A student once asked his teacher, “Is there anything a person can do to lessen his desire for revenge, since the Torah forbids acting vengefully?” The teacher thought for a moment and answered, “Do something to improve yourself. When you become a better person, it will torment your enemies to no end.” 

It is well known that a sick person’s attitude can have a major effect on the course of their illness. Optimism improves recovery, whereas depression contributes to a decline in health. So many times have people recovered from very serious illnesses by just having a positive attitude and cheerful disposition.

 The holy Noda B’Yehudah (Rabbi Yechezkel Landau) knew this well. He did not believe in the popular belief of curing sickness with amulets. Other tzaddikim (holy rabbis) would write amulets whose mystical contents were considered healing, he would not accept the practice. 

One time a father pleaded with him to give his daughter an amulet because she had been diagnosed as having a very serious and incurable disease. He was not able to refuse the request of the worried father. So Rabbi Landau took a blank piece of parchment, sealed it in a leather container, and told the father that his daughter should wear the amulet continually for one week and then open it. If the letters had disappeared, that would be a sign that she would recover. 

How thrilled everyone was to see the parchment blank at the end of the week! Convinced that she would recover, the young woman indeed did.

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A ship was sailing across the seas to distant lands. The sailors and merchants had lost their way and were wandering aimlessly at sea, tired, hungry and thirsty, confined to the ship. Every so often, they caught sight of a large island there in the middle of the sea. It was the season when the everything comes alive, and all kinds of good trees and grasses and flowers, including roses and violets were seen on the island. Sweet water was found on the beautiful and well-shaded island.

The ship’s captain, crew and passengers approached the island and went ashore to delight in its trees and rest in their shade. They ate from the fruit of the trees, drank the sweet water, and delighted in the sweet fragrance. They then left and returned to the ship to continue the voyage and find their way at sea.

One man among them decided not to leave even though the others strongly pleaded with him, he thought, “Where, anywhere else in the world, could I find such a place of delight, a paradise the likes of which even kings do not possess?” When they saw that he absolutely refused to leave, they continued on without him, found their way home.

That one man remained there, eating of the island’s fruits, drinking of the sweet water, and delighting in the marvelous fragrance of the spices. But when winter approached, the leaves of all the trees fell to the ground, as did their fruits and similarly all the spices. The springs also dried up. Only bare trees remained, affording him neither shade nor protection from either the dry hot days or the night frost. And he died there, hungry and empty-handed, having found nothing but un­told distress.

So are we in this world like that ship sailing on the high seas. Like a lost ship at sea, we are unsure of our direction and know not to whom to turn or where we are going. In this world, which resembles such a sea, we discover a large island with all kinds of delights and pleasures, more than one can ever count.

There are those who—knowing the awe of G-d—partake of these pleasures in a limited way but then immediately return to G-d in repentance. They continue along their way, fulfilling G-d’s will, even suffering the distresses of this world, which are like the agonies of being at sea, in order to proceed toward their place of rest. And, then, there are fools like that man who, so drawn to physical delights, re­mained to enjoy them until the season approached in which those delights ceased and in their place he found only bare trees and had neither food nor shade but only affliction and torment. This is the case with all those who follow the dictates of their eves and the false desires of their hearts without considering what tomorrow will bring.

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

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As I sit in the hospital lobby waiting for evening visiting hours to begin, I reflect on the last 2 weeks that Shana has been in the hospital. She is now in ICU. Shae has spoken to me and reminded me that often we become so dependent upon the many “modern” amenities and look upon belief as old and outdated. Without hope there is no faith and without faith there is no “cure” for everyday problems.

When one believes in the greatness of the holy one, blessed be He, life is filled with wonder and beauty. Faith is the key. Faith binds a person to tradition. A tradition that satisfies the soul, and allows one an inner peace.

True faith is based upon person experience and therefore requires neither proof nor demonstration. Everyday the wonders of creation surrounds us. Each instant many miracles occur.

Yet many still inquire into the ways of the world, trying to fathom that which is cloaked in mystery, wonder and amazement. The only way to understand is through faith, a belief that is pure and unshakeable.

Today, people, in their pride has reduced the spiritual world into that of philosophy and science.

What is life? One may ask. They will not accept that it is a gift of the Divine. Instaed they talk of chemicals, DNA and electrical forces. Man can not create life.

True faith is deep within one’s inner self and once found will allow one to see the world on many levels. It will also allow one to live and be at peace with themselves and all around them.

The Right Medicine

This is a story about a Jewish merchant who lived in a small town somewhere in Bylorussia of old. He had always enjoyed good health, but one day he suddenly fell sick. He did not know what was wrong with him and even with the different remedies he took, he became worse from day to day. He saw a doctor, who prescribed a certain medicine, but that did not help him either: Finally, he decided to see the greatest doctor in town, who was known as the Specialist, he was known the greatest doctor in the whole region.

The Specialist gave the patient a very thorough examination, asked him many questions, and then told him he was sorry he could not help him. “Only G-d can help you,” he said gravely.

The poor Jewish merchant was very upset with the doctor’s advice.

Then he remembered hearing that in the nearby small town, there was a holy rabbi who had helped many people. So he set off to visit the holy rabbi, hoping that he could help.

Arriving at the rabbi’s house he found many other Jewish people waiting to see him. Luckily (perhaps because he looked so worried), he was admitted to see the rabbi almost immediately.

When he came into the presence of the holy rabbi, he could not hold back his tears, and poured out his heart describing his desperate condition, begging the rabbi to help him for the sake of his wife and children.

The rabbi replied: “A doctor’s job is to heal, and not to make his patient feel worse. Actually your condition is not at all serious; it is just a kind of fever and will pass.”

Astonished, the Jewish merchant asked, “But rabbi, holy rabbi if it is a fever, shouldn’t I be shivering?”

“So you will shiver,” answered the rabbi, reassuringly.

The Jewish merchant could hardly believe what he had heard and was, of course, overjoyed.

No sooner had he left the holy rabbi than he felt cold, and began to shiver slightly. And, as he continued on his way home, the shivering increased. As soon as he got home, he went straight to bed, feeling hot and cold all over, and shivering without a stop.

He stayed in bed for a few days, then suddenly the shivering stopped. He felt so much better that he was soon able to get out of bed, feeling like a new man!

Some time later, as the Jewish merchant was walking down the street, he came face to face with the Specialist, who recognized him at once. “Aren’t you the patient who came to see me some time ago, critically ill?” the Specialist asked him.

“Yes, sir,” answered the man.

“I am certainly delighted to see you looking so well,” the Specialist continued. “Tell me, my friend, what happened to bring about such an unexpected recovery, and what medicine did you take?”

The Jewish merchant told him that after the Specialist had given him up, he went to see a holy rabbi, who told him that his illness was nothing but a kind of fever.

“That I also knew,” said the doctor. “But a fever can be extremely dangerous unless it develops into hot and cold shivering. For that is the way the body can rid itself of the sickness. The trouble with you was that you showed no signs of shivering. I knew of no medicine that could bring about such shivering. That is why I told you I could not help you.”

“As a matter of fact, when the rabbi told me I had a fever, I asked him, ‘if I have a fever, would I not be shivering:’, to which he replied, ‘So you will shiver.’ And sure enough, no sooner did I leave the holy rabbi’s presence than I began to shiver, and the shivering steadily increased and became violent. I got into bed and shivered hot and cold for several days. Then, with G-d’s help, I recovered completely from my illness.”

“`With G-d’s help’ you said. Wasn’t that what I also told you, `I cannot help you, only G-d can help you !”‘ the Specialist exclaimed happily.

All smiles, the Specialist and the Jewish merchant shook hands, wishing each other good health.

Added the Specialist: “Some day I hope to see this holy rabbi, but not in a professional capacity. No doubt he can do more for me than I for him.”

Please say a prayer for Shana, her full name is Shoshanah Feige bas Chanah

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The Wizard of Oz, one of the most beloved movies of all time, celebrates its 70th birthday this year. The movie contains essential spiritual lessons, that are often overlooked. The concept of teshuvah (repentance) leads to spiritual growth and understanding.

Great is repentance, for it brings healing to the world… .

Great is repentance, for it brings redemption to the world.

Yoma 86a

Everything teems with richness, everything aspires to ascend and be purified. Everything sings, celebrates, serves, develops, evolves, uplifts, aspires to be arranged in oneness.

haRav Avraham Yitzchok  Kook, zal

In the popular children’s story, The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy, a young girl who is injured, has a powerful healing dream in which she is carried far away from her home in Kansas by a pow­erful tornado. Throughout the dream she longs to return home, but before she can find her way back, she must journey to the land of Oz. Dorothy^‘s journey to Oz, accompanied by her three companions, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion, becomes a legendary  quest for wholeness and healing, in which the four travellers seek to acquire the character trait each of them most needs in order to be whole. The Tin Man seeks a heart, the Scarecrow, a brain, and the Cowardly Lion, courage. Though she is not conscious of it as she sets out on her journey, Dorothy needs to find her own inner source of power. Whether Frank Baum, the author of the Oz legends realized it or not, the Hebrew word oz implies “strength.^“ Dorothy^‘s journey to Oz is, indeed, an attempt to reclaim her power and inner strength. It is only when she faces her deepest fears and takes back the power she has been projecting onto powerful others, like the Wizard of Oz and the Wicked Witch of the West, that Dorothy is able to reclaim her own inner strength and find her way home. And as Dorothy and her companions courageously overcome the many obstacles in their path, they discover that, in fact, they already have within them the very power or trait that they thought they lacked.

The spiritual quest for wholeness is a lot like the journey to Oz. When we first begin to awaken, we realize just how far From home, or our true selves, we really are. ‘We long to return, but we don^‘t know the way back. We may begin our journey by following a spiritual path (the Yellow Brick Road) or seeking out a teacher/rebbe/spiritual guide (the Wizard). On the way we may meet up with fellow seekers. But eventually, like Dorothy and her companions, we come to realize that the strength we seek outside ourselves already exists within us. We only need to turn inward to discover our courage, heart, and wisdom. By focusing our kavannah, or spiritual intention, then, on our deep longing to return (^“there^‘s no place like home^“), we find our way home.

In Jewish teachings, the pathway home to our true nature is called teshuvah. Though typically translated as repentance, teshuvah actually comes from the Hebrew root shav, to return. The implication is that we all have within us a reference point for wholeness to which we can return a spiritual essence encoded within our souls that enables us to remember who we really are. Teshuvah is not something one does once and for all; rather, it is a lifelong journey, a journey of spiritual homecoming.

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

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