Rabbi's Blog - The Shul of Bellaire

Calm and Crazy

Friday, October 22, 2021 - 9:30 AM

I always loved the saying “Be like a duck. Calm on the surface but paddling like crazy underneath.”

There’s something about that ‘calm and crazy’ juxtaposition, that seems like the perfect recipe for success.

A very compelling example of this, from a Psycho-Spiritual perspective, is found in the personalities of our patriarchs, Abraham and Isaac (who were also father and son). Each of them represented a unique paradigm.

Abraham was full of love, embracing, open-hearted and kind to all. Isaac, on the other hand, was more disciplined, discerning and restrained.

The thing is: Each quality, if left unchecked can be vulnerable to corruption. Just like unrestrained love can eventually become toxic, unending discipline can also be extremely problematic.

That’s why, father and son were a perfect unit, each picked-up where the other left off.

Much like the paddling duck, the path to success is a perfect combination of Enthusiasm and Discipline.

As their descendants, it is in our hands to harness our own inner ‘Abraham-like’ and ‘Isaac-like’ tendencies to work together in perfect compatible harmony!

Meeting Yourself

Friday, October 15, 2021 - 9:54 AM

I remember once walking by the Peace Corps offices in Washington, DC, where in the window there was a sign that read: “You will meet some amazing people, including yourself”.

For most of us, it takes leaving our ‘comfort zones’ in order to discover a deeper dimension of ourselves, that we never knew existed.

Creature comforts, fixed mindsets and deep seated behavior patterns keep us tethered to our self-imposed limits. Whereas, new people and circumstances that may challenge us at first, are ultimately how we break free of our molds to advance forward in life.

Who was the first one to experience this? Abraham.

God told Abraham “Lech Lecha - Go to Yourself…” by leaving your home of origin (in every sense of the word), you will discover many new things, also about yourself. Your highest self!

Like Abraham, we are called upon to take a similar ‘leap of faith’ out of our own comfort zones. While it may feel risky and unsettling at first, ultimately that is the path towards discovering our own Promised Land.

Delegating?

Friday, October 8, 2021 - 2:21 PM

One of the great qualities of a leader is being able to delegate.

Yet, there are some things in life that are just too important to assign to others, and therefore fall under the rubric of ‘DIY’ - Do It Yourself!

For example: Raising our children. Specifically, when it comes to their Jewish values, there is just no app or replacement for nurturing our children’s soul, we are the ones who must do it ourselves.

We may get support by sending our children to a Jewish day school, to the best Jewish camp and even to Birthright Israel. Yet, it’s been proven time and again that DIY at home, is your best chance at success.

You know who else practiced DIY? Noah did!

He built the entire ark by himself, single handedly. When he had an opportunity to save the world he did not delegate it to his family members or others, he opted to do it all-by-himself.

Even though it took him a whopping 120 years, he so cherished the opportunity to perform the will of G-d, that he rolled up his sleeves and started working - single-handedly!

There is such a tremendous lesson here for each of us. When it comes to core values, like our children’s education, ultimately the key to success is DIY. When our kids see how emotionally and practically invested we are in Judaism and their education, it is bound to rub off in a positive way.