Rav Moshe's greatness

For a long time Rav Moshe Feinstein was learning out of the same gemara. Finally after many, many years he was given a gift of a brand new set of shas with large margins so that he could write his many chidushei torah in. One time when Rav Moshe stepped away from his gemara one of the yeshiva students decided to look into his rosh yeshiva’s gemara to see what the Gadol Hador writes and thinks about when he is learning. As the boy leaned over to get a glimpse of the gemara he knocked over the ink well and blue ink ran all over the page of gemara. So ashamed and embarrassed over what he had done he had no idea how he was going to tell Rav Moshe that he had just ruined his brand new set of shas. While the boy was thinking about this Rav Moshe returned to his seat to find the boy and the ink on his gemara. He put his hand on the boys shoulder and said. “You know I think the gemara looks better in blue anyway.”

Praying with the Pope

My plan this summer was to finally take my very own euro trip! On my way to Israel I would stop somewhere I hadn't been before. So with my bags packed I flew on my own to Italy.
What's so incredible about being Jewish and being connected to all jews, is that you know people or at least people who know people everywhere. Jewish geography is incredible!
I arrived in Rome all alone and was lucky enough to have a friend of a friend meet me at the airport and show me around before dropping me at the train for my trip to Florence.
Florence and Rome; two magnificent cities. One can easily be overwhelmed by the sites and the beautiful details. Florence's Duomo or Cathedral, The Fountains of Rome, The 2000 year old Pantheon, and Vatican City. It was a treat to visit the Great Synagogue of Florence. In 1872 David Levi, donated enough money to build a synagogue "worthy of Florence".The design of the synagogue recalls the Muslim art of Moorish Spain. All the internal walls were decorated between 1882 and 1890 by a local painter: Giovanni Panti, who made use of gold-plating to highlight the Moorish designs. And in Rome it was exciting to attend a wedding at the Great Synagogue built from 1901 to 1904 on the banks of the Tiber, overlooking the former ghetto. It is said that the eclectic style of the building makes it stand out even in a city known for notable buildings and structures. This attention-grabbing design was a deliberate choice made by the community at the time who wanted the building to be a visible celebration of their freedom and to be seen from many vantage points in the city. Within the walls of both of these structures, I immediately felt at home. But beyond the few Jewish sites, it seems that everywhere one turns in these cities, one is staring at a church. Although I would have loved to see the interior of Brunelleschi's Dome in Florence and the interior of the Sistine Chapel in Rome with the famous ceiling painted by Michelangelo, I tended to limit my views to the exteriors avoiding the inside of the churches. Sitting outside the Vatican at the end of St Peter’s square and watching the throngs of people who flocked to visit the chapels, seeing the countless priests and nuns moving in every direction I was struck by a thought. I was speaking about my visit with my father who recalled that when he walked through Rome he would recount the Midrash Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi was visited by the Prophet Eliyahu. "When will the Mashiach come?" Ask him, replied the Prophet. The Mashiach is at the gates of Rome, sitting among the poor, the sick and wretched. Then Rebi Yehoshua went to Rome and met the Mashiach and asked "When will you be coming?" and was told "Today!" Yehoshua went back to Eliyahu and said that the Messiah had not told him the truth, because he had promised to come today but had not. Eliyahu explained "This is what he said to you, To-day, if you will hear his voice", a reference to Tehilim 95:7, making his coming conditional, yet the condition has not been fulfilled. As the three weeks begin and we mourn the loss of the Bet HaMikdash, sitting here by the Vatican of all places gives me an inkling of what we are missing. Why don't we have a home base? Where is our own magnificent Bet Hamikdash? Hashem promised us that when we built the Mishkan, Hashem’s Glory would dwell within us. When the Bet HaMikdash stood, Hashem’s presence was palpable. We had no doubts. Every one was religious – even though many wished to throw off the responsibility of being observant – no one could deny the truth in his heart of hearts Where is our Bet Hamidash today? It s not right! The Vatican – which cannot even compare - is there standing tall for all to see. We need our center, our place!!! In my mind’s eye I see what we could be if; if only we had our own holy house. Tomorrow I will be in Jerusalem. Tomorrow I will be by the Kotel. Tomorrow I will join our brothers and sister who pour their hearts out in front of this ancient wall; in front of this last vestige of our Temple. Now imagine if we had more then a wall! More then the outside wall!! Imagine how grand it would be. Imagine the pilgrimages we would make.This year I can mourn a little more our loss. Before I leave, I’ll walk the streets here in Rome. I’ll be searching for the Mashiach. I’ll apologize for his wounds. I’ll apologize for the delay. I know he can come today, but its all up to us and us starts with each of us. Us always begins with me! My shemonah esreh this week will have a bit more kavanah, especially the parts from Hashibenu through Boneh Yerushaayim. I’ve glimpsed the Mashiach. I’ve glimpsed at a fraction of what can be. Please Hashem, allow us to be deserving of seeing your splendor with our own eyes! Please release the Mashiach from his chains. May this Tisha BeAv be one where we go from sadness to joy. My we be zocheh to see the Mashiach on his throne and may the Temple be speedily built, Bimhera beyamenu, amen!

The 3 weeks....

If you had any qs about the three weeks here is where to look...

Its a shiur- all clearly typed out

click here!!!!

A big thank you Rav Ehrman for showing this to me!

anachnu maaminim ben maaminim!!!

This story was taken from aish.com, rabbi kalman packouz

We are "ma'aminim, b'nei ma'aminim" – believers, the children of believers. When Moses doubted if the Jewish people would believe that God had sent him to lead them out of Egypt, the Midrash Bamidbar Rabbah (Naso 7:5) tells us that God responded, "They are believers, the sons of believers ...". No matter how far a Jew sees himself from his heritage or belief in God, but when "push comes to shove" – underneath it all, the Jew believes in the Almighty.

Rabbi Noah Weinberg loved to illustrate this point with the following story: Many years ago, a 15 year old yeshiva boy sits in an Israeli hospital waiting room while his mother is having an operation. As is customary amongst Jews throughout history, he recites Tehillim (Psalms) as a source of merit for his mother and to give calm to his own worried soul.

In walks an old kibbutznik (a member of pioneering, largely anti-religious, collectives which helped settle and conquer the Land of Israel) – wearing his kova tembel (kibbutz hat), blue shirt, work shorts, sandals – and a sun wrinkled face adorned by a big bushy handlebar mustache.

The kibbutznik walks straight to the yeshiva boy and asks accusingly, "What are you doing?" The yeshiva boy is shocked and scared … and answers, "I am saying Tehillim – my mother is having an operation."

The kibbutznik then berates the boy, "Tehillim? Is that why we fought for this country? So that a young fellow like you could continue these medieval practices? You need to get rid of your superstitions! Live in the real world. Take that book and throw it out the window!"

The boy is stunned. Finally, he decides to change the focus of the conversation and asks, "What are you doing here?"

The kibbutznik replies, "I've come to take home the body of my son. The doctors are operating, but they have no hope. He's going to die!"

The boy is incredulous, "Are you crazy? Take this Tehillim! Pray!" And the kibbutznik responds, "Keep that superstitious, medieval book away from me!" and then went to the far end of the room to sit by himself.

An hour later, the doctor comes out of the operating room and says to the kibbutznik, "The operation was a success. Your son will live!"

What does the old kibbutznik do? He stands up, reaches his hands towards heaven and cries out, "Shema Yisroel, A-donoy E-loheinu, A-donoy Echad!" – "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One!"

What possibly possessed the kibbutznik to cry out the watchword of the Jewish people, the proclamation of the Jewish people's belief in God from the time of our patriarchs? We know the answer – "ma'aminim, b'nei ma'aminim" – believers, the children of believers.

You can take the Jew out of the Torah ... but you can't take the belief in God out of the Jew!

The story of the Moth

A Special needs child wanted to talk to Rabbi Wallerstein.

A Butterfly is a caterpillar that goes through metamorphosis. It suffers a lot in its cocoon to result as a beautiful butterfly. Sometimes we need to suffer in this world, but the end result is beautiful.

This special needs child came to Rabbi Wallerstein and said, "Rabbi, I want to tell you the story of the moth. There was once a grandmother sitting on the porch with her grand daughter. There were a lot of butterflies all around them, and then suddenly a moth landed on the balcony. The granddaughter took off her shoe to kill it and the grandmother said “don’t kill the moth, until I tell you the story of the moth. When Hashem created the world, He created thousands of butterflies, and He didn’t create a moth. And Hashem decided right before Shabbat he was going to create a rainbow. The world was going to be destroyed so he had to make a colorful rainbow to show that from then on the world will never be destroyed again. But Hashem had no more colors left, so he came to the butterflies and said ‘please give me your colors so that I could make a rainbow’. The butterflies answered, “We’re not giving it to You. Hashem you gave us these colors we’re not giving them back." But a large group of butterflies came to Hashem and said “Hashem you are the creator of the world! If you want to make a sign of peace for the world, we will give up our colors for the rainbow.” The grandmother turns to her granddaughter on the porch and tells her, “you see that moth? That’s a Butterfly, that gave up its colors. That’s more beautiful than the butterfly that has its colors.”
This special needs girl told Rabbi Wallerstein this story and he didn’t know for what, where, how, who, why? But anytime he hears a story he knows it’s from shamayim. He looked at this girl and said “I got it. I know why you're telling me this story. You gave up who you really are to somebody else in this world. You are more beautiful than a regular person walking on the earth, because you gave up your colors.

98% of moths comes from the same species as the butterly. Google search it! A moth becomes a moth the same way a butterfly becomes a butterfly. Starts off as a caterpillar, goes through metamorphisis, goes through a cocoon and all the suffering, to come out as a simple moth.

Everyone in this world has beauty. Some can teach, some have money, some are good at art... The point of this world is not to show off your beauty to the world and flaunt your colors. The greatest beauty is to give someone else your beauty. To help out others in need.

May we all be zoche to spread our qualities for good use to those around us and help those that we can that are in need.

This dvar torah was given by Rabbi Wallerstein from www.torahanytime.com

Rav Ehrman- applying karbanos to our lives!!

- i know he has his own blog but i found this on yutorah-

I think that the good and the great are only separated by the willingness to sacrifice.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar


We are now entering the nine days when we mourn the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash. Mourning?? Well, when was the last time you ran into someone and asked how things are. "Lousy" , he answers. "I was at the zoo today and I saw a sheep and I got sooooo depressed because all I wanted to do was bring it as a sacrifice in the Beis Hamikdash." Or how about this line:" I am so excited that we are starting to read Sefer Vayikra so that once again we can learn hilchos korbanos. Which innards go on the mizbeach and which don't. How to separate the head of a bird from the rest of its body. How many times to sprinkle the blood on the mizbeach for the various korbanos. EXCITING!!" How many people say korbanos in the morning before davening? How many people who DO say it are actually excited about it?

So sweetest friends, the problem is, how can we get excited about the prospect of once again bringing korbanos.

If one sees a korban as some animal going on an altar and being burned – well then, that is not so meaningful for me [unless I am an animal rights activist…]. But let's say one puts on the glasses of the Ramban. That every person has an animalistic part to them [called in Kabbalah the "Nefesh HaBehemis"] and the animal going on the mizbeach represents ME. I am sacrificing myself to Hashem. Now we are talking!! Ribbono Shel Olam, you have given me everything. You are the Source Of All Being and I would GLADLY give myself completely over to you. But you are a merciful G-d and do not desire human sacrifice, so all you require is that I sacrifice this animal as a mere representation of myself. This will atone for my sins and bring me closer to the Source Of All Good. That is why a korban is composed of "karev nun" – it brings us close to the fiftieth gate of wisdom which according to the gemara in Rosh Hashana, eluded even Moshe Rabbeinu.

The idolators also used to bring sacrifices in their temples but we know that their religions were also the source of moral corruption. Rav Kook explains that we sacrifice specifically in the Beis Hamikdash, which represents the INTELLECT, as that is where the Sanhedrin sat. We are not only giving our flesh over to G-d but our intellect as well. We elevate our entire beings to Hashem resulting in an increased level of Kedusha. That is why it is called the Beis HAMIKDASH – The House Of Holiness. One must be pure in order to enter and when one leaves he has risen many rungs on the spiritual ladder to Heaven. Indeed the Zohar says that the Beis Hamikdash is the place where heaven and earth kiss.

May we merit speedily in our days to feel the closeness and intimacy with Hashem that is only possible in His home – Habayis Hashlishi habanui litiferes biyerushaliyim masos kol ha'aretz.

AMEN!!!!!!!

Holy Woman!

This shabbos I started reading Holy Woman by Sara Yocheved Rigler, the biography of Rebbetzin Chaya Sara Kramer a huge tzadekkes and her husband, a huge tzaddik. I don't know if it's for everyone but if you're interested in that sort of thing I highly recommend it- it's really inspiring!

Have a great summer!!

"Bittersweet" Galus

There once lived a king in an extraordinary palace with his twelve sons whom he adored. As they grew it became apparent each son possessed unique qualities making them special in the king's eyes. But the sons viewed their brothers' qualities as less respectable than their own and began to fight with one another. With a heavy heart, the king banished them from his palace, sending them away each in their own direction, while he went into hiding until he saw there was peace among them and they could get along. The years passed and although tragedy after tragedy befell the brothers briefly uniting them, they still fought bitterly. Painfully the king watched, as many of his sons were lost and killed. He longed to welcome them back under his wings and protect his sweet sons from the horrors they experienced but knew he must stay true to his word. The king watched sadly from afar waiting for the day when he could once again welcome the children he loved so dearly into his palace to live together. Till this day the king still waits for his children to get along with each other so they can enjoy all he has to offer them.

It is quite obvious who the characters in this mashal are; we are the sons and the king is Hashem. This erev shabbos I watched as a cluster of jewish children played together on my block. The scene was quite bittersweet. On the one hand, jewish children playing together is always a heart warming scene. But when you listen closely and hear them speaking in perfect english, or any other language besides lashon hakodesh to some extent it should break your heart. This is by no means mussar to say that we should not learn English or anything secular or mussar to make aliyah but simply an attempt to recognize that as wonderful as we may have it wherever we live Baruch Hashem bli ayen harah, if it's not in Eretz Yisrael, it's not home. Because in many places we are able to live freely and practice as we please Baruch Hashem (!!) it is very easy to forget THIS IS STILL GALUS! Even in Israel, we have no Beis Hamikdash and Hashem still remains hidden from view. Do not get me wrong, it is incredible we have so many opportunities at our feet and even have the ability to walk about freely in the land Hashem gave to us! Those who live in New York or other large jewish communities know how it is not very challenging to be a frum yid- kosher food, hundreds of shuls, schools... It is so easy to fall into the trap of thinking- forget all the opportunities we have and all the material things we have- it is so easy to be a good Jew, what more do we need?! I say this because I myself find I sometimes slip into the habit of getting too comfortable where I am. This is the challenge of our galus- no matter how amazing it may seem to be and we must never get too cozy here and forget what it really is.

We should focus our efforts on the geulah and how only we have the ability to bring it closer. Our familial battles are plastered over all the headlines even though we need to present a united front now more than ever. Instead of adding to the fire by choosing a side and speaking lashon hara about the other, have extra kavannah during Sim Shalom. On a much more minor scale we are each faced with daily opportunities to create shalom or continue the fight whether it be with parents, friends, or any other person you find yourself arguing with. Instead of yelling back, or throwing back a quick insult focus your efforts on creating shalom and have in mind that this should be in zchus of our redemption. Let's show Hashem we're ready for the geulah!

Bentzi

I'm guessing 99% of you saw this short video about a little boy Bentzi....if not its a must see...very inspiring...under 7 min

Click here!

parshat balak

This is from the netivot shalom
In this weeks parsha, we have the famous passuk that we say every day "ma tovu ohalecha yaakov" The gemara in sanhedrin says that from the bracha of a rasha, you know whats really in his heart and so from this we derive that reallly bilam meant to curse bnai yisrael that there wouldnt be any beit midrashot or beit kinesiot amoung klal yisrael. Rashi says that Hashem switched bilam's klala to a bracha. Further in the gemara it says that really this rashi is in singular becuase it is specifically talking about this one klala!! its not by accident that the lashon of rashi is in singular and not in plural. SO really this gemara is saying that this is the only klala of bilam that was changed to a bracha and remained that way. the rest of the brachot that bilam said were reversed back to klalot and didnt stay brachot permanently. This raises a huge question! We always learned that all the klalot were changed to brachot! It says in rashi that the reason Hashem changed this klalah to a bracha was to show His love for bnai yisrael - how does it show His love by changing only one! and reversing the others back! and why this bracha specifically about the beit kineset and beit midrash? How could it really be about one bracha?
To understand this we need to understand the essence of a bracha and a klala. A bracha is dviekus to Hashem. When a person is sticking to Hashem and serivng Hashem, he is subject to only brachot and good things. And a klala is the opposite, according to the netivot shalom. When a person severs his connection with Hashem and is seperated and doesnt have deveikus, the he is subjected to klalot and bad can happen to him. We see this from this as well from the words of the rambam that any bad incident that happened to a navi or a tzadik was during a time, even a split second, when that navi or tzadik was removed from his deveikus to Hashem. At a time when a person is busy being davuk to Hashem, no klala can fall upon them!
Bilams goal was to sever the deveikus that bnai yisrael had to Hashem. He wanted to try and detach that connection becuase he knew that no klala could fall upon bnei yisrael when they were involved in any act of dveikus! If he succeeded, then he could curse them and they would be subjected to the klalot. This is why the sins of ba'al pe'or and bnot mo'av were key for bilams plan! they are sins of the mind and the heart, the two key sources of dveikus for a jew! (this is exemplified clearly in the mitzvah of tefilin. that one corresponds to the mind and one to the heart becuase tefilin is a sign of dveikus ) So bilam was trying to make the mind and the heart impure by these two chata'im thereby severing the dveikus and subjecting bnai yisrael to the curses that he would go on to say.
The powers that we have against avodah zarah and arayot which make the mind and heart impure are Torah and tefiliah --> aka beit kineset and beit midrash the makom torah and makom tefilah!!! How do we combat these impurities? By learning Torah, which is metaher the mind and da'at and by davening, avodah shebalev. These are the two methods by which we achieve dveikus to Hashem and are thereby untouchable by any klala.
So "ma tovu ohalecha yaakov" is talking about the batei kineset and midrash the place of torah and tefilah and keep a Jew connected and purify the mind and heart.
Bilam tried to be metameih them with this by cursing bnei yisrael not to have any beit midrash or kineset and rid them of the ko'ach that would be blocking his klalot (torah and tefillah that are metaher klal yisrael) soHashem changed this one klala to a bracha that bnei yisrael always have the koach of tefilah and torah to be davuk b'Hashem and not be subjected to klalot! It is a tikun for all klalot that fall upon us. This one bracha prevented the other klalot from affecting bnei yisreal. Of course this shows Hashems tremendous ahava from bnai yisrael! an it was therefore only neccessary to switch this one klala becuase this koach protects bnai yisreal from the other klalot!
Additionally, the netivot shalom goes on to say that torah and tefilla ARE the moach (mind) and lev (heart) of klal yisrael. The batei kineset and midrash are the place where the shechinah rest and are a tikun for us in all bad or low situations that we find ourselves. They are a place for us to connect to Hashem and over come anything. In all the darkness that klal yisreal experiances, we have our tzibur and beit kineset and beit midrash to turn to and pour out our hearts directly to the shechinah. As long as we have that, our ruchniyut will thrive and continue to grow and not be able to be destroyed by any klalot.
This is yet another message for the koach and tefila and talmud torah. And a witness to the things that our enemies target and we must protect. As long as we continue davening and learning torah we cannot be harmed by the klalot of our enemies.

Aish.com's chizuk for the day! =)

11 Tammuz

I will teach the defiant Your ways, and the sinful will return to You (Psalms 51:15).

Every human being craves happiness. People are more than willing to spend great sums of money in the hope of achieving happiness. Unfortunately, their efforts are usually in vain, because happiness cannot be bought. Luxurious homes, sumptuous feasts, and lavish occasions may provide transitory pleasures, but never true happiness.

Living with faith and trust in God can deliver the sought-for happiness. The reason more people do not achieve happiness is because they fall short of the requisite degree of faith and trust in God. We may worry about our financial future and the ability to provide for our families the way we would like, especially during economic downturns. When adversities occur, we are likely to become deeply dejected. A profound and unquestioning faith and trust in Divine benevolence will provide the serenity, security, and convictions that could eliminate these worries and sadness.

People have varying degrees of faith and trust. The higher their level, the lesser are their worries and sadness. If we were able to achieve complete faith and trust, our dispositions would be such that happiness would radiate from us.

Today I shall ...
... seek to strengthen my faith and trust in God so that I may achieve true happiness and be an example for others.

Tefillah

This is just a nice idea I read about tefillah that helps me in my own tefillah. I saw it in praying with fire but I'd like to expand on it.
Why is it so hard for people to daven? One of the reasons, besides for not understanding the words, not being able to focus, or just simply feeling a detachment, which goes a little deeper is that people think who am I to be able to have a conversation with G-d and ask G-d for things that I need or want? People think that they are not on a high enough level to daven and feel that Hashem won't answer or listen to their tefillot because they are not spiritually great enough. Clearly we know that Tefillah is for everyone, and you can ask Hashem for anything at any time. Just look at the words of davening to prove this! It encompasses any request we can possibly have of Hashem. Even the smallest things can be found in tefillah.
I saw a nice idea to answer this q. There is a well known gemara that when a fetus is in the mothers womb, a malach teaches the baby the entire torah and all its secrets and when the baby is born the malach kisses the baby on the upper lip and the baby forgets everything and comes into this world with no knowledge of torah. The question is obviously whats the point? Why teach the baby all of torah, only to make him/her forget it?
When a person is learning, whether its in school, how to ride a bike, how to use a computer program, or any type of learning, it is easier to relearn something that they learned in the past and forgot, than to leran something completely new from scratch. The reason is that the skill is already embedded in them, they just have to reapply it. So to with Torah. When we come into this world, we have the task to re-learn torah and thus become close to Hashem. If we had never learned Torah before, this would be almost impossible becuase of the spiritual magnitude that would be impossible for us to reach in this world! Therefore, we are taught all of torah in the womb, creating a tremendous potential for each and every Jew. When we are born, we have the potential to learn the entire Torah on the exact level that it was taught to us before! If every person realized this, they would know their true potential and that they have the ability to reach such a high level of spirituality!
I think this in essence disproves the misconception that to daven to Hashem you have to be spiritualy great. Every person has the potential to reach that and therefore can reach out to become closer to Hashem and ask Hashem for anything. We just have to realize our potential and that every Jew has the ability to be spiritually as great as he/she was in the womb when the baby learned the entire torah directly from a malach.

Summer Vacation!

HI everybody! I know many girls are going away for the summer so the blog will probably be a bit slower. If your away and you ever have a chance to add something...go for it! Especially if your in a learning program...share your ideas! If you are home or do have internet access where you are... please try to add any torah you find or learn anywhere! Have a great safe fun summer!

the learning and tehilim tonight in the 5 towns will be canceled for girls....

It was a mistake and everyone feels really bad....

who are the real champions

Rabbi Wallerstein said a story at least twice and I was trying to find the video he was talking about. He said a story about a girl who was running in her olympics race, the race she practiced for, for years. She fell, and the olympic committee quickly pulled her, so she wouldn’t be in the way of the other racers (g-d forbid she should mess them up). Did one racer stop to help her up? Nope. Then the video fades away and switches to a scene of special needs kids running. One fell and one child stopped and helped him up and they all finished the race together. It then says “who are the real champions?” This video is a taste of the real video...I wish I could find the real one...

click here

@ Yahoo! Video

Tehillim and Learning- Tuesday Night June 22

There will be a tehillim and learning gathering on this Tuesday night June 22 at 9:45 at the shteibel on West Broadway. Afterwards, there will be late night learning. Please email this to anyone you know, we are trying to make this really big. The Tefilah and learning will be in zechus refuah shelamah Zack and and Binyamim Zwickler [ another choleh in the community]. Bsoros tovos and please spread this around to anyone you know!!!!!!!! Men and Women are invited to participate. Bsoros Tovos.

You Can Never Please Everyone

The world always has complaints. Some people criticize no matter what you do. Rav Nata Fraind in Chayei Olam Nata tells a mashal about those who want to please everyone.

There was a father and son traveling on there way riding on a donkey. People saw then and commented how cruel they were to make the donkey carry the double load of two passengers. So the son jumped off and the people said, "Look at that mean father who rides while his son walks." The father then jumped down and the son went up to ride. "Look at that disrespectful son who rides like a king while his poor father walks beside him on foot."

So the son immediately climbed down and they both walked alongside the donkey. "Look at those idiots" the people said. "They have a donkey, and walk beside it instead of riding." But they couldn't ride because everything they tried was met with criticism. So what did they do? They lifted the donkey and let it ride on their shoulders...

The moral of the story is, do what is right and don't bother trying to please everyone.

True Greatness

Rav Aharon Yosef Luria, zt”l, authored “Avodas Hapanim,” a very deep work filled with deep chassidus and concepts in avodas Hashem. It is not surprising that the Beis Avraham of Slonim, zt”l, praised him highly. “Rav Aharon Yosef was of the rare few who toiled to an unusual degree in their Divine service.” Despite his great accomplishments, Rav Aharon Yosef was also filled with humility. When a certain young man addressed him in Yiddish using the plural form as a sign of respect, he demanded to know why he addressed him so. The young man replied, “It is a sign of my esteem of an older Jew who is always learning Torah.” The rav immediately demanded that the young man cease speaking to him in this manner. When the young man asked why, Rav Aharon Yosef replied, “Speaking to me in the third person creates distance between us and could damage our friendship.” When people would come to him to learn chassidus, he would groan out of his innate recoil from receiving honor. On more than one occasion he said, “I feel like a person who has the reputation of being a very wealthy entrepreneur and is always being solicited for donations. In truth, he can not afford to give a penny since his entire wealth is nothing more than a front and he himself must collect in secret to maintain his own household. “The same is true about people who come to me to learn chassidus. They figure that I am a respected elder who is filed with chassidus. Although they think I am very wealthy, I am actually quite poor and am nothing more than a beggar myself!”

Ipod Shuffle and Bechira Chafshis

http://www.aish.com/sp/pg/96545289.html

by sara yocheved rigler