Avraham's One Village - JEWISH & benei Noach's ONE VILLAGE Barukh haba: Jewish World Review (JWR)

JWR TODAY: Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 23:58:15 GMT

JWR TODAY: Tuesday, August 19, 2008

http://www.JewishWorldReview.com/
The intersection of faith, culture and politics

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

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THINK **YOUR** LIFE IS MESSED UP?

What if the difficulties you confront daily aren't random or perchance,
but rather by design? And what if they could become the raw materials
-- the combustible fuel -- to drive the engine of your spiritual quest
back to the heart of the Divine?

Today's 'Godcast', from an Old City of Jerusalem scholar and bestselling
author, could liberate your thinking immeasurably. But it may disturb
some old stereotypes.

Listen with openness!

RUN TIME: 11 minutes

http://jewishworldreview.com/jwisdom/aaron.php3

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[ J E W I S H L I V I N G ]

---> outlook
If the Almighty doesn't exist
By Dennis Prager

We are constantly reminded about the destructive consequences of
religion — intolerance, hatred, division, inquisitions, persecutions of
"heretics," holy wars. Though far from the whole story, they are,
nevertheless, true. There have been many awful consequences of religion.

But ...

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0808/prager081908.php3

---> reality check/ war on jihad
Obama's Islamist problem has nothing to do with his upbringing
By Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.

Why is the Illinois senator giving a prominent role at next week's
Democratic convention to a leader of an organization identified by the
Department of Justice as a Muslim Brotherhood front organization and an
unindicted co-conspirator in a terrorism financing conspiracy?

http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/gaffney081908.php3

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[ D A I L Y I N S P I R A T I O N ]

NEW SERIES!

"Thank You/ Gratitude: Formulas, stories and insights" By Rabbi Zelig
Pliskin

Few of us realize that cultivating a genuine sense of gratitude will
impact on our happiness, our marriage, even on our sense of self-worth.
Being ungrateful for the many blessings in our lives distances us from
our Creator and spoils our relationships with other people

TODAY: Gratitude for pointing out your faults

http://jewishworldreview.com/inspiration/thank_you.php3

[ Godcast --- Uplifting Downloads ]

TODAY: Think your life is messed up? by Rabbi David Aaron

What if the difficulties you confront daily aren't random or perchance,
but rather by design? And what if they could become the raw materials --
the combustible fuel -- to drive the engine of your spiritual quest back
to the heart of the Divine?

Today's 'Godcast', from an Old City of Jerusalem scholar and bestselling
author, could liberate your thinking immeasurably. But it may disturb
some old stereotypes.

Listen with openness!

RUN TIME: 11 minutes

http://jewishworldreview.com/jwisdom/aaron.php3

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[ W O R T H 1 0 0 0 W O R D S ]

* The Wizard of Id
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/wiz/wiz.asp

* Andy Capp http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/a_capp/a_capp.asp

* 9 to 5 http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/9_to_5/9_to_5.asp

* Baloo http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/baloo/baloo.asp

* Bottom Liners
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/bottomliners/bottomliners.asp

* Bliss http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/bliss/bliss.asp

* The Born Loser
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/born_loser/born_loser.asp

* Bound and Gagged
http://jewishworldreview.com/strips/bound_and_gagged/b_and_g.asp

* Flo & Friends http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/flo/flo.asp

* Frank & Ernest
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/frank_and_ernest/frank_and_ernest.asp

* The Grizzwells
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/grizzwells/grizzwells.asp

* Herman http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/herman/herman.asp

* Mallard Filmore
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/mallard/2000/mallard1.asp

* Moderately Confused
http://jewishworldreview.com/strips/moderately_confused/mc.asp

* Momma http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/momma/momma.asp

* One Big Happy http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/obh/obh1.asp

* Prickly City
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/pc/prickly_city.asp

* The Other Coast http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/toc/toc.asp

* Shoe http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/shoe/shoe.asp

* State of the Union http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/sou/sou.asp

* Robert Arial http://jewishworldreview.com/toons/arial/arial1.asp

* Chuck Asay http://jewishworldreview.com/toons/asay/asay1.asp

* Lisa Benson http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/benson/benson.asp

* J.D. Crowe http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/crowe/crowe1.asp

* Brian Duffy http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/duffy/duffy.asp

* David Hitch http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/hitch/hitch.asp

* Jerry Holbert
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/holbert/holbert1.asp

* Joe Heller http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/heller/heller1.asp

* Steve Kelley
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/kelley/skelley1.asp

* Dick Locher http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/locher/locher.asp

* Jimmy Margulies
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/margulies/margulies.asp

* Rick McKee http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/mckee/mckee.asp

* Jeff Stahler
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/stahler/stahler1.asp

* Wayne Stayskal
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/stayskal/stayskal1.asp

* Dana Summers
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/summers/summers.asp

* Kirk Walters
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/walters/walters1.asp

* Michael Ramirez
http://jewishworldreview.com/toons/ramirez/ramirez1.asp

* " "¤" "¤" "¤" "¤" "¤" "¤" "¤" "¤" "¤"

[ PoliticalMavens.com H I G H L I G H T S ]

* Peter Brookes: Bad news bear
http://politicalmavens.com/index.php/2008/08/18/bad-news-bear-2/

* Paul Kengor: Obama Conceives the Inconceivable on Conception
http://politicalmavens.com/index.php/2008/08/18/obama-conceives-the-inconceivable-on-conception/

* Doug Gamble: I Smell a Rat
http://politicalmavens.com/index.php/2008/08/18/i-smell-a-rat/

* Arnold Ahlert: Still the Greatest Country in the World?
http://politicalmavens.com/index.php/2008/08/14/still-the-greatest-country-in-the-world/

* Monica Crowley: The Purpose-Driven Campaign
http://politicalmavens.com/index.php/2008/08/18/the-purpose-driven-campaign/

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[ T O D A Y I N H I S T O R Y ]

On this day in …

* 1848, the California Gold Rush: The New York Herald breaks the news to
the East Coast of the United States of the gold rush in California
(although the rush started in January)

* 1895, frontier murderer and outlaw, John Wesley Hardin, is killed by
an off-duty policeman in a saloon in El Paso, Texas

* 1934, the first All-American Soap Box Derby is held in Dayton, Ohio.
ALSO: The creation of the position Fuhrer approved by the German
electorate with 89.9% of the popular vote

* 1944 , Paris rises against German occupation with the help of Allied
troops

* 1945, Viet Minh led by Ho Chi Minh take power in Hanoi, Vietnam

* 1953, the CIA helps to overthrow the government of Mohammed Mossadegh
in Iran and reinstate the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi

* 1990, Leonard Bernstein conducts his final concert, ending with Ludwig
van Beethoven's Symphony No. 7

* 1991, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev placed under house arrest
while on holiday in the town of Foros, Crimea

* 2003, practitioners of that "religion of peace", blow up a Jerusalem
bus, killing 23 Israelis, 7 of them children

* 2005, the first-ever joint military exercise between Russia and China,
called Peace Mission 2005, begins

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[ I N S I G H T ]

* Paul Johnson: Eye-stopping glimpses of an exotic and forbidden world
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0808/pjohnson.php3

* Argus Hamilton skewers politics and contemporary "culture"
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0808/hamilton081908.php3

* Phil Perrier: I FOUND BIGFOOT!... REALLY!
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0808/perrier081908.php3

* Tom Purcell: School lunch dough
http://jewishworldreview.com/0808/purcell081908.php3

* Paul Greenberg: Modals and me
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/greenberg081908.php3

* Wesley Pruden: Going for brass in Beijing 2008 (OUCH!)
http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/pruden081908.php3

* Michael Goodwin: Russian invasion of Georgia illustrates threat to
U.S. global role
http://jewishworldreview.com/michael/goodwin081908.php3

* Ed Koch: The potential of mutual destruction
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0808/koch.php3

* Anne Applebaum: What Is Russia Afraid Of? (SMART!)
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0808/applebaum.php3

* Jack Kelly: Liars, cheaters and incompetents
http://jewishworldreview.com/0808/jkelly081908.php3

* Rich Lowry: Barack Obama --- abortion extremist
http://jewishworldreview.com/0808/lowry081908.php3

* David Limbaugh: Pro-Choice McCain Veep Equals Political Suicide
http://jewishworldreview.com/david/limbaugh081908.php3

* Dick Morris: Obama's backbone deficit
http://jewishworldreview.com/0808/morris081908.php3

* Cal Thomas: A very civil forum
http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/thomas081908.php3

* Thomas Sowell: Georgia on our mind
http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/sowell081908.php3

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[ L I F E S T Y L E S ]

* Next Steps: Elder Matters: Should we move our wandering Mom to a new
facility?
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0808/nextstep081908.php3

* For many, inheriting a home becomes mixed blessing
http://jewishworldreview.com/0808/inheriting_a_home.php3

* Dr. Peter H. Gott: Eye-socket cholesterol leaves woman looking for
answers
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/gott1.asp

* Frugal Living by Sara Noel: Are warehouse clubs worth it?
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/frugal_living.php3

* Bruce Williams on JWR: A precarious situation for elderly mom; more
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/bruce1.asp

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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com/

Want to drop us a note? You may send it to JWR's editor in chief:
mailto:blj@jewishworldreview.com EVERY letter is read and valued!

ENJOYING THIS NEWSLETTER? WE NEED YOUR HELP AND WE NEED IT NOW!

Please help us keep on keeping on. To make a tax-deductible
donation, please go to:
https://www.kerenyehoshuavyisroel.com/keren/jwr/donate.cfm

NOT COMFORTABLE DONATING ELECTRONICALLY?
We can arrange for you to send your gift through CONVENTIONAL MAIL.
Make your request by pressing reply.

© 2008, JewishWorldReview.com: Permission to distribute this newsletter
-- NOT articles' text -- is not only granted, it's also ENCOURAGED, as
is using the "e-mail a friend" option!

<^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^>

JWR TODAY: Monday, August 18, 2008‏

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 18:07:42 GMT

JWR TODAY: Monday, August 18, 2008

http://www.JewishWorldReview.com/
The intersection of faith, culture and politics

Monday, August 18, 2008

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RELATIONSHIP AGONY: THE REAL CAUSE

Therapists and other would have you believe that turbulence before and
during dating -- and within marriage -- is caused by poor communication,
habit patterns and bad feelings. How un-true! The popular relationship
coach continues her myth busting by turning conventional wisdom on its
head

RUN TIME: 6 minutes

http://jewishworldreview.com/jwisdom/shulman.php3

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[ J E W I S H L I V I N G ]

---> outlook
The Jewish Ethicist
By Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir

Q: A friend suggested I join him in a business deal. When I suggested a
contract, he explained that we're good friends and a hand-shake is
enough. Should I be suspicious?

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/jewish/ethicist_business_friend.php3

---> reality check
Roars About Russia, Bare Whispers About Islam
By Diana West

No pattern of avowedly Islam-inspired violence in the world has ever
earned a headline nearly as straightforward as "Islamic jihad is back."
Not even the Islamic success of Motoon Rage, which has severely
repressed Western modes of expression regarding Muhammad in particular
and Islam in general, inspired anything as descriptive as, for example,
"Sharia's new teeth."

http://jewishworldreview.com/0808/west081808.php3

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[ D A I L Y I N S P I R A T I O N ]

NEW SERIES!

"Thank You/ Gratitude: Formulas, stories and insights" By Rabbi Zelig
Pliskin

Few of us realize that cultivating a genuine sense of gratitude will
impact on our happiness, our marriage, even on our sense of self-worth.
Being ungrateful for the many blessings in our lives distances us from
our Creator and spoils our relationships with other people

TODAY: Let people know that they should feel grateful to others

http://jewishworldreview.com/inspiration/thank_you.php3

[ Godcast --- Uplifting Downloads ]

TODAY: Relationship agony: The real cause by Malka Schulman

Therapists and other would have you believe that turbulence before and
during dating -- and within marriage -- is caused by poor communication,
habit patterns and bad feelings. How un-true! The popular relationship
coach continues her myth busting by turning conventional wisdom on its
head

RUN TIME: 6 minutes

http://jewishworldreview.com/jwisdom/Schulman.php3

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[ W O R T H 1 0 0 0 W O R D S ]

* The Wizard of Id
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/wiz/wiz.asp

* Andy Capp http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/a_capp/a_capp.asp

* 9 to 5 http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/9_to_5/9_to_5.asp

* Baloo http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/baloo/baloo.asp

* Bottom Liners
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/bottomliners/bottomliners.asp

* Bliss http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/bliss/bliss.asp

* The Born Loser
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/born_loser/born_loser.asp

* Bound and Gagged
http://jewishworldreview.com/strips/bound_and_gagged/b_and_g.asp

* Flo & Friends http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/flo/flo.asp

* Frank & Ernest
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/frank_and_ernest/frank_and_ernest.asp

* The Grizzwells
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/grizzwells/grizzwells.asp

* Herman http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/herman/herman.asp

* Mallard Filmore
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/mallard/2000/mallard1.asp

* Moderately Confused
http://jewishworldreview.com/strips/moderately_confused/mc.asp

* Momma http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/momma/momma.asp

* One Big Happy http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/obh/obh1.asp

* Prickly City
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/pc/prickly_city.asp

* The Other Coast http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/toc/toc.asp

* Shoe http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/shoe/shoe.asp

* State of the Union http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/sou/sou.asp

* Dry Bones
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/dry_bones/dry_bones.asp

* Robert Arial http://jewishworldreview.com/toons/arial/arial1.asp

* Chuck Asay http://jewishworldreview.com/toons/asay/asay1.asp

* Lisa Benson http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/benson/benson.asp

* Chip Bok http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/bok/bok1.asp

* John Cole http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/cole/cole1.asp

* John Deering
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/deering/deering1.asp

* Jake Fuller http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/fuller/fuller1.asp

* Jerry Holbert
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/holbert/holbert1.asp

* Joe Heller http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/heller/heller1.asp

* Steve Kelley
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/kelley/skelley1.asp

* Jeff Koterba
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/koterba/koterba1.asp

* Dick Locher http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/locher/locher.asp

* Chan Lowe http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/lowe/lowe.asp

* Jimmy Margulies
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/margulies/margulies.asp

* Jeff Stahler
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/stahler/stahler1.asp

* Dana Summers
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/summers/summers.asp

* Gary Varvel http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/Varvel/Varvel1.asp

* Michael Ramirez
http://jewishworldreview.com/toons/ramirez/ramirez1.asp

* " "¤" "¤" "¤" "¤" "¤" "¤" "¤" "¤" "¤"

[ PoliticalMavens.com H I G H L I G H T S ]

* Walid Phares: South Ossetia: The Perfect Wrong War
http://politicalmavens.com/index.php/2008/08/14/south-ossetia-the-perfect-wrong-war/

* Judith A. Klinghoffer: Georgian crisis is Putin's gift to China
http://politicalmavens.com/index.php/2008/08/14/georgian-crisis-is-putins-gift-to-china/

* Seth Swirsky: President George W. Bush Made Obama Possible
http://politicalmavens.com/index.php/2008/08/14/president-george-w-bush-made-obama-possible/

* Arnold Ahlert: European 'Sophistication' Equals Lousy Military
Preparedness
http://politicalmavens.com/index.php/2008/08/11/european-sophistication-equals-lousy-military-preparedness/

* Monica Crowley: Senator Clueless, Even to His Own Party
http://politicalmavens.com/index.php/2008/08/13/senator-clueless-even-to-his-own-party/

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[ T O D A Y I N H I S T O R Y ]

On this day in …

* 1572, wedding in Paris of the future Huguenot King Henry IV of Navarre
with Marguerite de Valois, in a supposed attempt to reconcile
Protestants and Catholics

* 1587, Virginia Dare became the first child of English parents to be
born on American soil, on what is now Roanoke Island, N.C. (However, the
colony she was born into ended up mysteriously disappearing.)

* 1838, the first marine expedition sponsored by the U.S. government set
sail from Hampton Roads, Va.; the crews traveled the southern Pacific
Ocean, gathering scientific information

* 1868, French astronomer Pierre Jules Cesar Janssen discovers helium

* 1894, Congress established the Bureau of Immigration

* 1909, Tokyo mayor Yukio Ozaki presents Washington, D.C. with 2,000
cherry trees, which President Taft decides to plant near the Potomac
River

* 1920, Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution ratified,
guaranteeing women's suffrage

* 1938, the Thousand Islands Bridge, connecting New York State, United
States with Ontario, Canada over the St. Lawrence River, is dedicated by
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt

* 1941, Adolf Hitler, ym"sh, orders a temporary halt to Nazi Germany's
systematic euthanasia of mentally ill and handicapped due to protests

* 1965, during the Vietnam War: Operation Starlite begins; United States
Marines destroy a Viet Cong stronghold on the Van Tuong peninsula in the
first major American ground battle of the war

* 2005, Dennis Rader is sentenced to 175 years in prison for the BTK
serial killings. ALSO: Massive power blackout hits the Indonesian island
of Java, affecting almost 100 million people

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[ I N S I G H T ]

* Mitch Albom: O say can you see ... what nation I am?
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0808/albom081808.php3

* Argus Hamilton skewers politics and contemporary "culture"
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0808/hamilton081808.php3

* Dave Barry: Overweight? I'm in training for the next Ice Age
http://jewishworldreview.com/dave/barry.php3

* Debra J. Saunders: Pimps, Pedophiles: Welcome to S.F.
http://jewishworldreview.com/0808/saunders081808.php3

* POLL: OBAMA FARING POORLY AMONG RACISTS
Bigots Oppose Barack by 1000-1 Margin --Andy Borowitz
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0808/borowitz081808.php3

* Michael Goodwin: Barack Obama blinks in Hillary face-off
http://jewishworldreview.com/michael/goodwin081808.php3

* Michael Barone: Echoes of Berlin (SHARP!)
http://jewishworldreview.com/michael/barone081808.php3

* Kathryn Lopez: Dems will never abort pro-choice mission
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0808/lopez081808.php3

* Jack Kelly: Silence on Georgia: The Left gives Russia a free pass
http://jewishworldreview.com/0808/jkelly081808.php3

* Jeff Jacoby: When hindsight isn't 20-20
http://jewishworldreview.com/jeff/jacoby081808.php3

* Paul Greenberg: Road map to power: The subpoena as a political weapon
(THOUGHT PROVOKING!)
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/greenberg081808.php3

* David Broder: Obama's Well-Oiled Machine
http://jewishworldreview.com/david/broder.php3

* Dick Morris: The Clinton convention
http://jewishworldreview.com/0808/morris081808.php3

* Bill O'Reilly: Vlad the Assailer
http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/oreilly.php3

* George Will: A Race McCain Could Win
http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/will081708.php3

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[ L I F E S T Y L E S ]

* How 2 ...By Etan Horowitz: Check cell phone coverage
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0808/how2.php3

* In nursing facilities, therapists have new tool to improve seniors'
health: Nintendo Wii
http://jewishworldreview.com/0808/seniors_wii.php3

* Dr. Peter H. Gott: Eye-socket cholesterol leaves woman looking for
answers
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/gott1.asp

* Frugal Living by Sara Noel: Kick the soda habit
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/frugal_living.php3

<^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^>

http://www.JewishWorldReview.com/

Want to drop us a note? You may send it to JWR's editor in chief:
mailto:blj@jewishworldreview.com EVERY letter is read and valued!

ENJOYING THIS NEWSLETTER? WE NEED YOUR HELP AND WE NEED IT NOW!

Please help us keep on keeping on. To make a tax-deductible
donation, please go to:
https://www.kerenyehoshuavyisroel.com/keren/jwr/donate.cfm

NOT COMFORTABLE DONATING ELECTRONICALLY?
We can arrange for you to send your gift through CONVENTIONAL MAIL.
Make your request by pressing reply.

© 2008, JewishWorldReview.com: Permission to distribute this newsletter
-- NOT articles' text -- is not only granted, it's also ENCOURAGED, as
is using the "e-mail a friend" option!

<^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^>

To love the Divine (by Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski)

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 04:54:24 GMT

To love the Divine

By Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |

“You shall love your G-d with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your resources.”
— Deut. 6:5

A number of commentaries pose the question, ''How can an emotion be legislated? Love develops in a relationship. Can someone be commanded to love? Furthermore, how can one develop love for G-d Who can neither be seen nor touched and is beyond a sense experience?''

Several answers are given. The founder of the Chassidic movement, Baal Shem Tov, said that we should behave in a manner that will result in love for others This will automatically result in love for G-d.

One of the commentaries pointed out that true love is reciprocal, as King Solomon says, ''Just as water reflects one's image, so does the heart of a person reflect the heart of another person'' (Proverbs 27:19). The blessing preceding the central Shema prayer describes G-d's intense love. Our love for G-d, therefore, is reciprocated.

The obvious question is: Why do we not feel this intense love for G-d? The answer is that King Solomon speaks of the reflection in water rather than in a mirror. The difference is that a mirror can reflect an image even at a distance, whereas water will reflect an image only at close range. If one will come close to G-d through the observance of His mitzvos, religious duties, one will feel the reciprocated love for Him.

Another answer is given in the Talmud (Yoma 86a), that the term v'ahavta, usually translated as "you should love", can mean ''you shall make G-d's Name beloved by others.'' When a Jew relates to people in a pleasant manner and transacts honestly, this causes people to admire G-d and His Torah. V'ahavta is thus a commandment of behavior rather than emotion.

One of the most interesting explanations is that of Maimonides (Yesodei HaTorah 2:2). He raises the question:''What is the way to achieve love of G-d?'' and answers, ''If a person will meditate on His great and marvelous works and see from them His wisdom which is beyond measure and infinite, one will promptly love, praise and exalt G-d and have an intense desire to know Him.'' At first blush, this does not appear to answer the question. Awareness of G-d's infinite wisdom may result in adoration, but how does it produce love?

The commentary on Maimonides says that he is redefining the word ahavah (love). The ahavah with which we are most familiar is between two people, such as parent and child, husband and wife. This ahavah is generally contingent on the benefits one derives from the relationship. There is a second type of ahavah, which is a desire to be in the close presence of someone, in an intimate relationship, as a result of the adoration of someone.

We may get an inkling of this desire if we observe the ''hero worship'' that some children may have for prominent sports figures. Such a child will collect pictures of his hero and is thrilled to get his autograph. He may mimic his hero's actions, and if he is asked, ''If you had just one wish, what would it be?'' he would probably answer, ''I'd just like to be with . . .'' To be close to his hero may be the child's most fervent desire.

It is the intense desire to be near G-d, in an intimate relationship with Him, that Maimonides defines as ahavah . Maimonides has good reason for this concept. Moses says, ''(I instruct you) to love G-d, to hearken to His voice and to cleave to Him'': The concept of cleaving unto G-d is stated several times in the Torah (Deuteronomy 4:4, 10:20).

In order to achieve the adoration of G-d that will produce this type of ahavah, Maimonides says that one must reflect on His marvelous works. We can see this in Psalms, where King David extols the wondrous and beautiful world, exclaiming, ''How abundant are Your works, G-d. With wisdom You made them all. The world is full of Your acquisitions'' (Psalms 104:24), and again, ''When I see Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars that You have set in place'' (ibid. 8:4).

The prophet bewails those who indulge in revelry. ''The works of G-d they do not note, and the accomplishments of His hands they do not see'' (Isaiah 5:12). Radak comments, ''From the wisdom of the heavenly bodies one can reach to the honoring of G-d, as it is said, 'How majestic Your name is throughout the land . . . when I see Your heavens and the work of Your fingers' (Psalms 8:2,4), and it is said, 'The heavens relate the glory of G-d' (ibid. 19:2). This means that if one understands the code of creation, one will know the glory of G-d. The prophet says, 'Lift our eyes to high and see Who created these' (Isaiah 40:26), whereby he means that if one contemplates this wisdom, one can know therefrom the glory of G-d.''

Chapter 92 of Psalms begins with, ''A song for the Sabbath day.'' Yet, there is not a single reference to the Sabbath in the entire psalm! Rather, the Psalmist says, ''You gladden me, G-d, by Your accomplishments; I sing of the works of Your hands. How great are Your works, O G-d, how profound are Your thoughts. A simpleton does not know, and a fool does not understand this.'' What is the relevance of these verses to the Sabbath?

The Midrash says that this psalm was composed by Adam. Sabbath marks the completion of creation. When Adam saw the wondrous works that G-d had created in the six days of creation, he was overcome with the infinite wisdom of G-d that he saw in creation. Indeed, this is beyond the grasp of fools and simpletons.

If only one understood the incomparable marvel of the human body! If all the computers in the world were combined, they would be dwarfed by the human brain, whose 14. 5 billion parts are in complex interaction. My professor of neurophysiology said that from the time a pitcher throws the baseball until the batter swings at it, hundreds of thousands of messages are transmitted throughout the central nervous system

At the base of the brain there is the pituitary gland, the size of one's thumbnail, that continually analyzes many substances in the blood and regulates the body's production of them, keeping them within an incredibly small and precise range. Beneath the brain there is an organ, the cerebellum, which at all times registers the status of every muscle in the body. Simply changing one's glance results in the cerebellum's registering the change of position of every muscle involved, and there are twelve muscles involved in every eye movement.

As the batter's eyes follow the ball, the many movements of all the eye muscles are registered, and through complex connections, the many muscles involved in the batter's stance and swing are coordinated. A thorough understanding of the many processes involved is mind-boggling.

The chemical processes performed by the liver could not be duplicated by a fully computerized factory. The finest dialysis apparatus cannot come close to the efficiency of the millions of tiny filters in the kidney.

A physician specializing in infertility said, ''I looked through the microscope at a fertilized ovum, and realized that from now on, all that would be added to it would be nutrient chemicals, and from this tiny, single cell would fashion a human being. I knew then that there is a G-d.''

Whether one examines a leaf under the microscope or peers through a powerful telescope at the vast universe, one just begins to appreciate the infinite wisdom and majesty of G-d, which will indeed result, as Maimonides says, in the type of ahavah that one would have an intense desire to be in an intimate relationship with Him. It was his understanding of the awesome greatness of the Divine's works that led King David to say, ''My soul thirsts for You; my flesh pines for You'' (Psalms 63:2) and ''Only one thing do I ask of Hashem, it is that which I seek: to dwell in the house of Hashem all the days of my life'' (ibid. 27:4).

If we are lacking in this type of love of the Divine, it is because we fail to appreciate the marvels of Creation in the way King David and Maimonides did.

JWR TODAY: Weekend of August 15-17, 2008

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 18:11:05 GMT

JWR TODAY: Weekend of August 15-17, 2008

http://www.JewishWorldReview.com/
The intersection of faith, culture and politics

Weekend of August 15-17, 2008

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THE TRULY RIGHTEOUS DON'T DEMAND ENTITLEMENTS

Hidden in the third chapter of Deuteronomy, almost certainly missed by
the untrained eye, is a simple but powerful concept in how to live
contentedly while pushing the envelope of faith to achieve bigger and
better possibilities

Give the Sage of Saint Louie JUST 5 MINUTES. You'll be better off for
doing so. Guaranteed

http://jewishworldreview.com/jwisdom/levitansky.php3

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[ J E W I S H L I V I N G ]

---> thought
To love the Divine
By Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski

How can an emotion be legislated? Love develops in a relationship. Can
someone be commanded to love? Furthermore, how can one develop love for
the Almighty Who can neither be seen nor touched and is beyond a sense
experience?

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/twerski/twerski_vaeschanan.php3

---> reality check
Georgia, Israel, and the nature of man
By Caroline B. Glick

The US and European willingness to let Georgia fall in spite of its
strategic importance, in spite of the fact that it has operated strictly
within the bounds of international law, and in spite of its obvious
ideological affinity and loyalty to them will have enormous
repercussions for the West's relations with Ukraine, the Baltic States,
Poland and Czech Republic. But its aftershocks will not be limited to
Europe. They will reverberate in the Middle East as well. And Israel for
one, should take note of what has transpired.

http://jewishworldreview.com/0808/glick081508.php3

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[ D A I L Y I N S P I R A T I O N ]

NEW SERIES!

"Thank You/ Gratitude: Formulas, stories and insights" By Rabbi Zelig
Pliskin

Few of us realize that cultivating a genuine sense of gratitude will
impact on our happiness, our marriage, even on our sense of self-worth.
Being ungrateful for the many blessings in our lives distances us from
our Creator and spoils our relationships with other people

TODAY: Gratitude for pointing out your faults

http://jewishworldreview.com/inspiration/thank_you.php3

[ Godcast --- Uplifting Downloads ]

TODAY: The Truly Righteous Don't Demand Entitlements by Rabbi Sroy
Levitansky

Hidden in the third chapter of Deuteronomy, almost certainly missed by
the untrained eye, is a simple but powerful concept in how to live
contentedly while pushing the envelope of faith to achieve bigger and
better possibilities

Give the Sage of Saint Louie JUST 5 MINUTES. You'll be better off for
doing so. Guaranteed

http://jewishworldreview.com/jwisdom/Levitansky.php3

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[ W O R T H 1 0 0 0 W O R D S ]

* The Wizard of Id
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/wiz/wiz.asp

* Andy Capp http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/a_capp/a_capp.asp

* 9 to 5 http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/9_to_5/9_to_5.asp

* Baloo http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/baloo/baloo.asp

* Bottom Liners
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/bottomliners/bottomliners.asp

* Bliss http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/bliss/bliss.asp

* The Born Loser
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/born_loser/born_loser.asp

* Bound and Gagged
http://jewishworldreview.com/strips/bound_and_gagged/b_and_g.asp

* Flo & Friends http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/flo/flo.asp

* Frank & Ernest
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/frank_and_ernest/frank_and_ernest.asp

* The Grizzwells
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/grizzwells/grizzwells.asp

* Herman http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/herman/herman.asp

* Mallard Filmore
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/mallard/2000/mallard1.asp

* Moderately Confused
http://jewishworldreview.com/strips/moderately_confused/mc.asp

* Momma http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/momma/momma.asp

* One Big Happy http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/obh/obh1.asp

* Prickly City
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/pc/prickly_city.asp

* The Other Coast http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/toc/toc.asp

* Shoe http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/shoe/shoe.asp

* State of the Union http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/sou/sou.asp

* Dry Bones
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/dry_bones/dry_bones.asp

* Robert Arial http://jewishworldreview.com/toons/arial/arial1.asp

* Chuck Asay http://jewishworldreview.com/toons/asay/asay1.asp

* Lisa Benson http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/benson/benson.asp

* Chip Bok http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/bok/bok1.asp

* J.D. Crowe http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/crowe/crowe1.asp

* John Deering
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/deering/deering1.asp

* Bob Gorrell http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/gorrel/gorrell1.asp

* David Hitch http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/hitch/hitch.asp

* Joe Heller http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/heller/heller1.asp

* Dick Locher http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/locher/locher.asp

* Chan Lowe http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/lowe/lowe.asp

* Dana Summers
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/summers/summers.asp

* Rick McKee http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/mckee/mckee.asp

* Wayne Stayskal
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/stayskal/stayskal1.asp

* Scott Stantis
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/stantis/stantis1.asp

* Michael Ramirez
http://jewishworldreview.com/toons/ramirez/ramirez1.asp

* " "¤" "¤" "¤" "¤" "¤" "¤" "¤" "¤" "¤"

[ PoliticalMavens.com H I G H L I G H T S ]

* Sam Schulman: John Edwards' New Deal in Marital Etiquette
http://politicalmavens.com/index.php/2008/08/13/john-edwards-new-deal-in-marital-etiquette/

* Peary Perry: Dead docs still issuing prescriptions
http://politicalmavens.com/index.php/2008/08/13/dead-docs-still-issuing-prescriptions/

* Mark Davis: Clinton declined, but McCain won't
http://politicalmavens.com/index.php/2008/08/13/clinton-declined-but-mccain-wont/

* Arnold Ahlert: Morality in 'Remission?'
http://politicalmavens.com/index.php/2008/08/10/morality-in-remission/

* Monica Crowley: Senator Clueless
http://politicalmavens.com/index.php/2008/08/12/senator-clueless/

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[ T O D A Y I N H I S T O R Y ]

On this day in …

* 1057, Macbeth, King of Scots, was killed in battle by Malcolm, the
eldest son of King Duncan, whom Macbeth had slain

* 1914, the Panama Canal opened to traffic

* 1935, humorist Will Rogers and aviator Wiley Post were killed when
their airplane crashed near Point Barrow, Alaska

* 1944, during World War II, Allied forces landed in southern France in
Operation Dragoon

* 1945, Emperor Hirohito announced to his subjects in a pre-recorded
radio address that Japan had accepted terms of surrender for ending
World War II

* 1947, India became independent after some 200 years of British rule

* 1948, the Republic of Korea was proclaimed

* 1961, East German workers began building the Berlin Wall

* 1971, President Richard Nixon announced a 90-day freeze on wages,
prices and rents

* 1997, the Justice Department decided against prosecuting senior FBI
officials in connection with an alleged cover-up that followed the
deadly 1992 Ruby Ridge siege in Idaho

* 2002, President George W. Bush, using Mount Rushmore as a dramatic
backdrop, pressed Congress to give him a flexible, fast-moving homeland
security department. ALSO: Some 600 family members of 9-11 victims filed
a trillion-dollar federal lawsuit against Saudi officials, banks and
charities, charging they had financed Osama bin Laden's network and the
attacks on New York and Washington

* 2003, cities from the Midwest to Manhattan restored power to millions
of people following the largest blackout in U.S. history

* 2006, Israel began withdrawing its forces from southern Lebanon

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[ I N S I G H T ]

* Kathleen Parker: The Beauty of Imperfection
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/kathleen/parker081508.php3

* Argus Hamilton skewers politics and contemporary "culture"
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0808/hamilton081508.php3

* Greg Crosby: Smart Kids, Bad Schools
http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/crosby081508.php3

* Michelle Malkin: Cheating ChiComs, Crouching IOC
http://jewishworldreview.com/michelle/malkin081508.php3

* Suzanne Fields: Lessons from literature (GREAT!)
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/fields081508.php3

* Linda Chavez: A majority minority nation
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/chavez081508.php3

* Carl P. Leubsdorf: The evolution of running mates
http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/leubsdorf081508.php3

* Dick Polman: What leaders can and cannot do
http://jewishworldreview.com/0808/polman.php3

* Rich Lowry: The Lieberman option
http://jewishworldreview.com/0808/lowry081508.php3

* Jonah Goldberg: Nightmare on Dem street
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/jonah081508.php3

* Dave Weinbaum: Hillary to sue 'love lips' for causing loss to Obama
http://jewishworldreview.com/dave/weinbaum081508.php3

* David Limbaugh: Relentless race narrative
http://jewishworldreview.com/david/limbaugh081508.php3

* Wesley Pruden: A legacy lurks in the shadows (THOUGHT PROVOKING!)
http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/pruden081508.php3

* Mort Kondracke: McCain is right to 'go negative' --- but needs
positive
http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/kondracke1.asp

* Dick Morris: The lesson of Georgia: Bring Ukraine into NATO
http://jewishworldreview.com/0808/morris081508.php3

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[ L I F E S T Y L E S ]

* Tech Maven by Mark Kellner: The end of operating systems?
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0808/kellner081508.php3

* Lori Borgman: Sensitive souls say, 'Honk if you want trouble'
http://jewishworldreview.com/0808/borgman081508.php3

* Dr. Peter H. Gott: Can prednisone cause heart problems?
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/gott1.asp

* Frugal Living by Sara Noel: How to store salads for freshness;
maximizing use of one-gallon plastic ice-cream containers
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/frugal_living.php3

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Bless us (by Rabbi Avi Shafran)

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 04:55:23 GMT

Bless us

By Rabbi Avi Shafran

http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Q: What do righteous, learned Torah scholars and newly observant Jews, or baalei teshuva, have in common?

A: The way they recite blessings.

No, it's not funny, nor meant to be. It's simply an easily confirmed observation — and one that holds a thought worth thinking.

A Jew is enjoined by Jewish religious law to pronounce scores of blessings, or brachos, each day, acknowledging the Creator's glory and gifts to His creations. Many of the blessings are part of the prayer service; others are offered throughout the day, like before and after eating — the blessings varying according to the type of food. There are brachos to be made upon seeing lightning and hearing thunder, on a rainbow, before smelling flowers or fragrant spices, after using the bathroom.

But ironically, so many opportunities to express gratitude to G-d make it easy for reverence to devolve into rote. Many of us bracha-making Jews find ourselves pronouncing the nine words meant to thank G-d for the beauty, tastiness and nourishment of an apple, for example, as a string of slurred semi-words, taking perhaps two seconds rather than the five or six needed to actually say all the words clearly and focus on their meaning.

BlessedareyouHashemourG-dkingoftheuniverseWhocreatesthefruitofthetree.

Call it an occupational hazard of religious observance. When something is done regularly and often, it is only natural for the quality of the experience to become degraded with time. But natural needn't, and here doesn't, mean acceptable. And watching a true Torah scholar (who has succeeded in routing rote) or a baal teshuva (who is more attuned to his religious actions than some of us who are more "experienced") say a bracha can help remind us of how things are meant to be — and inspire us to make them right.

A funny-sad story (considerably less humorous in writing than in my father's telling of it at the Sabbath table when I was a child) concerns a Polish Jewish peasant who owes a powerful landowner, or poritz, a good sum of money. Yankel somehow convinces the poritz to forgive the debt if he, the Jew, can teach a bear how to pray.

Faced with the need to produce results, Yankel obtains a cub and hands him a prayer-book with a drop of honey on its cover and on each of the book's pages. The bear wipes up the first drop of honey with its paw and puts it on his tongue. Bright bear that he is, he opens the book and locates and eats the other drops of honey too.

The next day, Yankel gives Boo-Boo the same prayer book, this time with a drop of honey only on every other page. The bear, with a murmur of disappointment at each page bearing only words, still manages to service his sweet tooth from the others. The following day the honey is only on random pages. The bear goes through the book, wiping up what drops of sweetness he finds and licking his paw, murmuring all the rest of the time.

The Jew is now ready. Presenting the cub to the poritz, he declares the animal synagogue-worthy and hands him the here-and-there-honeyed prayer book. The bear opens it, turns a few pages, murmuring all the while, then stops a minute to lick his finger before resuming the page-turning and murmuring. The poritz is not impressed. "That's not praying," he says sternly.

"Come with me," says the Jew, leading the poritz to the local synagogue. Morning services are underway and the Jew opens the door. Lo and behold, the poritz gazes upon an entire congregation of supplicants doing an excellent imitation of the bear. The poritz has no choice but to forgive the debt.

And everyone lived happily ever after. Well, other than those listening to the story, left to wonder whether their own prayers are something more than page-turning and mumbles.

Brachos, like prayers, are essential to Judaism. The very word "Jew" derives from the name "Judah", which the Talmud teaches is rooted in Judah's mother Leah's declaration that she was the beneficiary of "more than my share" of blessing. That refusal to take blessings for granted, that sense of gratitude to G-d, is what brachos embody.

And they can be accessed by all Jews, whatever their levels of observance, whatever their understanding of Judaism. Saying the required blessings throughout the day is not very difficult, nor does it offend any contemporary sensibilities. And there are many English-language guides to the pertinent laws. The practice of saying brachos may not currently be a common practice in most of the non-Orthodox Jewish world, but what is the future for — for any of us — if not to better the present?

What is more, were brachos more widely embraced among Jews, those of us who have always been saying them and are so "expert" at doing so that we slur our words and forget to think of what we're saying would have more examples from whom to learn and derive inspiration.