcast System to verify the proper functioning of the warning equipment over the Radio for the FCC to alert the public in case there was a real emergency. A slightly annoying tone was broadcasted for 30 or 60 seconds. A person was patient enough to listen to the Attention Signal for about a minute because he knew it was a test.

When you are at wits end – remember –

This is also for the good and “This is a test. This is only a test…”

Also – what good is it to yell at the old man – he won’t hear you and he won’t drive faster.

But … next time remember to leave the house a little earlier.

I was driving recently, when I noticed a single word bumper sticker.

It said:

EartH

If you ever noticed, the word “art” is in earth.

It is so true.

Notice the beauty in life everyday.

A beautiful landscape. A majestic mountain.

A cascading waterfall. A sunrise on the beach.

An Apple. A Baby.

Artists paint beauty. They produce images of fruits, trees, landscapes and nature.

They capture beauty in the art they produce.

God created beauty.

Hash-m is the Greatest Artist.

I am not an expert in English grammar.

Grammatically speaking, though, shouldn’t it be correct to say “who is you?” instead of saying “Who are you?”

For singular nouns we use “is”, like : “where is he?”, “Where is it?”; “The car is rolling.”

For plural nouns we use “are” like – “where are they?”; “what are they?”; “The cars are rolling.”

Why the “are” in “who are you?”

When we refer to a group of people – like “you guys” – we can say “where are you (guys)?”

Apparently the “are” in “who are you?” is used because the “you” that we use in everyday conversation is the formal or plural form of you.

Formality vs. Familiarity

In French – there is a single form of the word “you” – “tu” in French – for people you are familiar with and a more formal form or plural from of “you” – “vous” in French – for people a certain honor is due, and sometimes a distance is due.

Apparently it is like in old English the difference between thou (you for a single person) and ye (you for a group – thus the declaration – “Hear Ye! Hear Ye!). When we ask who are you – We are in essence saying “who art ye?”

“So?” you are probably asking – “Who cares?”

And rightfully so.

Proper Relationship with Parents

There are people that we are close with and people with which we maintain a distance.

In the Torah when Yaakov (Jacob) and Esav (Esau) were to receive their blessings from their father Yitzchak (Isaak) each addressed their father in a different form.

Esav refers to his father in the more distant form – the third person form. (Bereishit / Genesis 27:31)

Yaakov refers to his father in the more familiar form of you. (Bereishit / Genesis 27:19)

As we follow the teachings of Jacob, the Torah teaches that our parents are to be addressed by the familiar form – meaning they are a close, and integral part of our lives – not a distant relative to respect. Children too are treated as close ones.

Hash-m is Always Close

When we address G-d as well we use the familiar form of you – atah in Hebrew – showing that Hash-m is an integral and close part of our daily lives.

Every moment Hash-m is close and available to hear our prayers. We just have to call out to Him.