A LITTLE BEND
Dear Family,
I hope everyone is well.
Mazal Tov to Zalmy on his birthday next week. Wishing you to keep growing in all areas Zalmy with much happiness. And good luck for your exams!
Mazal Tov to Sara on her birthday next week. Wishing you and your Family a great year Sara. Love to all.
Mazal Tov to Reuven and Chana Lieba on their Anniversary on the same day as Sara's birthday. Wishing you a year of many celebrations.
Mazal Tov to Hirshy and Mariasha on their upcoming Anniversary. Wishing you an exciting year and with much growth and happiness.
And another Anniversary! Mazal Tov to Mendel and Freida who also have an Anniversary next week! Wishing you a wonderful year with much happiness.
We should add to the Anniversaries by news of many more weddings for all!
I saw 2 nice articles about HUMILITY this week, and I was wondering what their connection was to the week's theme. I came to the conclusion that it was connected to Aharon in this week's Sedra of Behaalosecha.
Aharon is famous for his tremendous love of all his fellow Jews, and his pursuit of peace, and as will be seen from the next 2 stories, this is an essential element of HUMILITY.
From Keter Shem Tov - Baal Shem Tov
A passenger dozed off as his wagon climbed a steep mountain, and rolled across a large plateau.
He awoke but refused to believe that he was on top of a mountain - it looked flat, and he did not experience the climb.
When the plateau ended, and the winding descent began, he realised that he must have been on a mountain after all.
The mountain represents conceit. We cannot recognise our own arrogance, because we were born there with a natural dose of arrogance, raising ourselves consciously or unconsciously, above others.
Through life, by actively working on lowering ourselves with genuine humility before others, by recognising the supreme greatness of our Creator, which makes all humans equally insignificant, we begin to recognise our mountain for what it is.
We must descend all the way to the valley, by developing a genuinely humble heart.
Sefer Hasichos - tav resh tzadi vav p47
The Rebbe Rashab once described a painting he had seen, depicting a field of grain stalks on a sun drenched day, in the midst of which, a little bird stood perched on one of the stalks.
Many professional artists who viewed this painting were awed by its life-like projection.
Along came a farmer who took one look at the artwork and said " Its all good, the fields, the grain....but the little bird standing on the stalk is unrealistic. For when a bird stands on grain, even though it is small and light, its weight needs to somewhat bend the stalk on which it stands. Yet in this painting, the stalk is standing as straight as all the others!"
The Rebbe Rashab concluded with the lesson, "Everything could be first rate, as if it was alive, BUT IF THE BEND IS MISSING, then it is all unrealistic. It is missing emes.."(Truth)
Wishing all a Gut Shabbos!