A Personal Thanksgiving Day

Today is my 40th birthday.

This means:

1] I am closer than I have ever been to that day when they will be shoveling dirt over my lifeless body and my soul will meet my Maker. SCARY!

2] I have been given a gift. Many gifts! Calculate 365 times 40 [how many days I have lived]. Then take the number of seconds a day and multiply by days I have lived. That's a LOT of seconds. A lot of heart beats. My heart hasn't stopped yet [except when the Mets almost lost the Series in '86 - but that was only for a coupla seconds]!!! How does my heart keep pumping? HASHEM PUMPS IT!!! I THANK THE DIVINE PUMPER. He has so many more important things to do yet he renews my existence every moment. And of course I can't forget about my healthy pancreas, lungs, kidneys, eyes, ears, brain, etc. etc. And my family. And....... And... A birthday is a VERY spiritual day. [I will not be eating turkey, though.]

3] Indeed the Talmud Yerushalmi says that on a persons birthday he has special spiritual power. So I will use it to bless EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU, that Hashem should fulfill ALL the wishes of your heart for the good and we should all see the geula shleima SPEEEEEDILY in our days. You should have good health and happiness and limitless bounty in gashmiyus and ruchniyus!!

I will now go down to the HOLY WALL and daven for you personally [if you are on my list] and for the world as a whole. What a zchus! I spent my birthday in the Old City of Yerushalayim!!