קול החינוך גליון 168#
[א”ה, קול החינוך עוסק במלחמת מדינת ישראל בחינוך יהודי עצמאי]
בהכוונת גדולי התורה שליט”א – יו”ל ע”י ‘ועד הורים’
Reprinted with permission.
Day: August 23, 2023 – ו׳ באלול תשפ״ג
You Are Not Your Job!
A Life That Matters
When a person says that he is making a living, what he means is that he is making an existence. Earning money is merely surviving. No matter how much money a person earns, it does not make his life meaningful.[1] Making a living means making meaningful contributions to the world. How is the world now a better place because of you? How will the world look differently by the time you exit it?
A chassid asked his Rebbe what his thoughts were on the age-old quandary of whether the cup was half empty or half full. The Rebbe said that the answer is obvious — the cup is completely full. It is half full of water and half full of air. People can live without water for a while but it is not possible for a person to live without air for more than a few minutes. People look at their lives and see that it is half empty but that is insignificant compared to how full it is with what matters. The air of life is your contributions to the world, the meaning you add to the world. Will anyone miss you when you leave this world? Why will they miss you? What have you achieved? What significant contributions will you leave behind in this world?
At the funeral of a very successful millionaire named David, the eulogizer, Jay, mentioned the wealthy man’s accomplishments. He praised David’s many great business dealings, the real estate he acquired throughout his life, the immense amount of luxury cars he owned and his brand-name watch collection.[2] Jay suddenly realized that David’s family felt embarrassed. They requested that Jay make the focus on his accomplishments in meaningful arenas such as the charity he gave and the Torah he learned.
Why did those present feel awkward when David’s material achievements were mentioned? The answer is because everyone wants to leave this world being remembered for their meaningful, deeper, spiritual accomplishments. Most people spend the majority of their time chasing physical matters even though they know internally that this is not the legacy they want to leave behind. Who wants to be remembered for their muscles, nice appearance or wealth? We must ask ourselves: “What do you want people to remember about you after you leave this world?” Once we obtain the answer to this, we can dedicate the rest of our days pursuing those things.
[1] A Holocaust survivor once synopsized the contrast of Jewish life in Europe to Jewish life in America where she moved to later in life. “In Europe, no one earned a living but we lived. Here (in America), people earn a living but they don’t live.”
[2] A chassid once asked the Lubavitcher Rebbe his opinion of him choosing to become a typist. The Rebbe retorted, “You can make a living typing, but don’t become a typist.”
I am excited to announce that my newly released book “Dazzling Money Insights: Illuminating Torah Essays about Money” is now available (as a paperback and Hardcover) for purchase and delivery on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/
B0C6P6H5B1 or by sending an email to yalt3285@gmail.com.
Rabbi Yehoshua Alt
Author of Five Books including the recently released “Magnificent Marriage Insights: Captivating Torah Essays about Marriage”
To purchase any of the author’s books (hardcopy or e-book) and get it delivered to your door, please send an email to yalt3285@gmail.com or visit https://amzn.to/3eyh5xP
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האם *כדאי* לעבוד מתחת לשלחן? דברי שבט הלוי
שמעתי אומרים בשם הרב שמואל ווזנר זצ”ל שהעובד “מתחת לשלחן” גם גודל הרווחים שלו מוגבל “עד גובה השלחן”, אבל העובד מעל השלחן הרווחים שלו יכולים לגדול עד השמים…
You Think You’re Worshipping in Solitude. In Reality, They’re Spying on You and Writing About It…
BRESLOV IN MY BACKYARD
| AUGUST 31, 2021
Finding the essence of prayer in a Jerusalem wadi
I was born in Brooklyn, where davening happens in shuls that are heated in the winter and air-conditioned in the summer. If people get emotional during davening, maybe their whispers are a little loud. But most keep their emotions to themselves.
The wadi in my current backyard — a ravine hugging the edge of Jerusalem — is a long way from Brooklyn.
Those first few nights after we moved in, I was alarmed to hear repeated desperate yells outside my window. But when morning came, I realized that no one was being attacked out there. The screams were coming from a motley group of Breslover chassidim who’d chosen this wadi as their destination for daily hisbodedus — some in the early morning hours, some shrouded in the lonely darkness of the Jerusalem night.
With time, my take on those yells changed from annoying to curious to passionate to inspiring. And my view of the men who visit the raw valley changed, too: from foreign, off-putting wanderers to authentic spiritual seekers.
In Jerusalem of 2021, there are clogged highways and self-checkout in the supermarkets. There are LED signs advertising the next minyan outside the local shtibel and electric scooters zipping up and down the streets. If you’re seeking a place that’s quiet, a place untouched by asphalt or technology, a place to feel small and needy against the vast expanse of creation, then you too might make your way to the wadi behind my building. There you can feel your smallness and His greatness, voice your most intimate needs, and find your deepest self.
רכישת לוחות שנה עתים לבינה תשפ”ד ולוחות עם תאריכים אישיים >>> הזדרזו להזמין
שלום וברכה,
גם השנה ניתן לרכוש את הלוח שנה הפופולרי ביותר לוח “עתים לבינה”
באתר קיימים מגוון לוחות לבחירה:
לוח קיר בגודל A4 – לוח באותיות גדולות יותר, מותאם בעיקר למקומות ציבוריים
בנוסף קיים לוח קיר סטנדרטי, בגודל 24*16.5 ס”מ, לוח כיס מוגדל, לוח כיס ויומן כיס
באתר קיימים מגוון לוחות לבחירה:
לוח קיר בגודל A4 – לוח באותיות גדולות יותר, מותאם בעיקר למקומות ציבוריים
בנוסף קיים לוח קיר סטנדרטי, בגודל 24*16.5 ס”מ, לוח כיס מוגדל, לוח כיס ויומן כיס
שימו לב: הזמנות שיתקבלו עד לתאריך י’ באלול יהיו מוכנות בעז”ה עד לר”ה התשפ”ד.
רוצים גם השנה להפתיע עם לוח שנה עתים לבינה מותאם אישית?
המתנה האידיאלית לכל מי שחשוב לכם!
לוח שנה במהדורה משפחתית בגודל A4 עם כל התאריכים והאירועים האישיים שלכם!
ימי הולדת, ימי נישואים, יארצייטים, הגיגים משפחתיים וכו’
כל התאריכים האישיים שלכם משובצים בלוח הפופולרי “עתים לבינה”
התחדשנו עם מגוון אפשרויות לבחירה:
לוח אישי מיוחד, לוח אישי קלאסי, לוח אישי פרימיום ולוח אישי ספיישל
לוח אישי מיוחד, לוח אישי קלאסי, לוח אישי פרימיום ולוח אישי ספיישל
שימו לב: הזמנות שיתקבלו עד לתאריך י’ באלול יהיו מוכנות בעז”ה עד לר”ה התשפ”ד.
[התקבל במערכת]