I lived in NY for about 13 years. I lived in the Old City for about 21 years. I have lived in Givat Zeev for close to 10 years.
Today I went to the place where I might be spending MUCH MORE TIME than in any of those places.
Har HaMenuchos. 😳😲
I got lost [looking for the kever of the yid whose הקמת מצבה I came for]. Big time! I stopped at numerous graves and was like "You've been here for a while. Would you know where גוש nineteen is??" SILENCE!!!!!!!!!!!! Deafening silence.
לא המתים יהללו יה ולא כל יורדי דומה. Those in the grave are called "יורדי דומה" they go down to that place of silence.
MUSSSSSSSSSSSSSSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
While we can still communicate - chap a REIN!!!!! Say as many kind words as you can!!! Learn sooooooooooooooo much Torah!! Daven with all your heart! Life is soooooooooooooooooooo shooooorttttttttt and we allllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll go to the same underground destination.
I once watched the levaya of a frum yid who was a multi multi guzzillionaire. His house which [I think I remember that he had recently sold] cost like a trillion dollars was pop-your-eyes-out-amazing. It wasn't a house - it was a resort the size of a country. I saw pix...
And now he is living in a small underground box.
"כי לא במותו יקח הכל לא ירד אחריו כבודו" [Tehillim 49]. You can't take NUTTTIIIINNNNN' with you.
Yet - the meshuuuuugggeennnnnnnnaaaaaa velt expends most of their energies on accruing wealth.
Mesilas Yesharim is awesome. Shaarei Teshuva is phenomenal. But for the SHTARKEST MUSSAR - visit your local cemetery.
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On the bright side - I saw the graves of SO MANY chashuve people. WOW!!!