I need to write about this member of my Shul who seems to think that he controls everything and if he doesn't like something he has to complain about it.
Like I said in my post on Friday that this guy just didn't like my Good Shabbos messages:
I say things like "May be bask in the glory of G-d on the Beit Hamikdash." Does he not want the Beit Hamikdash?
"May it be the last Shabbos in Galus." Does he want to stay in Galus?
"May all the sick be healed, pain be eliminated, be able to connect with the creator." Does he not want any of these things?
I want to quote Rabbi Shalom Gold, regarding people who are not in-tune with certain aspects of Judaism.
"They're dead Jewishly"
They
Are
Dead
This person happens to work in a very comfortable, prosperous field and I'm sure he brings in a lot of money every year, but Mr High & Mighty is having an issue with a simple Bracha that I send out every week?
Maybe it's because he's worried that the coming of Mashiach will burst the little bubble that he's created for himself. Maybe he won't be able to afford the nice cars he drives or the nice house he lives in because that will bring him down in the food chain of society.
You're not the car you drive or the house you live in. If you need "stuff" to make yourself feel worthy, all you're doing is proving that you have no worth.
Michael Masterson likes to explain the difference between "wealth," and "being rich."
"Being rich" is the kind of person who has the title "Filthy Rich" associated with his name. He's the guy who has the 40 cars in the garage on the 40 acre plot of land with the mansion and 2 pools. They like to accumulate "stuff."
Celebrities usually fall into this category, as well as sports stars and CEO's.
Now obviously not every celebrity, sports star and CEO falls into this category, but I'm trying to make a point.
"Wealth" is defined by your own personal worth. Masterson likes to use this analogy with money, but it can be used in the spiritual realm as well.
Masterson's definition regarding money can be illustrated with a story of Mike Tyson. Mike Tyson, at the time I heard this story was $30 million in debt. Yet he makes between $10-12 million a fight. Is he wealthy?
What were to happen if he lost a match? Maybe he would start getting $3 million a match. What happened it he got a career ending injury? What is he qualified to do? Work in McDonald's?
Do you see where I'm going?
Wealth is defined by how much you are worth. Not by by how much stuff you've "accumulated."
In the spiritual realm it works the same way. Lets say you have a Gemara test that you spend hours and hours studying for? They you get your grade back and you've gotten a 40.
Is that your real grade? What if you'd spent the same hours studying the same Gemara, but without the test? Would you still only have a 40?
When it comes to spiritual matters it's the effort that's counted, not the "accumulation."
Case in point. I know someone who went to Ner Israel in Baltimore and he knew how to learn. I remember a conversation I got into with him and I was quoting a story from the Gemara and he knew the story, as well as what Daf it was on.
Yet this guy, doesn't have a set seder a day, he most likely hasn't picked up a sefer in years. He just has a very good ability to comprehend and memorize almost anything.
Compare him to a guy who spends time, every day, struggling to get through the Parsha, or Mishna, or Gemara. This guy is racking up points in Heaven, not because he's ammassing great Torah knowlege, but because he's putting in the effort.
Can you imagine this working in medical school?
"Johnny has averaged a 35 on all of his tests, but he spends hours studying, more than anyone else. Lets just give him his surgeons license for the effort he put in."
So anyways, back to this guy in my shul, he needs to grow up. Maybe he has insecurities and has the need to always feel like he's in control (I hope he doesn't treat his wife like that). Maybe he just had a bad day that day and needed to take it out on someone. But this guy needs to get his priorities straight. If he gets an email like the ones that I send out, he should be smiling and grateful for the reminder that G-d runs the world, and that the Jewish people, unlike everyone else, actually have an end-goal in mind, that we all (hopefully) are working for.
Like I said in my post on Friday that this guy just didn't like my Good Shabbos messages:
I say things like "May be bask in the glory of G-d on the Beit Hamikdash." Does he not want the Beit Hamikdash?
"May it be the last Shabbos in Galus." Does he want to stay in Galus?
"May all the sick be healed, pain be eliminated, be able to connect with the creator." Does he not want any of these things?
I want to quote Rabbi Shalom Gold, regarding people who are not in-tune with certain aspects of Judaism.
"They're dead Jewishly"
They
Are
Dead
This person happens to work in a very comfortable, prosperous field and I'm sure he brings in a lot of money every year, but Mr High & Mighty is having an issue with a simple Bracha that I send out every week?
Maybe it's because he's worried that the coming of Mashiach will burst the little bubble that he's created for himself. Maybe he won't be able to afford the nice cars he drives or the nice house he lives in because that will bring him down in the food chain of society.
You're not the car you drive or the house you live in. If you need "stuff" to make yourself feel worthy, all you're doing is proving that you have no worth.
Michael Masterson likes to explain the difference between "wealth," and "being rich."
"Being rich" is the kind of person who has the title "Filthy Rich" associated with his name. He's the guy who has the 40 cars in the garage on the 40 acre plot of land with the mansion and 2 pools. They like to accumulate "stuff."
Celebrities usually fall into this category, as well as sports stars and CEO's.
Now obviously not every celebrity, sports star and CEO falls into this category, but I'm trying to make a point.
"Wealth" is defined by your own personal worth. Masterson likes to use this analogy with money, but it can be used in the spiritual realm as well.
Masterson's definition regarding money can be illustrated with a story of Mike Tyson. Mike Tyson, at the time I heard this story was $30 million in debt. Yet he makes between $10-12 million a fight. Is he wealthy?
What were to happen if he lost a match? Maybe he would start getting $3 million a match. What happened it he got a career ending injury? What is he qualified to do? Work in McDonald's?
Do you see where I'm going?
Wealth is defined by how much you are worth. Not by by how much stuff you've "accumulated."
In the spiritual realm it works the same way. Lets say you have a Gemara test that you spend hours and hours studying for? They you get your grade back and you've gotten a 40.
Is that your real grade? What if you'd spent the same hours studying the same Gemara, but without the test? Would you still only have a 40?
When it comes to spiritual matters it's the effort that's counted, not the "accumulation."
Case in point. I know someone who went to Ner Israel in Baltimore and he knew how to learn. I remember a conversation I got into with him and I was quoting a story from the Gemara and he knew the story, as well as what Daf it was on.
Yet this guy, doesn't have a set seder a day, he most likely hasn't picked up a sefer in years. He just has a very good ability to comprehend and memorize almost anything.
Compare him to a guy who spends time, every day, struggling to get through the Parsha, or Mishna, or Gemara. This guy is racking up points in Heaven, not because he's ammassing great Torah knowlege, but because he's putting in the effort.
Can you imagine this working in medical school?
"Johnny has averaged a 35 on all of his tests, but he spends hours studying, more than anyone else. Lets just give him his surgeons license for the effort he put in."
So anyways, back to this guy in my shul, he needs to grow up. Maybe he has insecurities and has the need to always feel like he's in control (I hope he doesn't treat his wife like that). Maybe he just had a bad day that day and needed to take it out on someone. But this guy needs to get his priorities straight. If he gets an email like the ones that I send out, he should be smiling and grateful for the reminder that G-d runs the world, and that the Jewish people, unlike everyone else, actually have an end-goal in mind, that we all (hopefully) are working for.
No comments:
Post a Comment