Lessons, Lessons, Wherefore art thou...

Shalom,

This post will be quite peculiar and a short one. Anyhow, it will never be less thought provoking or ignorant at its best. Let's start...

It is always incumbent in our life for some shiurim (or lessons) in our life. Often, when someone hits the wall, he will instantly know that 'I must be careful with where am I heading next time when I am walking...'

This is our daily life, but how about in a more abstract pattern? Let say, in term of life, the successes and failures of life? Surely we heard the axiom 'There is never regrets but only lessons in life' but how far are we to accept such deep meaning in an instance when, let say, you just hit someone with your car!

This is the thing, prevention is better than cure, why truly learn from your mistake when you have the opportunity to learn it from others? Or even you can learn it from the Torah!

That is why we need to have lessons in our life, no matter what kind of lessons, lessons that are given by others and lessons learnt in our life. However, how far will we go to have such lessons and inculcate it in our life? This depends on the individual and one tips do it all: learn by stages. It is never all or nothing...

So, when you fall, pick yourself up, but when others fall, pick them up too and in the process learn with them. Seek spiritual inspiration, and this is the ultimate lessons that you will have without experiencing the real things yourself...

Is Dying a Form of Liberation?

We live in a time where turbulence happens almost everyday and mass suicide is not an uncommon matter nowadays. Dying, to some people, is a form of liberation. Also, this concept has its root in paying too much of an attention to the life after. This is when people start to think that that place is a better place, when one starts to think that the world afterlife is a place that will fulfill our need... This is one big no no; Our Sages have never said such a thing to us.

There is three categories of time: past, present, and future (if you say there is more than this, it might be true as I did not take physics, so sorry for that if I am wrong). What is past? Things that have already pass by, happenings which are now bygones, things to be learnt from and forgotten. There is no need to dwell in the past, we only have to look forward.

What is the future then? The future is the time when we cannot predict and cannot foresee. We can only plan to do the best in the future but actually we do not have the power to influence the future as nobody will know what will happen in the future. Only G-d knows. What can we do then? Plan well and do your best, then leave everything to HaShem. HaShem will help those that help themselves and HaShem will know who tried his best or not...

What is the present then? Well, as the name implies, this is, really, your present, a gift. This is when you can truly make changes and truly make this world a better place. Hillel the Elder says, ‘If not now, when?’. This epitomises the way of HaShem, if not the present, when it will be done. No one can change the past and no one can change the future. What can one truly do is to change the present...

This applies same to the above question, is dying a form of liberation? No! Why? King David says this ‘Dead man cannot praise You (HaShem) from the grave...’. When you think that by dying you are liberated, you are actually trying to escape reality and worst of all, responsibility. If you think that dying is elevating yourself to a better world, then you are downright selfish.

Why is that so? Try imagine this situation; just because I wanted a new phone, I trade my old phone for a new one; then you are happy and I am happy but is this an act of pious deeds? You will tell me instantly ‘what the heck?’ but when you apply the same thing to the condition above, treating death as liberation of life, you are no where far from that mobile trader.

Just because you are fed up with life does not mean that you have the right to escape from this seemingly hopeless world. Have you done your part in making this world a better place? You might say that I am just an individual what can I do? Remember this; HaShem turns a killer and a stummer into a greatest Prophet of all, Moshe!

Live in this world, know that everything has an inherent G-dliness in them. This is up to us to discover them. No one say that this is easy but if you never try, you will neve know.

What should I do? Stretch out your hand and touch everything and see everything, G-d is to be found anywhere. Appreciate the qualities of everything in your life, even the lowliest of all, the rock, sang a song to HaShem (Psalms 148).

Image retrieved from http://www.kellydelay.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/to-heaven-web.jpg

When You Have Overpraised...

In the Guide for the Perplexed, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon explains that it is a Sin to overpraise HaShem. His saying has a resounding support in the Talmud:

A certain person, reading prayers in the presence of Rabbi Chaninah, said, 'God, the Great, the valiant, and the Tremendous, the Powerful, the Strong, and the Mighty.' The Rabbi then said to him 'Have you finished all the praises of your Master?'

So what is the problem with the Rabbi? Does he dislike people from praying vigilantly to God? No! What Rabbi Chaninah means is this:

'If it is not because of the praises for God is written in the Torah and if it is not selected from the Prophets by the Men of the Great Assembly, we will not be saying all the praises,'

However, this make us further confuse, what on earth have I do wrong praising Lord Almighty?

The answer require a lot of thinking. Let's give it a parallel situation, a king that owns 600 silver coins is being praised by his subjects for having 600 bronze coins. Is this not a humiliation? The point of this situation is that, we cannot sufficiently praise HaShem and I do not even know is the word 'Praise' applicable to HaShem. However, I think it is okay since the Men of the Great (who are prophets) used the word 'Praise' in the Siddur.

The main point is this, as a man, what do we know about the Creator? We know naught because we cannot comprehend the true essence of Him. We can only feel a tiny minuscule spark from Him and no more. Subsequently, prayers that we utter everyday, if it is not written by Moshe Rabbenu, Tzaddikim, David HaMelech, Prophets, and the Men of the Great Assembly, prayer will be blasphemous as we do not know what ist he Real Essence of God is. If not for God to Reveal Himself in Horev, we will never know that God has so many 'attributes'; such as mercy and anger. What we can see is that the Torah speaks the Language of man. That's why anthropomorphic action are ascribe to God by God Himself. Who will dare to Praise Him Merciful if He Does not Say so in His Torah? Do we know the degree of 'mercy' that God Possesses with our limited mind?

So the lesson is, don't overdo with Praising, or else we will be Blaspheming God for we will never truly know how Great God Is! The True Essence of Him will never be comprehended.

While You are Out...

Many of us are familiar with the 'While you are out..." phone messages, those sticky notes that reminds you who's who called and so on. However, in real life situation will there be a "While you are out..." messages? I am talking about real life situation here and the answer is a resounding yes.

What on earth am I talking about you might asked. The issues at hand is very simple, do you have a a way to return to your Creator's "Messages" that he left for you while you are no longer mindful of Him or perhaps (G-d Forbids), you have forgotten Him.

In the generation of Noach, HaShem Has Hold the "While you are Out..." Messages long until it can pile the whole universe. In patience, HaShem Waited for those that will review his "Messages" someday but He Has Waited in vain. Only Noach favours Him and no one else and until the last moment when the rain is falling, if the people repent, G-d Would Have Stopped the rain and turn it into a rain of Blessing instead.

So what's happening actually?

G-d Did Leaves us (all of us) "while you are out..." messages. However, it is up to us whether we want to return to have a look. G-d is Always Waiting us to review the messages, Waiting for us to do Teshuvah.

So, did you view your "While You are Out..." Messages today? The sooner, the better. :-)

Patience...

Sometimes, Life require more patience than you can give. This is when the real test come. Everyday, we struggle with people who misunderstood our meaning and possibly, actually we are the one who should take the blame. Communication is the vital part of getting message across, so if the line is not clear, have you put in enough patience?

think about it.

Forgiveness

לב שִׂפְתֵי צַדִּיק, יֵדְעוּן רָצוֹן; וּפִי רְשָׁעִים, תַּהְפֻּכוֹת.

The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable; but the mouth of the wicked is all frowardness. (Proverbs 10:32)

What does this verse implies? According to the Vilna Gaon, you can implied the meaning of apology here. How many times have people been apologising but actually they do not mean it? That's a problem truly because these are those referred to as the wicked, whose mouths are filled with frowardness.

Those who are truly righteous will do what is acceptable, they apologise with their heart and the truly mean it.

So what we can do?

Easy, whenever we apologise, do it wholeheartedly. Ask yourself why have you wronged him/her. If you know what have you done, do not do it again and ask for an apology. If you incerely do not know why you have offended a person, ask him/her the reason why. If they are truly your friend, they will tell you.