Mendel Bluming | Blogger

You do when you get married! You do when you join a shuttle mission to space! Obligations mean that your choices are important, critical because you are crucial. Freedom to do whatever you want, whenever you want, however you want (as long as you do not take away someone else’s freedoms) suggest that your choices are not ultimately important; whatever you choose is fine, it’s all the same. Obligations ultimately connote that you live a meaningful life! Menachem Mendel Bluming and RMF

 The mystery of death is one that we cannot truly understand. Why some souls come down here for a mere few years, only to be taken away from us, we cannot explain. Every soul is assigned a mission and we do not choose how many years will be allotted to fulfilling that mission. Every day is needed. We hope that it will be 120 years but some are less. We do our best to take life’s clues as to what our mission is but life remains mysterious; beyond human comprehension. That leaves a lot of pain for relatives who remain alive who miss the departed…  Nothing can replace the physical touch of a hug, the pleasure of seeing and interacting with a loved one. But we know that only the body dies, not the soul. And it is the soul of a person whom we love. Our connection with our loved ones is not with their physical presence, but their person, their love, their spirit. And that relationship never goes away. It just takes another form…  May you and your loved ones live long!

When Vespasian conquered Jerusalem, he assigned the destruction of the four ramparts of the Temple to four generals. The western wall was allotted to Pangar of Arabia. Now, it had been decreed by Heaven that this should never be destroyed, because the Shechinah (Divine Presence) resides in the west. The others demolished their sections, but Pangar did not demolish his. Vespasian sent for him and asked, “Why did you not destroy your section?” He replied, “By your life, I acted so for the honor of the kingdom. For if I had demolished it, nobody would [in time to come] know what it was you destroyed. But when people look [at the surviving wall], they will exclaim, ‘From the great building he destroyed, you can tell the might of Vespasian!’” Vespasian said to him, “Enough! You have spoken well. But since you disobeyed my command, you shall ascend to the roof and throw yourself down. If you live, you will live, and if you die, you will die.”’ Pangar ascended, threw himself down and die

A new recruit is asked during an interview what he would consider to be a personal fault. He answered: that I always say the truth. "I don't consider that a fault", the potential boss shared. "I don't care what you think" replied the now less than likely recruit :-) Every value is great but not to the exclusion of everything else... Menachem Mendel Bluming

Our upcoming course titled Strength and Struggle: Lessons in Character from the Stories of Our Prophets will explore real life questions through the prism of our Kings, Prophets and Judges. It will give you a full understanding of Biblical stories that remain enigmatic and foreign to most Jews and it will challenge you to dig deeper and to grow through their strengths and struggles:  · Do you consider yourself far wiser than people around you and there is not much that they can teach you? · What would you be willing to risk to do what’s right? · Do you believe that G-d has a plan for your life or that your life is pretty much up to chance? · Do you judge people quickly? · Do you believe that your wealth gives you license to act nasty at times? · Do you think that every sin that YOU do no matter how egregious should be ultimately forgivable? · Do you think that you know how to act in critical conversations or circumstances even without seeking advice? · How do you re-ignite the flame

If your mind tells you that one thing is greater or more important than another, should you listen? It may be wrong. Which of these are longer and which is wider? Now measure.... our minds are rather overrated

Hail in Potomac MD 77 degrees outside! 6:45 PM on 5/2/16 hail this big in Potomac!

There is no humility in pretending you are worthless. Humility is not an obsession over failure. Humility is a sensitivity, an awe, for that which lies beyond... Menachem Mendel Bluming and Chabad.org