Ahhhh she had it all. A glorious voice, beauty, fame, money, adulation. What DIDN'T she have??
Happiness apparently. That is why she turned to the drugs and alcohol that destroyed her life and [it seems] eventually killed her before she saw her 50th birthday.
From this I learn for the umpteenth time that what the human soul needs is not fame, fortune or anything else people spend their lives pursuing. The soul needs true, lasting meaning. I have none of what she had and yet every day is a little taste of gan eden. A daf gemara here, a chesed there, some tefilla thrown in, stable family life and the belief that every minute encapsulates within it eternity. I don't envy the rich and famous for a second. ברוך אתה השם שלא עשני גוי. Just being Jewish without doing anything is worth more than all this world has to offer.
Maybe her death will be a blessing if people learn what NOT to strive for. We don't gloat when people live empty lives and die. We mourn the great loss of human potential for spiritual greatness, lost in the abyss of dizzying material abundance.
I hope I don't fall prey to the false promises of this world and live a life that matters. I hope you join me. We can start right .... now.
Words that she sang that have been ringing in my ears for so long, that while I don't fully agree [the greatest love of all is to love Hashem and other people, not yourself] - I find some truth to them. Plus the "niggun" is great:
I decided long ago never to walk in anyone's shadow
If I fail if I succeed at least I lived as I believed
No matter what they take from me they can't take away my dignity
Because leeeearning to love yourself - is the greeeeeatest looooove of allllll
I know a lot of people who would be much better off if they learned to love themselves.
Love and blessings:-)
