Simple Prayers - Baal Shem Tov

The Rebbe Rashab based this interpretation on a story he heard from the Baal Shem Tov when he visited his holy resting place at Mezhibuzh. At that time the Baal Shem Tov related that on his 16th birthday (18 Elul, 5474/1714) he had found himself in a small village. The local innkeeper was a very simple person who hardly knew how to read the prayers, let alone understand what they meant. He was, however, a very G‑d-fearing individual. On all matters and at all times he would quote the same phrase in the Holy Tongue, “Blessed be He; may He be blessed forever.” His wife too would always say in Yiddish, “Praised be His holy Name.”

That day, in accordance with the age-old custom of meditating in solitude for some time on one’s birthday, the Baal Shem Tov went off by himself to the fields. He recited chapters of Tehillim and engaged in unifying the Divine Names that emanate from its holy verses.

“As I was immersed in this,” the Baal Shem Tov related, “and unaware of my surroundings, I suddenly saw Elijah the Prophet. There was a smile on his lips. I was taken aback. For when I had been with the tzaddik R. Meir, and also when I had been in the company of the hidden tzaddikim, I had merited to see Elijah, but this was the first time that I had merited his appearance while all alone. I wondered about it. And besides, why was he smiling?

“Elijah said to me: ‘You are toiling so mightily to have the proper mystical intentions in bringing about the Supernal Unions of the Divine Names that emanate from the verses of Tehillim. And Aharon Shlomo the innkeeper and his wife Zlata Rivkah know nothing of the Unifications that result from his “Blessed be He; may He be blessed forever,” and from her “Praised be His holy Name.” Yet the Divine harmonies they create resonate in all the heavens more than all the Unifications of the Holy Name that are effected by the mystical intentions of the greatest tzaddikim.’

“Elijah described to me,” continued the Baal Shem Tov, “the great pleasure, as it were, that results in heaven from the words of praise and adoration uttered by men, women and children. Especially so, when they come from the mouths of simple folk. And most especially, when these praises are offered consistently, for then these people are constantly united with G‑d in pure faith and with an undivided heart.”

* * *

Having recounted this episode, the Rebbe Rashab added that it served as the basis for his additional interpretation of “breath untainted by sin” — that it applies not only to children but also to adults who act with pure faith and heartfelt simplicity, and who are thereby constantly united with G‑d, at all times and in all places.

stress management

A lecturer when explaining stress management to an audience,Raised a glass of water and asked'How heavy is this glass of water?'
Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.
The lect urer replied, 'The absolute weight doesn't matter.It depends on how long you try to hold it.If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem..If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my rightarm.If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance.In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.'
He continued,'And that's the way it is with stress management.If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later,As the burden becomes increasingly heavy,We won't be able to carry on. '
'As with the glass of water,You have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again..When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden.''So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow.
Whatever burdens you're carrying now,Let them down for a moment if you can.'So, my friend, Put down anything that may be a burden to you right now. Don't pick it up again until after you've rested a while.
Here are some great ways of dealing with the burdens of life:
* Accept that some days you're the pigeon,And some days you're the statue.
* Always keep your words soft and sweet,Just in case you have to eat them.
* Always wear stuff that will make you look goodIf you die in the middle of it.
* Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be"Recalled" by their maker.
* If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
* If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again,It was probably worth it.
* It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to be kind to others.
* Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time,Because then you won't have a leg to stand on.
* Nobody cares if you can't dance well.Just get up and dance.
* Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.
* The second mouse gets the cheese.
* When everything's coming your way,You're in the wrong lane.
* Birthdays are good for you.The more you have, the longer you live.
* You may be only one person in the world,But you may also be the world to one person.
* Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
* We could learn a lot from crayons... Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.
*A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
Have an awesome day and know that someone has thought about you today...I did ...
"Health is not everything, but without health, everything is nothing.

How Can the Rebbe Love Torah-hating Jews?

It so happened that someone wrote in and complained to the Rebbe.
‘How can it be that such a respectable Torah figure as himself gives any
sort of attention, no less honor, to such Torah-hating Jews?
The Rebbe answered, ‘When a Jew wakes up in the morning on Yom
Kippur, shaves, cooks breakfast, turns on the radio and while eating (all
these things are transgressions) hears the announcer say “Today is the Jewish
Day of Atonement, thousands of Jews throughout the world are….. “
Suddenly he remembers that he bought tickets to the services. He looks
at his watch, grabs the cup of coffee runs out of the house to his car, drives
to the Synagogue, runs inside, takes his seat and opens his prayer book for
fifteen minutes.
Suddenly he slaps himself on the forehead and yells out ‘OY! I’m late
for the meeting in the stock market!’ He closes his book and runs out of
the house of prayer.
Concluded the Rebbe: You have no idea how much pleasure G‑d gets
from that fifteen minutes that that Jew sat in the Synagogue.

Almost unexplainably Jews throughout the world suddenly are moved.
It’s not because they are thinking about punishment or reward, but rather
because they feel that G‑d is the creator of the world and they want to
serve Him.
Rosh HaShanna is the date that G‑d finished creating the world and
the date that He created man. And that is what every Jew feels, at least
subconsciously.
That G‑d is the King of the Universe and we are his servants.
This is the message of the Shofar and it will only be completely manifested
with the arrival of Moshiach. Then the ‘Great Shofar’ will sound and
the entire world will declare (as we say in the prayers of these High Holy
Days) “The G‑d of Israel is King and His kingship is on all creation.” So
what we are really all praying for on Rosh HaShanna is that we all....
Have a healthy, happy, sweet New Year with Moshiach NOW!!