Dear Friends,
Recently I was scanning some articles on poverty in America (which seem to be in all the media) when I began to consider the forms poverty can take -- poverty of the spirit, to be exact. Just as the very poor are left to sort through the trash, rags and tatters of their lives, the spiritually impoverished must sort through the daily 'trash' that is encountered from the media, relationships and occasionally invades their lives. The people we most admire do not just sweep their sad trash under the carpet, or look for someone to blame for their hardships, but confront life as it happens and as one trite saying goes, "make lemonade from those lemons." There are many overworked and hackneyed expressions that seem geared to make us pull up our metaphorical socks and deal with what life brings us: "the glass is half full, not half empty!" But how many people do you know, respect and admire who have really faced difficulty yet had the moral strength to carry on in a positive way?
Two days ago was a very special day in the Chassidic Chabad calendar as it marks the passing of the previous rebbe and the day that the Rebbe of Blessed Memory began as the Rebbe of Chabad. As a student of that Rebbe, what I admired most was his ability to confront and deal with situations. You don't have to go through life wearing rose-colored glasses or be a simpering Pollyanna, but a good ATTITUDE can do so much! His motto in Yiddish was: Tracht Gut Vet Zein Gut, which translated is: think good and it will be good.
Our guest speaker this week, on Thursday, January 16th at 7 p.m., is Devorie Kreiman. If anyone has had to work towards building a positive attitude of greater faith and joy by transcending sadness and loss, she has. Come and hear Devorie's inspirational words as she shares her story, 'Guiding My Heart to Joy".
Enjoy the rest of the week.
Rabbi Fishel