Shlach 5762 - June 7, 2002
Recommended reading order: start with Two Candles for Sammy, a story that will make you sad, angry and determined... you may, however, also find yourself a bit judgmental of one of the story's more unfortunate characters, so move on to Your Fellow's Place for a four-part study of the art of judgmentalism... and thence to Flying West, which adds a geometric-geographic element to the dynamics of psychological "place"... which is also the theme of this week's Parshah, chronicling the difficulties experienced by our ancestors in making the transition from spiritual space to material terra (it ended up taking them 40 years and a generation)... finally, take a minute to drop in on home to husband and kiddies... and we recommend that at some point in your place-hopping you click in the area above this box for a moment of perspective in the form of a "Thought for the Day."
“Do not judge your fellow until you have reached his place.” But since a person can never really be in his fellow's place, why doesn't the Mishnah simply say, “don't judge your fellow”?
The twelve spies return with giant fruit, frightening the Jewish people, who complain and receive a severe punishment. Laws of challah and tzitzit. A man publically desecrates Shabbat, and is put to death.
The twelve spies return with giant fruit, frightening the Jewish people, who complain and receive a severe punishment. Laws of challah and tzitzit. A man publically desecrates Shabbat, and is put to death.
I first heard of Sammy Rosenbaum in 1965, when a Mrs. Rawicz from Rabka came into my office in Vienna to testify at a War Crimes trial
The center is not our creation, but the circle is. The paradox today is this: one cannot create a circle without a firm center, yet the center is invisible until we create our circle
"Instead of making your family part of the problem," I suggested, "invite them to become part of the solution"
It’s G-d’s world. Everything He gives is good, the sweetest good.
But it is often a good far too great for us to understand. We imagine it is not good, because that’s the only way to make sense of it with our small minds.
Yet the truth is, He gives us all the good we can handle. If we could take more, He would g...
