“It’s not how much or how little you have that makes you great or small, but how much or how little you are with what you have.” 

- Rav Shimshon Rephael Hirsch

Wisdom From a 109 Year Old Holocaust Survivor

109 year old Holocaust survivor, Alice Herz-Sommer, shares very powerful wisdom.

 

 Attitude is everything!

(Video from Shelley Israel)

The Dash by Linda Ellis

The Dash

By Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak


At the funeral of a friend.

He referred to the dates on her tombstone


From the beginning to the end.


He noted that first came the date of her birth


And spoke of the following date with tears,


But he said what mattered most of all


Was the dash between those years.


For that dash represents all the time


That she spent alive on earth


And now only those who loved her


Know what that little line is worth.


For it matters not, how much we own,


The cars, the house, the cash,


What matters is how we live and love


And how we spend our dash.


So think about this long and hard;


Are there things you’d like to change?


For you never know how much time is left


That can still be rearranged.


If we could just slow down enough


To consider what’s true and real


And always try to understand


The way other people feel.


And be less quick to anger


And show appreciation more


And love the people in our lives


Like we’ve never loved before.


If we treat each other with respect


And more often wear a smile,


Remembering that this special dash


Might only last a little while.


So when your eulogy is being read


With your life’s actions to rehash


Would you be proud of the things they say


About how you spent your dash?

An Embroidered Life

"When I was a little boy, my mother used to embroider a great deal. I would sit at her knee and look up from the floor and ask what she was doing. She informed me that she was embroidering. From the underside, as I watched her work within the boundaries of the little round hoop that she held in her hand, I complained to her that it sure looked messy from where I sat. She would smile at me, look down and gently say, “My son you go about playing for a while and, when I am finished, I will put you on my knee and let you see it from my side.”

I would wonder why she was using some dark threads along with the bright ones and why they seemed so jumbled from my view. A few minutes would pass and then I would hear mother’s voice say, “Son come and sit on my knee.” This I would do, only to be surprised and thrilled to see a beautiful flower or sunset. I could not believe it, because from underneath it looked so messy.

Then mother would say to me, “My son, from underneath it did look messy ad jumbled, but you did not realize that there was a pre-dawn plan on the top. It was a design. I was only following it. Now look at it from my side and you will see what I was doing.”

Many times through the years I have looked up to Hashem and said, “Father, what are You doing?” He answers, “I am embroidering your life.” I say, “But it looks like a mess to me. It seems so jumbled. The threads seem so dark. Why can’t they all be bright?”

Hashem then tells me, “My child, you continue to live your life of fulfilling My mitzvot, and one day I will bring you to Heaven and put you on My knee and you will see the beautiful picture of your life from My side.”"

Down at Half Time

"'I am a rabid football fan, and my team is the New York Jets. I will never skip watching a game. One time I had to leave town for the weekend, and I asked a friend of mine to record the football game on her video.
'When I returned, my friend gave me the video cassette, and said, 'Oh, by the way, the Jets won.'
'I began watching the game, and the Jets were falling far behind. By half time, they were trailing by 20 points. At other times, I would have been pacing the floor, wringing my hands, and possibly raiding the refrigerator. However, I was perfectly calm, because I knew that my team was going to win, hence there was no need for me to worry.
'Ever since I turned my life over to Gd, I know that it is going to turn out good. There may be some hitches on the way, but I know that Gd will not fail me.
'Sometimes I feel like I am trailing by 20 points at half time, but since I know that the end will be good and that I will overcome and succeed, nothing ever upsets me as it did before.'
If our faith is strong enough, we can be winners, and even if we might be trailing at some point, we should approach the future with confidence."
-It's Not As Tough As You Think: How to Smooth Out Life's Bumps, by Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, MD

Each and every one of us has Gd on our personal (or communal, depending on how you want to look at it) team. Regardless of how hard our situation is, how much sweat is rolling down our faces, or how much we may want to call it quits on whatever the task may be, we can be sure of one thing: at the end of the day, we will win the game. Gd will always be on our team.

Smiling

I've found that when in the work place, if you great someone with courtesy and with a smile, they are much more likely to respond in kind and be willing to help you than if you just say it straight out. This may be something for each of us to work on - smiling in the presence of others and having polite conversations. You never know when something might come through for you in a very positive way!

LIFE

Life takes work, but it is the work that keeps us alive and growing.

Post by, Elisheva Nathan

Reflections from Conclave

When it comes to the NCSY family, and don’t get me wrong, we really are a family, I am relatively new. As an advisor, our job is to inspire you guys and play an active role in your growth as individuals.

Inspire. What an interesting word. I knew it would play a large role in this past weekend when I got to Conclave and it was written across the front of the sweatshirt. As an advisor, I wanted to be able to inspire you, the NCSYers, through my actions. My initial impression of who the “inspire” was directed to could not have been more wrong.

Based on my initial impressions from Fall convention, I thought that I knew what to expect at Conclave; then I arrived. From the first moment of “bingo” until the closing program, I was thoroughly engaged, and that was largely because of you, the NCSYers.

The moment that really stands out in my mind though was the kumzitz Sunday night. It was at this point that I really understood what the “inspire” was referring to. Listening to each of you talk and share yourselves with those sitting in the circle as Conclave “ebbed” away was inspiring to every single person sitting there. I realized that as much as I came to inspire each and every one of you, I think that all of YOU inspire ME to be a better person and push myself all that much more.

When things are easily attainable to someone, that person doesn’t necessarily appreciate them until they no longer have them or at least hear about situations and people that do not have the same circumstances and blessings. Listening to each of you share your struggles really gives perspective and inspiration to each and every person that may not have originally appreciated what they had, or people that are struggling with their own issues and just needed that little push. For this, I want to thank everyone that came to Conclave.

I can only hope that as an advisor I can inspire you in much the same way. I, and I believe I speak for all the advisors, am always willing to talk and listen to anything you might say. Thank you all for all your inspiration.

Sincerely,

Nachum Matten, Advisor

It is safe to assume that over the past week we have all in some way by the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. I know I have been thinking about it a lot. We have heard about both the evil and the heros in the story....

This video is a very powerful one... and something to think about.

What Dr. Seuss Taught Me

(Picture from allinfographics)

An Unstoppable Spirit

We all have expectations for our lives -- of the life paths and opportunities that should come our way, and where they should lead. But what happens when those expectations come crashing down? Janine Shepherd, an aspiring olympic medalist, tells her moving story of what it means to not let your life circumstances take control of you, but for you take the reigns and take control of your life.

"It wasn't until I let go of the life I thought I should have, that I was able to embrace life that was waiting for me." 

Janine's inspiring and empowering story proves that though our bodies are limited, our spirit is unstoppable.

Post by, Sarina Miller

What Do We Have?

In another peculiar dialogue between Eisav and Yaakov Avinu we find a hidden message of how to view our lives. When they reconnect after so many years, Eisav offers Yaakov to take whatever he wants from his possessions because, as he says, "I have a lot" (33:9). Yaakov responds by saying no thank you, "I have everything" (33:11). 

It is fairly clear that Yaakov does not actually mean he has everything. Instead, he means to say that he has everything he needs. Whatever Eisav wants to give him is unnecessary. Yaakov, the "ish tam", man of completeness, is once again showing that he needs no more than what he already has. As Pirkei Avos explains, "Who is rich? He who is happy with his portion" (4:1).

Perhaps we can glean an even more fundamental message from this contrast, other than how to view our possessions. The perspective Eisav had was only in proportion to those around him. "A lot" is only based on the fact that others have less. Yaakov focused on what he himself needed, in which case he had everything. The significance of our gains do not depend on anyone other than ourselves. What we do is not judged based on how we rank amongst others, it's how we rank against our own potential. 

Have a great Shabbos.

What Would You Attempt To Do If You Knew You Could Not Fail?

Many times when people speak about courage they describe scenarios of heroic bravery, like the selfless Israeli soldiers who at a very young age put their lives at risk to protect our people and our country. Sometimes we may become disheartened, thinking that if we can never achieve that kind of courage then we can never call ourselves heroic.

But in fact there is a kind of courage that we experience every day of our lives. These are the moments when we are faced with the question: Do I want to live a life of mediocrity or do I want my life to be extraordinary? These are the day to day decisions that impact our very being and the challenges that we face as individuals to improve our very lives.

Morrie Schwartz says in “Tuesdays with Morrie”: "So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning." 

Choosing to live a meaningful life, that is courage.