Imagine you are driving on the freeway and see hundreds of dollars passing by every moment. You can’t grab the cash as you drive, but you see it get completely wasted, $100 at a time. Frustrating, right? We see the value of $100, but when time passes by, why don’t we view its value this way?
Many of us don’t value time since we wake up and flow through it. If we knew we had three months to live, G-d forbid, would we become more active as a result? Would we be more aware of our time and its value? We should wake up every morning and ask, “What is my purpose? What am I meant to do today?” By asking these questions and reminding ourselves of their importance, perhaps we will waste less time, and have more gratitude and perspective of our goals and overarching purpose.
Here are five points to keep in mind every day, as we become studiers of life, constantly aware of time’s value. I will use the terms awareness and studying interchangeably.
Awareness should be:
1. Constant: Commit to being aware all the time, even as you sleep. Always look at the bigger picture of how you can connect with your bigger purpose. The point is keeping your awareness stable.
2. Continuous: Be sure your awareness is uninterrupted. Immense yourself in what you choose. Take it on and be in it to win it. Make it as productive as can be.
3. Consistent: Break past barriers and move into habit. Eventually this will become second nature. By giving yourself enough opportunities to become accustomed to the task at hand, you gain knowledge.
4. Repetitive: Go over the same assignment again and again. The Gemorah says you need to do something 40 times for it to become a reality, for real learning to take place. If something bad happens in your life, be aware of why it keeps repeating, so you can prevent it from occurring again. On the other hand, if something good happens, let it repeat (For example, thank your wife for dinner, and she just might cook again!)
5. Pervasiveness/comprehensiveness: Do not take what you are told at face value. Question things. If something bothers you, get to the root of it. This way, you can gain the most of every situation and truly understand events you go through. It is not enough to consider yourself a good person for studying Torah, for example, if you are not comprehending the Mitzvot, doing good for others, and constantly improving yourself.
Let’s promise to view our time as valuable, since we have something to give and gain; to give more of ourselves and not live life passively. Even if we do the same physical routine day in and out, everything we do can be seen with newness: learning, studying, growing, and improving.
We all have potential to inspire and be inspired, so share that potential with the world!
(Brought to you from a lecture given by the incredible Rabbi Teller of Aish HaTorah, Los Angeles!)
The greatest risk in life is not taking one.
- Who Gets To Go To The Moon - 9/18/2018
- On Being Feminine, Not Feminist - 3/8/2016
- Top 7 Ways To Know You’re Not Ready To Date - 11/5/2015
What’s the problem, TM? Jewlicious is now repeating weekly chizuk shmoozes froma man so fahfrumpt he offered stories to the women’s seminary Neve Yerushalyim, the women’s division of Ohr Somayach, an institution that has called for the dismantling of democracy in favor of rule by The Gedoylim.
http://books.google.com/books?id=YjqJSW8UUPUC&pg=PA171&lpg=PA171&dq=neve+yerushalayim+hanoch+teller&source=bl&ots=593V2q748_&sig=uvNdj8f_4WCCAj9ys_0AzLpnshU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=j8CbUfGzA9G-4AOEpoGQDg&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=neve%20yerushalayim%20hanoch%20teller&f=false
Teller himself offers story after story of the power of these superhumans we call Gedoylim, or “great ones.”
http://www.hanochteller.com/books.php
It’s fantastic that such right-wing ultra-Orthodox views are now part and parcel of Jewlicious’s weekly offerings. All part of the Big Tent agenda,
And these are all TRUE stories. As the world-renowned Rabbi Dovid Orlofsky noted (Orlofsky bravely chastised the former Orthodox Union head for daring to disagree with the Gedoylim on the matter of the “evolution” of man, and is apparently no longer welcome to in any Orthodox Union event- ever – because they aren’t frum enough to appreciate his position)
“Hanoch Teller is best known for his action-packed stories, but I have always believed his greatest talent is in bringing the memory and the lessons of the gedolim to life.
TM, maybe instead of being so paranoid at what the Torah-hating religious Left will say, you should curl up with a great Hanoch Teller book about what miracle the Gedoylim did. Or rather, with some books about Gedoylim miracles. Why not start with three?
http://www.feldheim.com/authors/teller-hanoch/teller-gedoilm-biography-bundle.html
No, my problem was that your initial comment was unconvincing. This one was much better.
Hanoch Teller is a guru for mindless coeds
Let’s look at a couple of problems with Jewlicious’s Aish Lesson of the Week:
“Imagine you are driving on the freeway and see hundreds of dollars passing by every moment. ”
Haredim imagine money “passing by” magically all the time because they don’t work. They expect handouts. They call it “bitcahon,” believing that Hashem will give their lazy asses something for nothing.
“Commit to being aware all the time, even as you sleep.”
When we are asleep, we cannot be aware “all the time,”. because we are asleep. This is a prime of example of how haredism makes senseless and unnecessary demands on their recruits.
“(For example, thank your wife for dinner, and she just might cook again!)”
This is an example of Aish pretending to be necessary when good manners are what are necessary. Aish should be teaching haredim to stop demanding handouts from the government (which government? All of them!) instead of pretending to teach non-Orthodox Jews how to say please and thank you.
“Even if we do the same physical routine day in and out”
Aish should shut its haredi trap on this one. Haredim discourage exercise because they mostly sit on their haredi asses all day. Again, these heimeshes should be preaching to their own about getting into a “physical routine.”
Dude, can we have more substantive criticism? This isn’t cutting it.
fuck yoga. it’s soooo boring. ps i do not check these messages all the time, nor do i get notifications when people comment. so comment away, i may check, i may not, depending on how bored i am.
Dave, it’s insipid brainwashing that targets the lost and confused. You know it. This article is psycho-babble I’d expect to hear in a yoga class.
You’re not helping your friend, Dave. Esther could use guidance, not brainwashing.
Well then TM, please feel free to explain your position to Michelle in the comments section. Address this the way you would any position you would disagree with that appears here. And what do you have against Yoga classes. More importantly, you’ve taken Yoga classes??
Let me remind you of your words TM “Jewlicious and Jewlicious Festivals embody a philosophy of openness and togetherness to all Jews from all streams.” So if Michelle wants to explore themes she learned at a Kiruv event, that’s legit. And it’s equally legit for you to be critical – though try to offer more than “Kiruv is evil.” That’s Kelsey’s job 🙂
You know, you’re opening a Pandora’s box and it would be wiser to leave it closed. The other day I wrote something relatively mild that included criticism of some Orthodox issues that we’re all aware of and Yonah was immediately here to offer a defense as if all of Orthodox Judaism was under attack. By asking me to begin elaborating, you are pushing me to cause this to descend into some debates that we’ve already seen on this site and that it may be better not to revisit. And I wouldn’t do it in the comments section. This would be posts – posts that will contain some severe criticism. It’s a lose-lose.
Kiruv seeks to transform people’s lives so as to meet the criteria the kiruvnik believes are god’s will. As if the hubris of that is insufficient, typically the people who are targeted are susceptible candidates such as people in stages of transition, confusion and weakness in their lives. When they are hooked, their lives undergo significant changes, often far beyond anything they understood or anticipated when the process began and usually so rapidly that they don’t have time to evaluate, re-evaluate or, most importantly, reconsider. It is not uncommon to see quick shidduchim/marriages among the newly converted (rarely arranged for them with a born-Orthodox spouse) so they can embark on this new life right away. This locks them in because marriage, child and community ties are tough to break, especially without profound personal costs. This rapid transformation is driven by design because the kiruvniks understand well that their hapless victims will find it quite challenging to undo the now-permanent results of what had been a temporary personal crisis. It’s not as if you can disown that new husband or that new child or both. Suddenly you are permanently ensconced in a way of life that is very different than the path they were on or would have taken otherwise.
Sometimes (often, actually) this new path includes separation from one’s family and parents (in cult-like fashion), disrespect towards the former family’s and parents’ way of life in favor of this new of life, not to mention significantly modified career, income and life paths, entirely different roles within family and society for men and women (especially women) than would have have been their lot without this kiruv interference, etc.
Extricating oneself from these circumstances, by design, is extremely challenging and often requires tearing up one’s life once again, except that in many cases old relationships and ties have been damaged to so that going back is never the same. The maliciousness and cynicism of this process is heightened by the fact that many kiruvniks are professionals who make their living from this and essentially measure success by the number of scalps they’ve, um, covered. Sure, some of them enter this “profession” with a sense of mission, but even a mission gets corrupted when you earn your living from it. Making a living from converting others also raises all kinds of questions about whether the kiruvnik actually believes what they’re selling since at some point it becomes a way of paying the mortgage, not saving souls.
I really don’t want to launch a war on Aish and other groups, but if we’re going to publish publicity for them then I will feel obligated to neutralize that publicity. I recommend dropping this. Aish and its friends have no shortage of avenues for promoting themselves. This site will not be one of them. Too many people get hurt by kiruv.
there’s nothing wrong with kiruv, and there’s nothing wrong with expressing views. there is for sure something wrong with haters, but it’s cool, y’all. i like it. bring it on. these are some of the most positive posts i have ever written, so it’s lame that people are focusing on the fact that it’s aish related. but whatever, im going to write more about sex anyway, it’s more fun.
michelleappelbaum.com
There’s a great deal wrong with kiruv.
Anyway, you may not realize it but you’re actually causing your friend Dave some harm. Here is a little background for you (you’ll notice you have made that article obsolete).
Please note TM that our content represents a multiplicity of values and opinions. If Esther finds Aish resonant and she wants to write about it, it’s no skin off my nose. Aish is indeed a Haredi Kiruv organization. Unlike say Satmar, they are pro-Israel, but in every other respect they are hard core Haredi. Granted there are worst directions for young Jews to pursue, but a hard core Haredi lifestyle is not something I am a huge fan of – as you can tell from the content of the site – see the posts on the ban on hipster glasses or the ban on walking with your wife. So yeah, post away Esther and don’t get offended when people express disapproval. It happens and it’s nothing personal – some people had their lives greatly enriched by Aish and others have walked out of there warped beyond words. As they say – your mileage might vary!
i blog about what i want, when i want. how about reading the content of the blog instead of focusing on the one sentence at the bottom that says this is related to a Rabbi from Aish? There is nothing wrong with the messages in this blog, or in the other one, or in the next one that I WILL post from Aish.
Okay, seriously, why are we promoting Aish on our site? Aish has lots of its own promotional channels and they are welcome to use them. Why on earth are you using Jewlicious as a conduit for them?
They are a kiruv movement, Esther. They are a movement that many people, including myself, reject. I understand that perhaps you are at a point in your life where this stuff is resonating with you and I’m glad that listening to this rabbi is giving you direction, but there are many people and families who are damaged by kiruv movements such as Aish and I ask that you not use Jewlicious to promote such a movement.