A conversation with G - D (short story)

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Dear G -D, why are there so many wars in this world?

Wars are man made.

Why is there so much suffering?

So you can be close to me.

How?
By calling out to me.

Why did you create different religions?

Different paths for my children to climb the same mountain.

What do you mean?

You are all here on earth to find your individual ways of getting to know me.

But why are the paths so different?

Some paths are more challenging than others.

Why?

According to individual strengths.

Why is the path of the Jew the toughest?

You are my chosen.

Chosen for what, hatred?

No, chosen to bring light unto this world.

How?

Touch another person's soul...

But why do people hate us Jews?

People will remain senseless.

How should I bring light into THEIR world?

By example.

What do you mean?

By living YOUR life the best way you possibly can.

But how do I know what is the BEST way for me?

Follow my guidelines, they are all written down.

Why can't you just tell me, plain and clear, what I should be doing?

This will take away your FREE WILL.

But you want me to live according to YOUR will, right?

Yes, but you must have that choice.

So why did you put all this temptation on earth?

These are tests you must pass.

Why?

So that you can earn your place in Heaven...

Why can't I find true and lasting love?

You look but you don't see.

Did I miss him?

There will always be another.

Will he be here soon?

Yes, but you must keep your heart open.

How do I do that?

Let go of the past, it was there to teach you, to prepare you....

I feel peaceful with you beside me, will you stay?

I am always here...

How can I be sure?

Trust me, my child, trust me, I'm here.

But when you don't answer?

I always answer.

But!
Shh! You must trust me. You must let go of your doubt. I am here.I always was. Always am. And Always will be.Know this, in your heart and soul: you are a part of me, for I am the soul of all souls. I have sent you here for a purpose, but you must have the freedom to find that purpose on your own. You can cry on my shoulder when you need to, and I will always listen. You can seek me out for any questions, and I will always answer. But when you look for an answer, look and listen, with your heart. Your eyes will often deceive you...Peace be with you.

Thank you...
Remember, look and listen, with your heart.

By: Ilana Rogel

What is the Purpose of Life In Judaism

For many in the religious fold, the purpose of life is to serve God. We believe that the Torah (Five books of Moses) contains a blueprint on how a man/woman should lead his/her life. Reward and punishment, including salvation is solely up to God, however connecting to him through the performance of the various mitzvot (more accutately translated as "connections," based on the Zohar) is entirely our objective. What God does with us is His business. He really simply wants us to serve Him, and draw closer. Living a life as harmonious to those directives brings us to a direct and personal relationship with our Creator, and there cannot be anything more purposeful than that.

A teaching from the Nikolsburg Rebbe using God's revelation to Moshe at Mt. Sinai, is one of the most apt metaphors that I've ever seen to illustrate just what closeness to Him means;

There is an insightful teaching of the tzaddik Reb Mechela of Zlotzhiv. In the opening passages of Exodus, the Torah tells of Moshe's encounter with Hashem's Presence in the wilderness of Midyan, where Hashem reveals Himself to Moshe through the Burning Bush. The verse says (Shemos 3:5): "And Hashem said, 'do not come closer here; remove your shoes from your feet because the place where you stand is holy.'"

Hashem is telling every person: Do not come closer here. It is not necessary for you to reach "here" - to arrive at a particular level in order to serve Hashem. It is fine if you stay just where you are and do your best according to your present situation. Don't try to convince yourself that you first need to get a bit closer to Hashem in order to be able to serve Him.

The verse continues: Remove your shoes from your feet. The Hebrew word for shoes - na'alecha - can also mean "your lock," and the Hebrew word for feet - raglecha - can also mean "your habit." The Torah is advising us not to find excuses that we need to get to a particular place in order to serve Hashem, but instead each person should work on himself to overcome his personal "locks" and "habits" that hold him back from fulfilling Hashem's will.

The verse concludes: "Because the place where you stand is holy." The very place where you are now is holy and you can serve Hashem right there!

Often, Shalhevet students will tell me they don't feel "so holy," because they know they are eating at places they shouldn't, or mingling with the opposite sex in ways that are inappropriate for them. Sometimes it hinders their desire to even show up for communal prayer, which is mandatory for each student, at least morning services. My invariable response to them is; "there are 612 other mitzvot you can perform today. Why punish yourself and deny a connection to Hashem because you aren't holding at a place where all of them resonate or seem relevant to you right now?" The place where you are holding is already holy!

We should all ask ourselves the same question.

Bird On a Wire

If you walked by a hurt bird, what would you do? Would you think this is out of your area of expertise or would you try to help it?

My question does not refer to any rules you've been taught about what you should or should not do. And, yes, I suppose you can run to a Rabbi or a teacher and ask his or her opinion, by which time the bird would surely be dead ... my question refers to what would your gut instinct tell you to do?

Would you find someone who could help it or would you shake your head in pity but shrug your shoulders saying it's just a bird and this is part of nature's cruelty?

Would you try to simply avoid the sorry sight by turning your head away and convincing yourself there is nothing that can be done and there is no way you're taking responsibility for this wild creature? Besides ... there are bigger problems you need to worry about in this world ...

I'd like to urge you to have compassion over G-D's creatures. I'd like to suggest that if you walk in a path and stumble upon a hurt animal, G-D put YOU on that path for a reason!
And I'd like to bring to your awareness that there are wonderful organizations such as the Humane Society and Animal Control that you can call explaining the situation and your whereabouts and they will come and get the animal to a vet. immediately, w/o charging you a penny.

Here's my story:

While taking an afternoon walk with a friend, we walked by a bird who was struggling to fly. It fluttered its wings and raised its little body up to 5' or so, but then dropped back down on the ground, helpless. My friend noticed but kept on walking away, saying: "poor birdie".
I stopped. "we have to help it" I told her.
She smirked. What could we do?!
We called the security guard on site and my friend ordered him to guide the bird behind the bushes to get it away from on coming cars. We continued on our walk but the thought of a helpless bird behind the bushes was unsettling to me.
"It could get eaten by a hawk or an eagle" I told her.
She smirked again. "I haven't seen hawks or eagles here for a while."
Still walking away from the scene of the crime, I told her, "or a CAT! it could get eaten by a cat and the bird can't defend itself".
My friend gave me a sympathy look and said it would be better if I don't think about it and that there is no way we're taking the bird to a vet. since her credit card was full. I asked if there was anything equivalent to a community hospital for people, but for animals. She paused and said yes! The Humane Society...
"but YOU call them" she said, still with a smirk on her face.
Seeing as my friend was pretty much laughing at me for wanting to get the hurt bird to safety, I was sure the people at the Humane society would laugh at me as well. "a hurt bird?" I imagined them saying, "we have here hurt cats and dogs! What will we do with a bird!? Ha Ha Ha!" But it was nothing like that ... once I googled the humane society and found some numbers to call. I explained the situation and the response was as compassionate as can be.
After giving them a description of the bird and what it had hurt and the whereabouts of our location, they said: "This is considered an emergency, we'll be there right away!"
A truck pulled up within 10-15 minutes, picked up the bird and the driver assured me he was on his way to a veterinarian.
My friend's eyes grew wide with amazement and disbelief ...
I was relieved, "NOW we can continue our walk." I told her ...

Don't get me wrong, I don't claim sainthood and I must admit it felt good proving my friend wrong ... but mostly it felt great knowing that I did something ... anything ... to help the situation G-D presented me with at that moment.

By: Ilana Rogel