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Post by Ben Avraham on Jul 9, 2017 11:20:55 GMT -8
Part of the morning tefillah is this portion of the Mishnah, "these are the precepts that have no prescribed measure; The corner of one's field, first fruit offering, pilgrimage, acts of kindness and "  STUDY" Why is study included in what is considered, "without measure?" can we limit our time to study , can it be only in the morning? or only in the afternoon, or only in the evening? or can it be whenever we have the opportunity? the mind to study? a place to study, a willingness to study, same as needs of kindness, are we limited to those "mitzvoth Chasidim?" can we say, "we will help our neighbor only today?" Well, no, we will reach out 'WHENEVER" AND "WHERE EVER" It is necessary, the same as study, WHEN EVER AND WHERE EVER, the Ruach Ha Kodesh leads us |
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Post by alon on Jul 9, 2017 15:12:57 GMT -8
Part of the morning tefillah is this portion of the Mishnah, "these are the precepts that have no prescribed measure; The corner of one's field, first fruit offering, pilgrimage, acts of kindness and " STUDY" Why is study included in what is considered, "without measure?" can we limit our time to study , can it be only in the morning? or only in the afternoon, or only in the evening? or can it be whenever we have the opportunity? the mind to study? a place to study, a willingness to study, same as needs of kindness, are we limited to those "mitzvoth Chasidim?" can we say, "we will help our neighbor only today?" Well, no, we will reach out 'WHENEVER" AND "WHERE EVER" It is necessary, the same as study, WHEN EVER AND WHERE EVER, the Ruach Ha Kodesh leads us I think back to the many times I have failed to share the word or help someone because my flesh got in the way too quick for the Ruach to do anything but convict me of my wrong. In all those listed precepts, the common thread I see is the cultivating of an attitude of doing your utmost as a matter of course. It is about relationship. The corner of one's field- your work; a picture of working your field even into the corners; getting the most from your field. I've done farm work, and I can tell you it takes a lot more effort to work even into the corners regardless the farming method, ground, soil type, irrigation- augh! Don't even get me started about laying ground lines into the corners! We used to call them "torture tubes." The first fruit offering- would you short Elohim with your offerings? Do you measure generously when giving to HaShem? Or do you treat Him lke the IRS; taking every deduction and calculating stringently and stingily before paying as just another tax? Pilgrimage- one of my greatest regrets is putting off 2 pilgrimages until it was too late. I can no longer travel due to health concerns. But I put off going to the UK to meet my wife's family. And they are an interesting bunch. Her father and uncle escaped the Shoa just ahead of the Brown Shirts and went to the UK. Her uncle worked in one of the British intelligence services. But he never spoke of it to anyone. And all their lives just got more interesting from that point on. Now most of that generation are gone, and their children scattered all over the world. The other is I never saw Israel. And every believer, especially Meshiachim, should see Israel at least once in their life. Acts of kindness- it actually takes practice to do these first before thinking of yourself. It's a tough attitude to cultivate. Study- and it all rests on this. This is where we are told how to live as HaShem meant for us to live. Generally speaking, one who is deficient in any one of these precepts will be deficient in all of them. And one can be too "good" at a precept and still be deficient. I've known people who were too giving; not doing so by the principles Eohim gives us in His Word. And their families suffered for it. You can obviously travel too much, and neglect everything else. But work and acts of kindness? Remember the story of the snake that was cold and about to die? The kind person takes the snake and places it under his coat to warm up, and of course the snake bites him. Dieing, he asks the snake why; and the snake replies "I'm a snake. It's my nature to bite you." Are we too kind inviting unvetted Muslims into our country and treating them with "kindness?" My failing was work. I was a hard worker, but that interfered with all else. My family traveled, but I stayed and worked to pay for it. I could have gone too, but work was more important. I had little time for relationships, and even at work others only slowed me down. I always worked at least two jobs, one of them full time. And I never turned down overtime. That makes life very one dimensional. And yes, my family suffered from that. They never wanted for material things like I did growing up. But that is not all there is to providing for your family. Looking back I see that too late. But what about studying ? Can we do too much of that? I think yes. My mother used to say of some people "they are so heavenly bound they are no earthly good." What good is study if you don't get out and practice what you've learned? There is a relationship to all these precepts. And that I think is the greatest lesson. Life is about relationships: our relationship to HaShem, to family, friends, coworkers, our synagogue. There is a relationship too in everything we do; a relationship that translated to a Godly attitude and keeping and doing mitzvoth for their own sake, because we love HaShem. We need balance. We may be gifted in one or more of these precepts. But to focus on that area to the neglect of others is short sighted and counterproductive. Thanks for this. Very thought provoking ... obviously!  Dan C |
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STUDY" 
