Menachem Bluming discusses the Flu

So many people are feeling unwell with the flu. May they recover quickly!

How does this work from G-d’s viewpoint? This illness holds us back from doing so many good things and furthering our duties?

Who knows… here’s a telling story:

There was once a Jew who resided on a farm, at a great distance from any Jewish community. He was a devout and pious man, and united with his wife did their best to create a Jewish home for his children. But he yearned to be near Jews, with the chance to pray in a shul, study Torah with like-minded people and be part of a community. Day in and day out for many years he would learn and pray alone with his prayer book and his volume of Talmud, wishing he could share them with others.

After many years, his dream began to come true. Slowly, more Jews moved to his area. It took decades, but slowly he built a community. Forty years after his arrival, that remote country town boasted a shul with services every day, regular Torah classes, a mikvah and a warm community. No more was he praying alone.

But the Rebbe said something surprising about this.

This Jew definitely got more pleasure from the lively latter years than the lonely early ones. But we can’t know which G-d appreciated more. It’s a possibility that G-d took more pleasure from his lonely prayers of desire, all those years of wishing and pining, over than the communal satisfaction that came later.

A sincere desire to do good deeds is in and of itself a holy act. When you wish to help someone but circumstances don’t allow it, or when you truly would love to do a mitzvah but something beyond your control stops you from doing it, that pure intention is precious to G-d. And who knows, perhaps more precious than the times when you do a mitzvah with ease.

May you all get well quickly and get back to all your good deeds with full strength. And when times are good, don’t forget your precious loneliness.

Menachem Mendel Bluming, Rabbi Moss and Chabad.org

Popular posts from this blog

Menachem Bluming Muses: Real Faith – How to Guide

Let’s do a simple exercise. Think about the blessing you need right now. Acknowledge the obvious fact that G-d, being all powerful, can solve your problems and fulfil your needs with the click of a finger. One phone call, one ‘chance’ meeting, one turn of events can change everything. You may not be able to imagine how your life could turn around, but G-d is not limited by your imagination. G-d can do anything. You know all this. That’s the easy part. Here’s the challenge. Take your faith to the next level. It’s not enough to know it in your mind. You have to feel it in your heart. Feel calm and relaxed, right now, even with your issues yet unresolved and your needs not met. You are in G-d’s hands, and G-d is good. Your problems will go away and everything will work out. So why wait until then to enjoy it? Start celebrating now. Feel the peace and comfort of knowing that everything is good, even before you can see it. Smile and be happy. It’s all done. When you bring your tru
Read more

Menachem Bluming Muses: Why Fast on Yom Kippur

In honor of Yom Kippur a Jewish newspaper interviewed me. Not that many read that paper :) so I figured that I would post the interview. Here goes: “So Rabbi Bluming when it comes to Yom Kippur most Jews think about how hungry they will be! If G-d wants us to be focused on prayer and returning to him why wouldn’t He allow us to eat so that we can better focus?” “Yes,” replied Menachem Mendel Bluming, “it is not easy to fast.” “Not easy?”, we asked. “It seems that when I fast I am so preoccupied by food and how hungry I am that I can hardly focus on anything else!” “You got it! That is exactly the point.” Mendel Bluming asserted. “Really? I am not sure what you mean by that.” We asked Bluming. “Yom Kippur is the day for me to put myself aside to focus on G-d and my spiritual destiny. By fasting I can reflect on what a pitiful existence my body is. Just withhold sushi and quinoa and bagels and lox for one day and I can hardly focus or think straight! I see mysel
Read more

Menachem Bluming Muses: Judaism’s Teaching on Reincarnation

I remember at school a friend failed his end of year exams and had to repeat a grade. He stayed back for a year and was no longer in our class, but rather the class below. We all moved on but he was held back. Some think reincarnation is like repeating a year at school. While some souls graduate to the next world after their life in this world, others are sent right back down to get things right in another life. That is not quite how Judaism teaches that it works. A better metaphor would be a mobile data rollover plan. The phone company gives you 15GB of data per month. Any part of that data you don't use in one month rolls over to the next month. So if you only used 14GB in May, that 14GB is gone, but the remaining 1GB comes back for you to use in June. Your soul has multiple gigabytes of spiritual energy and divine potential. This is the power G-d has invested in you to fulfill your mission in life. You use that potential by doing good deeds, performing mitzvot. Every mit
Read more