The Prayer For The Month

From an email:

SHAAALLLOOOMMMMMM SWEEEEEETESTTTT FRIENDS!!!!!!!

As we enter ROSH CHODESH KISLEV, I thought to share a commentary on the Tefilla that we say every Shabbos Mevorchim, in the hope that learning it will help bring it about!!! [Based on the Torah of Maran HaRav ztz"l]. 

We ask for -  

חיים ארוכים - Long Life. That is the framework. We need a loooong life in order to fulfill our task as much as possible. Old age can be rough but MUCH better than the alternative!!!:-)

You know you’re getting old when the candles cost more than the cake.

 He’s so old that when he orders a three-minute egg, they ask for the money up front.

 True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country.

חיים של שלום - A life of Peace. INTERNAL peace. There should be no internal conflict and tension within us. We should feel a sense of integrity and wholeness. [Before we make peace w/ others, we have to make peace with ourselves. DEEEEPPPP!!]. 

"Don't look for any other state than the one you are in now; otherwise, you will set up inner conflict and unconscious resistance. Forgive yourself for not being at peace. The moment you completely accept your non-peace, your non-peace becomes transmuted into peace. Anything you accept fully will get you there, will take you into peace. This is the miracle of surrender."

Waiting is a state of mind that says we want what we don't have. Therefore, with every kind of waiting we produce an inner conflict between now and the projected future. This greatly reduces the quality of our life. Are you a 'habitual waiter'?

The two most far-reaching critical theories at the beginning of the latest phase of industrial society were those of Marx and Freud. Marx showed the moving powers and the conflicts in the social-historical process. Freud aimed at the critical uncovering of the inner conflicts. Both worked for the liberation of man, even though Marx's concept was more comprehensive and less time-bound than Freud's.

חיים של טובה - A life of Good. Meaning, the events that occur to us should be for a temporal and eternal good. 

חיים של ברכה - A life of Blessing. We should bring BLESSING to the world. We should help those who are weak and falter, mend broken hearts, bring people back in Teshuva, help them purify their bad middos, distorted opinions and attitudes and evil deeds. [Not just "blessing" for OURSELVES but through us to the world. והיה ברכה - Abraham is to be a source of Bracha to the world]. 

חיים של פרנסה - A life of Parnassa [how do you translate "Parnassa"?? However you translate it - we should have LOTTSSSSS!!!!]. We should have all of our material, emotional and spiritual needs met.

Just because you were born in poverty, it doesn't mean that you'll be poor forever. I was born in a hospital, yet I'm not a doctor.

The Soviet Union, 1927

A village is celebrating the anniversary of the revolution. The mayor gives s speech.

"We have accomplished so much during the last ten years! Look at Mikhail Pavlovich, before the revolution he was starving and illiterate. Today he is the best tractor driver in the village!"

People cheer.

"And look at Anna Vladimirovna, before the revolution she lived in extreme poverty and didn't even have shoes, now she is a respected maid!"

People cheer.

"And look at Yuri Petrovich, before the revolution he was known as an irredeemable scoundrel, a liar, a thief, trusted by no one and today he is the head of the local party committee!"

חיים של חילוץ עצמות - A life of stretching our bones. We should be prepared to serve Hashem and it shouldn't be burdensome. We should be FILLED with agility and alacrity in our service. That is why R' Eliezer says that this is the BEST of Brachos [מעולה שבברכות] b/c the purpose of all the good we receive is to serve Hashem. As the pasuk says "במצותיו חפץ מאד" - We desire Hashem's mitzvos [and not, as Chazal note, the REWARD of mitzvos]. 

If laziness was an Olympic sport I would've placed 4th so I wouldn't have to climb the winners' stairs.

What is the pinnacle of laziness? Having a remote control for your remote control.

First Rule of Laziness: If an object falls under the bed, it is lost forever.

חיים שיש בהם יראת שמים ויראת חטא - A life that has in it fear of Heaven and fear of sin. שיש בהם - Mixed in with life itself, there should be fear of Heaven and sin. Some people are verrrrryyyyy frum when they are at home or in shul but when they get to mid-town Manhattan to work, "goooodddddbyyyyeeeeeee Hashem"! NO! The Yiras Shomayim should be expressed even when living in the world, when involved in daily life and not just when alone or in a religious setting. The pasuk says אתהלך לפני ה' בארצות החיים - I will walk before Hashem in the lands of LIFE. Life, say the Sages, is מקום שווקים - the marketplace. Wall Street. Mid-Town Manhattan. In the Tel Aviv sky-scrapers. 

In THOSE PLACES and those like them we must walk before Hashem. 

חיים שאין בהם בושה וכלימה - Life that has no embarrassment and shame. Life has things that we are embarrassed about. Certain private activities we perform are things we wouldn't want to be seen as we are doing them. That is FINE. Part of life. But the CHOICES we make shouldn't bring us shame!!! 

The l‌‌ocal c‌‌harity r‌‌ealized t‌‌hat i‌‌t h‌‌ad n‌‌ever r‌‌eceived a‌‌ d‌‌onation f‌‌rom t‌‌he c‌‌ity's m‌‌ost s‌‌uccessful l‌‌awyer.

So a‌‌ v‌‌olunteer p‌‌aid t‌‌he l‌‌awyer a‌‌ v‌‌isit i‌‌n h‌‌is l‌‌avish o‌‌ffice. T‌‌he v‌‌olunteer o‌‌pened t‌‌he m‌‌eeting b‌‌y s‌‌aying, "‌‌Our r‌‌esearch s‌‌hows t‌‌hat e‌‌ven t‌‌hough y‌‌our a‌‌nnual i‌‌ncome i‌‌s o‌‌ver t‌‌wo m‌‌illion d‌‌ollars, y‌‌ou d‌‌on't g‌‌ive a‌‌ p‌‌enny t‌‌o c‌‌harity. W‌‌ouldn't y‌‌ou l‌‌ike t‌‌o g‌‌ive s‌‌omething b‌‌ack t‌‌o y‌‌our c‌‌ommunity?"

The l‌‌awyer t‌‌hinks f‌‌or a‌‌ m‌‌inute a‌‌nd s‌‌ays, "‌‌First, d‌‌id y‌‌our r‌‌esearch a‌‌lso s‌‌how y‌‌ou t‌‌hat m‌‌y m‌‌other i‌‌s d‌‌ying a‌‌fter a‌‌ l‌‌ong p‌‌ainful i‌‌llness, a‌‌nd s‌‌he h‌‌as h‌‌uge m‌‌edical b‌‌ills t‌‌hat a‌‌re f‌‌ar b‌‌eyond h‌‌er a‌‌bility t‌‌o p‌‌ay?"

Embarrassed, t‌‌he r‌‌ep m‌‌umbles, "‌‌Uh... N‌‌o, I‌‌ d‌‌idn't k‌‌now t‌‌hat."

"Secondly," s‌‌ays t‌‌he l‌‌awyer, "‌‌did i‌‌t s‌‌how t‌‌hat m‌‌y b‌‌rother, a‌‌ d‌‌isabled V‌‌eteran, i‌‌s b‌‌lind a‌‌nd c‌‌onfined t‌‌o a‌‌ w‌‌heelchair a‌‌nd i‌‌s u‌‌nable t‌‌o s‌‌upport h‌‌is w‌‌ife a‌‌nd s‌‌ix c‌‌hildren?"

The s‌‌tricken r‌‌ep b‌‌egins t‌‌o s‌‌tammer a‌‌n a‌‌pology, b‌‌ut i‌‌s c‌‌ut o‌‌ff a‌‌gain.

"Thirdly, d‌‌id y‌‌our r‌‌esearch a‌‌lso s‌‌how y‌‌ou t‌‌hat m‌‌y s‌‌ister's h‌‌usband d‌‌ied i‌‌n a‌‌ d‌‌readful c‌‌ar a‌‌ccident, l‌‌eaving h‌‌er p‌‌enniless w‌‌ith a‌‌ m‌‌ortgage a‌‌nd t‌‌hree c‌‌hildren, o‌‌ne o‌‌f w‌‌hom i‌‌s d‌‌isabled a‌‌nd a‌‌nother t‌‌hat h‌‌as l‌‌earning d‌‌isabilities r‌‌equiring a‌‌n a‌‌rray o‌‌f p‌‌rivate t‌‌utors?"

The h‌‌umiliated r‌‌ep, c‌‌ompletely b‌‌eaten, s‌‌ays, "‌‌I'm s‌‌o s‌‌orry. I‌‌ h‌‌ad n‌‌o i‌‌dea."

And t‌‌he l‌‌awyer s‌‌ays, "‌‌So, i‌‌f I‌‌ d‌‌idn't g‌‌ive a‌‌ny m‌‌oney t‌‌o t‌‌hem, w‌‌hat m‌‌akes y‌‌ou t‌‌hink I‌‌'d g‌‌ive a‌‌ny t‌‌o y‌‌ou?"

חיים של עושר וכבוד - Life of wealth and honor. Sometimes, money causes a person to act in unseemly ways. Even after we get all that money, we should maintain our dignity. 

A boy asks his zeide how he got rich. He answers: I came from Poland as a poor penniless immigrant. So one day I bought one unwashed apple in the market for a dollar, washed it and sold it for 2, then bought 2 unwashed apples, washed it and sold it for 4. Eventually I had a whole pushcart filled with apples.  

And so gradually you got rich? 

No, after 2 years, my uncle died and left me 6 million dollars.

חיים שיש בהם אהבת תורה ויראת שמים - A life of loving Torah and fearing Heaven. When we learn in the Torah about the ways and middos of Hashem [כביכול] and then follow those middos [compassion, generosity etc.] we grow to love Hashem. The love of Torah brings to love of Hashem. Fear comes when we consider how FAAAAARRR Hashem is from us. Completely beyond anything we can imagine. The word שמים comes from "שם" - there. Things that are "out there" i.e. beyond us, are called shomayim. We have fear b/c Hashem is in שמים - i.e. totally beyond us. 

חיים שימלא משאלות לבנו לטובה - A life where the desires of our hearts should be filled for the good. Our hearts desire a LOT of things. We ask that Hashem only fulfill those desires that will lead us on a moral and holy path. "לטובה" - Only for the good.  

Chodesh tov and a "gut chodesh" beloved friends!!!!

A recent "lomdishe" shiur I enjoyed.