לעילוי נשמת ר' אהרן בן ר' יעקב שכנא
ר' יואל בן ר' פינחס הלוי
What are the roots of great deeds? Elevated and lofty thoughts and aspirations. When people think small then they "act small". When people are focused on what Trump tweeted out recently, who hit a ninth inning homer to win the game, or other "important news", such as who is getting engaged/married/divorced/going to jail/came out of the closet, they lose sight of the big, important cosmic issues that should consume all of us. When what kugels they had at the kiddush or if the cholent had meat in it become a topic of conversation, we drown in the sea of our materialism. The practical result is that our behaviors and actions reflect our insipid thoughts and we descend into a life of insignificant and irrelevant endeavors. Even when we keep mitzvos - they are not appreciated but rather mocked and scorned. The poverty of thought impacts our attitude towards a life of meaning and generates cynicism and antipathy [e.g. saying "those religious fanatics" about those scrupulous in carrying out the will of the same Hashem that the mockers THEMSELVES believe in].
We can't let the world sink us into its morass of silliness and pettiness. We must rise above it all and think BIG. HUUUUUGE. To paraphrase Donald "Make the Jewish people great again!!!"
Bi-lashon HaRav ztz"l:
[א' ז']
[The pseudo-fancy words "antipathy", "morass" and "insipid", none of which I think I have ever used, are li-ilui nishmas my high school English teacher, whom I believe was convinced that I was a total nincompoop and would never amount to anything.
And she was RIGHT!! I am a loser and never amounted to anything:-) But at least I enjoy life and pretend to understand what I learn.
יהי זכרה ברוך!!!]
