A GOOD HEART 5-22-2014 Go out and see what a good way is for a person to stick like glue, and cleave. • “[To have] a good eye.” • “[To be] a good friend.” • “[To be] a good neighbor.” • “[To be] one who considers consequences.” • “[To have] a good heart.” He said to them, “I prefer the words of; 2 Samuel 7:28 “And now, O Lord God, You are God, and Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant. Now your words, are included in his words and are now your words.” Psalm 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. Two questions: What is spiritually a good heart and how does a person achieve one? As obvious a question as this may seem, it is not, because first of all we see from Parashas Noach, (Noah) all righteousness is relative. Secondly we see on the topic of rebirth, John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” A person’s soul can hold him back from being righteous, at least in appearance to those who are around him. It would help to understand what it means to be righteous. If we were to poll billions of people and ask them for a definition of a righteous person most answers would overlap one another. If we gathered together the most prominent responses they would probably come down to one underlying principle, to which, apparently, God holds the key. In the course of thousands of years of history mankind has tried different methods to achieve unity, with little or no success. Whatever unity may have been achieved was usually short-lived and eventually usually disintegrated into war that brought even less peace than what originally existed. And so it to will be in these end of days. Without getting to political which I’ve decided not to do much of anymore, A good case-in-point would be the U.S. and Russia today. After working together during the second world war to stop the Nazis, ysv”z, they quickly fell into a state of “cold war.” This lasted for decades, often with extreme tension and even a nuclear crisis, until the 1980s when during the Reagan-Gorbachev Era the two countries warmed up to each other. Today it’s the U.S. versus Russia once again, and this teaching explains why: Any love which is dependent on something, when the “something” ceases the love ceases. Any love which is not dependent on anything will never cease. The U.S. and Russia are two very different nations with very different philosophies about life. However, in the 1980s imminent financial collapse forced Russia to look outside for assistance which the American’s readily provided on the condition that the Russians make certain concessions in the name of “world peace.” Like Eisav (Esau) before them, who sold his birthright to Ya’akov (Jacob) in desperation for lentils to survive, the U.S.S.R. agreed to the concessions to avoid disaster. As a result the U.S.S.R. was dismantled somewhat and Jews were finally allowed to emigrate. The Russians got their bailout and back on their fiscal feet once again. Russians today no longer needs the world’s help, or at least not as much as they would like you to believe. Consequently they are threatening world peace once again, just as Eisav, (Esau) after getting back on his feet went back to his old ways. Another case-in-point is society itself. There is a reason why police forces have to keep the peace even in civilized countries, and why when there is a breakdown of law and order that many citizens break the law. Apparently the “common good” is not as common as people would like it to be, which is why even the leaders themselves often get caught bending the rules in their own direction. There was one time in history, to my knowledge, when true achdus (complete unity) was achieved. It was thousands of years ago when the Jewish people stood at the base of Mt. Sinai to receive the Torah: They traveled from Refidim and came to the Sinai Desert, and they camped in the desert; they (read: he) camped opposite the mountain. (Shemos 19:2) He camped opposite the mountain: k’ish echad, b’leiv echad—like a single person with a single heart. Remember the joke, “two Jews, three opinions”? How did the situation become at Mt. Sinai, 3,000,000 Jews and only one opinion? The answer is short but incredibly deep: G-O-D. The experience of God transformed everyone at Mt. Sinai, even me, resulting in an unprecedented human unity. Never happened since until now. Most people have probably experienced this phenomenon on a smaller scale, like when someone great and much respected enters a room. I have been there when a great Biblical scholar, usually one who is a leader of the generation and rather elderly, has entered the room. All of a sudden hundreds of people go silent in awe of such a presence. It’s different than when a very wealthy person or a famous movie star enters a room. True, there is also a sense of awe when they do, but it is different, evident by the reaction of the people. After all, how many when seeing their favorite star or billionaire become inspired to become more righteous, or wiser? Being around fame inspires a person to become famous, and around wealth to become wealthy. In the presence of a venerable Torah or Biblical scholar, all are inspired to become morally greater and wiser individuals. We are lifted out of our own personal and more selfish realities and united in a common, Godly cause. For the moment we all become different as we became the same, united in a singular purpose that allowed us to become a holy union. We achieve, albeit temporarily, “good hearts.” When we deal with what a person must do, if he wants to learn only Torah or the Bible, and “keep” what he learns as well as being one with God the body and the mind are continually at odds with each other, and the impact is always a choice of choosing one over the other. What this means is that the body loves physical comfort and is willing to sacrifice spiritual greatness to achieve it. The mind, on the other, the realm to which Torah and Bible study belongs, is perfectly prepared to sacrifice such physical comfort to pursue a broader and deeper understanding of the Torah and Bible resulting in a closeness to God because it is the mind of God. To explain further to the extent to which a person is willing to sacrifice the physical comforts of life is the extent to which studding the Torah / Bible will enter and remain. Clearly when it comes to the learning and integrating the Torah, / Bible as the expression goes, “you can’t dance at two weddings” simultaneously. One world will always come at the cost of the other. It is not a coincidence that someone who feeds the body and starves the soul tends to have a difficult time being selfless. Or that someone who starves the body and feeds the soul has a difficult time being selfish, the result of which, of course, is a “good heart.” Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. 2 Timothy 2:22 Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. The starting point of reaching the level of a “good heart” is becoming like a midbar it is given him as a gift from God. When he receives the gift of Truth, it is like an inheritance to him. Once it is like an inheritance to him, he rises to a high position.” The starting point of reaching the level of a “good heart” is becoming like a (Nedarim 55a) dafyomi.co.il/nedarim/points/nd-ps-055.htm If one vowed from Tevuah, he is forbidden only the five species, but if he vowed from Dagan, all is forbidden. He is permitted fruit (of trees) and Yerek. Ephesians 5:9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), Like a wasteland is a desert, someone who cares more about others than himself can be a great teacher and Biblical scholar walking in the spirit of God’s love. 1 Thessalonians 5:27 I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read to all the holy brethren. 2 Corinthians 3:2 You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; 1 Timothy 1:5 Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, Christians are evident by how they have proper respect to one another, even dying as a result and our holy righteous example is; “JESUS” who has a pure, good, and loving “Heart”. Psalm 73:1 [ BOOK THREE: Psalms 73—89 ] [ The Tragedy of the Wicked, and the Blessedness of Trust in God ] [ A Psalm of Asaph. ] Truly God is good to Israel, To such as are pure in heart. Blessings Steven. (1,555 words)
Posted on: Tue, 02 Sep 2014 19:07:35 +0000
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