He was always sleepy. And always ready to sleep. Everywhere. At the biggest mass meetings, at all the concerts, at every important convention, he could be seen sitting asleep.

You must have known that man because you are that. And you must have come across that man many, many times, because how can you avoid him? — it is you.

And he slept in every conceivable and inconceivable pose. He slept with his elbows in the air and his hands behind his head. He slept standing up, leaning against himself so that he should not fall down. He slept in the theater, in the streets, in the synagogue. Wherever he went, his eyes would drip with sleep.

Had he been a Hindu he could have even slept standing on his head in shirshasan. I have seen Hindus sleeping that way. Many yogis become efficient in sleeping standing on their head. It is difficult, arduous; it needs great practice — but it happens.

Neighbors used to say that he had already slept through seven big fires, and once, at a really big fire, he was carried out of his bed, still asleep, and put down on the sidewalk. In this way he slept for several hours until a patrol came along and took him away.
It was said that when he was standing under the wedding canopy and reciting the vows, “Thou art to me….” he fell asleep at the word ‘sanctified’ — try to remember him — and they had to beat him over the head with brass pestles for several hours to wake him up. And he slowly said the next word and again fell asleep.

Remember your own wedding ceremony. Remember your honeymoon. Remember your marriage. Have you ever been awake? Have you ever missed any opportunity where you could have fallen asleep? You have always fallen asleep.

We mention all this so that you may believe the following story about our hero.
Once, when he went to sleep, he slept and slept and slept; but in his sleep it seemed to him that he heard thunder in the streets and his bed was shaking somewhat; so he thought in his sleep that it was raining outside, and as a result his sleep became still more delicious. He wrapped himself up in his quilt and in its warmth.

Do you remember how many times you have interpreted things through your sleep? Do you remember sometimes you have fixed the alarm clock, and when it goes off you start dreaming that you are in the church and the bells are ringing. A trick of the mind to avoid the alarm, to avoid the disturbance that the alarm is creating.

When he awoke he saw a strange void: his wife was no longer there, his bed was no longer there, his quilt was no longer there. He wanted to look through the

window, but there was no window to look through. He wanted to run down the three flights and yell ‘Help!’ but there were no stairs to run on and no air to yell in. And when he wanted merely to go out of doors, he saw that there was no out of doors. Everything evaporated!

For a while he stood there in confusion unable to comprehend what had happened. But afterward he bethought himself: I will go to sleep. He saw, however, that there was no longer any earth to sleep on. Only then did he raise two fingers to his forehead and reflect: Apparently I have slept through the end of the world. Isn’t that a fine how-do-you-do?

He became depressed. No more world, he thought. What will I do without a world? Where will I go to work, how will I make a living, especially now that the cost of living is so high and a dozen eggs costs a dollar twenty and who knows if they are even fresh, and besides, what will happen to the five dollars the gas company owes me? And where has my wife gone off to? Is it possible that she too has disappeared with the world, and with the thirty dollars’ pay I had in my pockets? And she is not by nature the kind that disappears, he thought to himself.

You will also think that way one day if you suddenly find the world has disappeared. You don’t know what else to think. You will think about the cost of eggs, the office, the wife, the money. You don’t know what else to think about. The whole world has disappeared! — but you have become mechanical in your thinking.

And what will I do if I want to sleep? What will I stretch out on if there isn’t any world? And maybe my back will ache? And who will finish the bundle of work in the shop? And suppose I want a glass of malted, where will I get it?
Eh, he thought, have you ever seen anything like it? A man should fall asleep with the world under his head and wake up without it!

This is going to happen one day or other — that’s what happens to every man when he dies. Suddenly, the whole world disappears. Suddenly he is no longer part of this world; suddenly he is in another dimension. This happens to every man who dies, because whatsoever you have known is just the peripheral. When you die, suddenly your periphery disappears — you are thrown to your center. And you don’t know that language. And you don’t know anything about the center. It looks like void, empty. It feels like just a negation, an absence.

As our hero stood there in his underwear, wondering what to do, a thought occurred to him: To hell with it! So there isn’t any world! Who needs it anyway?

Disappeared is disappeared — I might as well go to the movies and kill some time. But to his astonishment he saw that, together with the world, the movies had also disappeared.

A pretty mess I’ve made here, thought our hero, and began smoothing his mustache. A pretty mess I’ve made here, falling asleep! If I hadn’t slept so soundly, hc taunted himself, I would have disappeared along with everything else. This way I’m unfortunate, and where will I get a malted? I love a glass in the morning. And my wife? Who knows who she’s disappeared with? If it is with the presser from the top floor, I’ll murder her, so help me God.

Who knows how late it is?
With these words our hero wanted to look at his watch but couldn’t find it. He searched with both hands in the left and right pockets of the infinite emptiness but could find nothing to touch.

I just paid two dollars for a watch and here it’s already disappeared, he thought to himself. All right. If the world went under, it went under. That I don’t care about.

It isn’t my world. But the watch! Why should my watch go under? A new watch. Two dollars. It wasn’t even wound.

And where will I find a glass of malted? There’s nothing better in the morning than a glass of malted. And who knows if my wife..I’ve slept through such a terrible catastrophe, I deserve the worst. Help, help, he-e-e-lp! Where are my brains? Where were my brains before? Why didn’t I keep an eye on the world and my wife?

Why did I let them disappear when they were still so young?

And our hero began to beat his head against the void, but since the void was a very soft one it didn’t hurt him and he remained alive to tell the story.

This is a story of human mind as such. You create a world around you of illusions. You go on getting attached to things which are not going to be with you when you die. You go on being identified with things which are going to be taken away from you.

Osho – in series “A Sudden Clash of the Thunder”

The post The Great Sleep – A Jewish Spiritual Story by Osho appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

So when he was going to die. his disciples asked, ”What are we going to do with your body? –because you have lived such an unconventional life we don’t know whether to bury or burn you. What we are supposed to do?”

And the dying Master opened his eyes, laughed his last laughter, and said, ”Surprise me!” closed his eyes and died!

This is the way of the innocent: ”Surprise me!” Even in death there is innocence, laughter. Even in death there is no complaint. He is waiting to be surprised. Whether you burn him or bury him, decide yourself, but make it a surprise. Don’t ask it, don’t follow any given instructions, because then it will not be a surprise at all. ”If I say bury me or burn me, then I will already know about it.”

Osho , Guida Sprituale

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Samuel Segal is a bald eagle.
Samuel Segal is very regal.
This story relates how and why
Samuel Segal became a Rabbi.

How did Samuel Segal, the regal bald eagle, become a Rabbi? He studied at a rabbinical school just like everyone else who becomes a Rabbi.

When he applied to the school, the head of the rabbinical school said to Samuel Segal, “An American bald eagle does not look very Jewish, but I know that looking Jewish is not very important. What is important is your desire to study Torah and to do Mitsvot. We have had Samuel Segals who became Rabbis before, but we have never had a Samuel Segal who is a regal bald eagle, become a Rabbi.”

“Then I will be the first,” said Samuel Segal.

“But you are an eagle,” said the head of the rabbinical school, “and an eagle is not a kosher bird.”

“I know.” said Samuel Segal, “Eagles are not kosher birds like chickens, ducks or turkeys because we hunt small animals. When I first studied the Torah I learned about many different Mitsvot. I wanted to do as many of the Mitsvot as I could, so I stopped eating dead animals, and I stopped hunting rabbits. Now I only eat fish like trout and salmon, and occasionally a little herring. I also started eating Matsah, and stoped eating bread and pasta, during the week of Passover. Now I am a kosher American bald eagle.”

“A very kosher, regal, bald eagle,” said the head of the rabbinical school. “How did you come to study Torah?”

“I was very lucky,” said Samuel Segal, the regal bald eagle, “I became friends with two Jewish children, Aisha and Talya Segal. They invited me to dinner one Friday night. It was my first Shabbat dinner and I loved it. They lit the Shabbat candles and said the blessing. Then they blessed the wine and the bread and sang some Hebrew songs.

“Their parents were very proud of them and the whole family glowed with Shabbat joy and peacefulness. They invited me back again and again. I loved celebrating Shabbat with them and I joined them in blessing the Shabbat candles and the wine and the Hallah.

“I asked them lots of questions about Judaism, so they invited me to come with them to the Jewish school where they studied. At the school I learned about God, and the Torah, and all kinds of Mitsvot that I could do. The Segal family also took me to Shabbat and holy day services with them.

“After a few years, I decided I wanted to become Jewish, so the Segals took me to see Rabbi Maller. We had many long talks. I told Rabbi Maller that almost all American eagles believe that freedom is the most important value. Every eagle should be an independent individual, so as to be as free as possible. But I am different.

“I think responsibility is the most important value and I wanted to be part of a community/flock; and be responsible to care for and share with others. I wanted to do Mitsvot. Also, American eagles mate for life; so I believe that loyality is a very important value. The Jewish people have been loyal and faithful to the Torah for over 3,000 years, and I admire the Jewish People very much for that.

“Rabbi Maller told me I already had a Jewish soul so there was no reason why I shouldn’t join the Jewish people. He said I didn’t look very Jewish but I acted and thought very Jewish; and that is what is important.

“I studied with him for several months. When I became Jewish I took the family name of Segal, because if the Segal children had not encouraged me, I never would have studied Torah or become Jewish. Rabbi Maller gave me the name Samuel, after the first King of Israel, because I was going to be the first Jewish American bald eagle.”

“And now you are going to become the first American bald eagle Rabbi.” said the head of the rabbinical school. “Welcome home, Samuel Segal you do indeed have a regal eagle Jewish soul.”

So Samuel Segal, the regal bald eagle, became a Rabbi. He taught Torah to many other eagles who now fish and migrate together. Aisha and Talya truly did a great Mitsvah when they reached out, and invited in, a regal bald eagle who became Rabbi Samuel Segal.

After 39 years as Rabbi of Temple Akiba in Culver City Calif. Allen Maller retired in 2006. He is the editor of a series of High Holy Days prayer books; the author of a book on Jewish mysticism, “God, Sex and Kabbalah“; and the husband since 1966 of Judy Coopersmith. Visit his website at http://www.rabbimaller.com for more information.

The post Sam Segal the Regal Bald Eagle – Spiritual Story by Rabbi Allen Maller appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

David protested. There is no such thing as Jewish shoes. There is a Jewish hat called a yarmukah, and there is a Jewish shawl called a tallit, but there are no Jewish shoes.

Yes there are insisted the messenger. The king knows there are jewish shoes. You can wear them for more than 40 years and the soles do not wear out.

That is impossible David replied. I make very good shoes but they only last for a few years, unless you only wear them a few times a year. If the king wants shoes that he can wear daily for 40 years I will have to make soles out of iron.

No good said the messenger. Iron shoes are to heavy.

David said he could make them out of aluminum.

No good! They would be lite, but too stiff.

I could make them with six inch thick rubber soles.

No good! The king would be too tall. He would fall over if he walked to fast.

Then I can't make them.

The messenger insisted that David make a pair of long lasting, 40 year, Jewish shoes for the king or David would find himself in jail for 40 years.

David began to cry. I do not know how to make shoes that do not wear out.

Arn't you a jew asked the messenger. David nodded. Then you should know how to make Jewish shoes said the messenger. The king says it is written in the jewish torah. He took a piece of paper out of his pocket and read, “The book of Deuteronomy chapter 29 verse 5″.

David cried louder. I don't know what is written in the torah. I only studied torah for a few years when I was a small child . I never studied torah when I was an adult. Does the torah explain how to make shoes that do not wear out?

The messenger shook his head; no

Then it is a miracle said David. That is not good. I also don't know how to explain miracles. I need a rabbi. Please let me get a rabbi to help me.

The king's messenger said the shoemaker should come to the the king's court in three days with the rabbi, or the Jewish shoes. Or else he could go directly to jail.

As soon as the messenger left, David started seeking a rabbi. However, since David didn't belong to a congregation it took him two days until he found a rabbi to accompany him to the king's court.

The rabbi praised the king for studying the torah. Moses did indeed tell the Jewish people that during the 40 years that their parents were in the sinai desert their shoes did not wear out.

Those are the kind of shoes I want the king said.

O.K. Replied the rabbi. But first we have to prepare your feet so that they do not wear out before the soles do. You are a king so why should you have to walk so much. For the next two months when ever you are sitting, instead of getting up and walking someplace, you should command your servants to pick up your chair and carry you to the place you want to go. We will return in two months and your Jewish shoes will be 50% ready.

When they returned two months later the rabbi asked the king to walk together with him in the garden. After a few minuets the king complained that his feet hurt. His leg muscles had gotten weak because he hadn't been using them.

The rabbi nodded wisely and said that for the next month the king should exercise each day. In the second month the king should carry sick or very old people to any place they need to go. If you do this, when we meet again you will have your Jewish shoes.

When the rabbi returned he asked the king how his feet were. My feet are great replied the king. They are stronger than they have ever been.

The rabbi smiled and said to the king,” now you can understand what Moses said in the torah. Some things ware out when they are used a lot. Other things get stronger the more you use them. Muscles get stronger with more use. The more you love the more you can love. The same is true for faith and trust. The old shoes that you love, that fit you so well, you keep. The ones you don't wear much, are the ones you throw away. The well read, worn out book you keep. The one that is untouched you give away. If you want Jewish shoes or a Jewish soul for your feet: give more to others. With giving, the more you give, the more you have.

I understand said the king and he smiled. I too understand said David the shoemaker. I am proud of our torah, and I am going to study torah every day. I will make less shoes and soles on my last, and through torah study and doing mitsvot for other people, I will make my own soul last longer.

Rabbi Maller's web site is rabbimaller.Com

The post Shoes That Do Not Wear Out – Spiritual Story by Rabbi Allen Maller appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

One of the four judges stood up, looked at each one of the children very carefully, and said, “How do you spell the name of the Jewish holiday that celebrates the victory of the Maccabees in their fight for religious freedom and Jewish independence?”
Each one of the children wrote a different spelling: Chanukah, Channukah, Hanukah, Hannukkah, Hanuka

The judges looked puzzled. First, they began to whisper to one another. Then they began to argue. After a few minutes they started shouting at one another. Finally, one of them stood up and said, “If we can't agree among ourselves, we will have to call an expert. The best person to get would be a rabbi. Which rabbi shall we ask?

One of the five boys called out, “I'll get my rabbi.” The girl next to him jumped up and said, “Oh, no, I'll get my rabbi. I'm sure he will come.”

Two of the other children who were also Jewish ran off to call their rabbis, and the remaining boy, who was Catholic, decided to go and call his priest.

An hour later, four rabbis and a priest had gathered together with the judges. “Why are there so many different ways to spell Chanukah?” asked one of the judges.

The first rabbi replied, “The Jewish religion does not have a list of specific things that every Jew has to believe about God. Jews believe that there are several different ways of thinking about God. If we have more than one way to think about God, who is very important, why should we have only one way to spell Hanukkah, which is much less important than God? However, in my opinion, the best spelling would be one that has eight letters in it, since there are eight days to Hannukah.”

The judges looked very puzzled. “Can a Jew do anything he wants to do?” asked one of the judges. “Doesn't Judaism stand for anything?”
The second rabbi answered, “Of course Judaism has principles and standards. We believe in freedom, but that doesn't mean that everybody can do anything they want. Every Jew should pay attention to the teachings of the Torah and our tradition; to the teachings of your rabbi; and to what the majority of the people in your community are doing. But within the teachings of Torah and tradition, there are many honest differences and opinions. For example, 2,000 years ago there was a debate between two learned rabbis. Hillel said that you should light the Hanukah candles starting with one candle on the first day, and adding an additional candle each day until all eight candles are lit.

Shamai, however, taught that you should light eight candles on the first night of Channuka, and then one candle less each night until there was only one left on the eighth night. Shamai believed that just as the oil diminished from day to day, so too should the light of the candles become smaller each day.
Hillel, on the other hand, felt that the Jewish struggle to survive, in spite of the many attempts of our enemies to destroy us, was in itself the miracle, and that the longer we survive, the greater the miracle becomes. Therefore, the light should increase each day, as the miracle of Jewish survival becomes greater.”

At this point the third rabbi spoke up, “Actually, there are many different ways of doing things, and many different reasons for what we do. Sometimes the differences are due to a different way of thinking about things, as in the case of Hillel and Shamai. Sometimes the differences are due to local custom. For example, in the United States, Jews eat bagels and lox, while in Israel Jews eat falafel in pita bread. Jews from Europe do not eat rice during Passover, but Jews from North Africa and the Middle East do eat rice. So how you spell Hanuka is just a matter of custom. I think all the spellings are correct, and the contest is a tie.”

Suddenly the priest spoke up, “The story of the Maccabees is not found in the Jewish Bible because their fight for freedom occurred after the Jewish Bible was written. The Book of Maccabees can be found in the Catholic Bible. So, although I am not a scholar of Hebrew, I think I'm entitled to an opinion on the spelling of Chanukkah.”

“If the story of Hanukah is found in the Catholic Bible,” asked the head judge, “why don't you celebrate Hanuka in your church? After all, if the Maccabees had not won their fight for freedom against those who wanted to force the Jews to copy everybody else and stop being different, the Jews would all have disappeared. If the Jews had disappeared, then Christianity's leader would not have been born as a Jew and could not have been the Messiah.. And without him, there wouldn't be any Christian religion at all. In fact, without Hanukah, no matter how you spell it, there wouldn't be any Christmas!”

“That's true,” said the priest. “There wouldn't be any Christmas if there wasn't any Chanukah, but we can't celebrate Channukkah because it's not a Christian Holiday. Indeed, we don't even celebrate Shabbat, and that's one of the Ten Commandments. Ours is a different religion, with its own holidays and beliefs.”

“All this is very interesting,” said the head judge. “I have learned that Jews have more than one way of thinking about God, that Jews have different interpretations and customs, and that the Book of Maccabees is to be found in the Catholic Bible. What I haven't learned is HOW DO YOU SPELL CHANUKKAH? Isn't there any answer that is correct?”

“Yes there is,” said the fourth rabbi. “There is one correct spelling, and that is . The only correct spelling is the Hebrew way. All attempts to translate, or transliterate Hebrew words into English letters lose something in the transition. It is sort of like kissing a girl through a handkerchief. You can do it, but it doesn't feel the same.”

“O.K.,” said the judges, “we will give first prize to whichever of the boys and girls can spell Hannukkah in Hebrew.”

As it turned out only one boy and one girl could spell in Hebrew and so they were declared the winners. But, everyone, including the judges, learned a little bit about why there are so many different ways to spell Hanukkah, and why Hebrew is the best way.

More stories for children are available at the author's website: www.rabbimaller.com

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The Seer of Lublin was one of the most famous and formidable of the Hassidic Rabbis at the end of the 18th century. His greatest disciple (who had exactly the same name as his master) was called the Yehudi in Lublin, and the Holy Yehudi everywhere else. The two Rabbis loved each other very much, although they suffered many heartaches due to rivalries among their own disciples, especially those in Lublin. The Seer, as his appellation indicates, was a visionary who was interested in large movements and long term developments. The Holy Yehudi was a humble saint, famous for the power of his worship of God, who developed a reputation (which he always denied) as a healer of souls.

The Seer's wife Beile, often overheard the gossip and slanders of the Seer's disciples and began to believe what she had heard. When her young child fell ill she feared it was an evil eye from the Yehudi. Beile begged her husband to pray for the child's recovery. He replied, “You know to whom you must turn.” meaning God. But perhaps because she felt guilty about the slanders she overheard and, like her husband, had failed to rebuke, Beile decided to go to Pshysha, where the Holy Yehudi held his court. She begged him to forgive her sins against him and to pray for her son's recovery. The Holy Yehudi was struck dumb that the Seer's wife could think he would wish her or her child ill; and he sobbed for a few minuets. Finally he told her, “I will pray without ceasing.” Being generally naive, he neglected to tell her that he forgave her. When Beile returned home her son was dying.

What the Seer and his wife concluded from all this no one knows. But some weeks later, the Yehudi's son, who was almost 12, now fell ill. At first, it did not seem serious, but then it got worse. His mother Schoendel, cried hysterically for days. Once the told her husband, “This is their vengeance!” The Yehudi replied, “Don't go to pieces!” She gave all that she had to charity, but the boy only got worse. Then something extraordinary happened.

Rabbi Yissachar Baer come to visit. The Yehudi took him by the hand to the bed where Asher his son lay moaning. The Holy Yehudi said, “I am at the end of my strength. I can pray no more. Take him upon yourself and you will surely give him back to me healed.” With that he took his sobbing wife and left the room.

Rabbi Yissachar Baer was dismayed. He had never practiced healing; and he was sure he was not a holy man. But Rabbi Baer was a man of peace; and he knew that one of his teachers, the Maggid of Kosnitz, had on several occasions tried, with some success, to reduce the Seer's suspicions and tensions with the Yehudi. He thought Asher would be old enough to understand the nature of his illness.

“I am just an ordinary Rabbi; I am not a holy man like your father, or a great mystic like the Seer, or even a wise sage like the Maggid of Kosnitz. Every year I visit each of them for a few weeks, to learn and be inspired. Each of them is different, and their disciples are different. Their Torah is one Torah, but they teach it differently. Their Shabbat is on the same day, but they celebrate it in different ways. Each congregation says the Sh'ma but they sing it with different melodies. They do not even eat the same food. Some of the Seer's disciples like Rabbi Meir, who is a leader of those who oppose everything your father does, are narrow minded and resistant to change. Other disciples are fearful of competition, and resent those who have come to your father instead of their own Rabbi, the Seer. But I tell you that I learn from each one of them, and each of them speak the words of the living God. No one anywhere wishes you ill. A Jew, no matter how pious, learned or Kosher he is, who slanders another Jew, is a Jew hater and not a real Jew. ”

Asher harkened to the words of Rabbi Baer and he began to feel better. Neither of them ever spoke about what had happened that day in that room. Rabbi Baer suggested to the Yehudi that Asher should live for a few months with the Maggid of Kosnitz until he fully recovered; and he did. Rabbi Baer also talked to the Seer and the Seer instructed Rabbi Meir to say a prayer every day for the long life of the Yehudi. And Rabbi Baer, much to his surprise, found that the story of his miracle cure spread, and many people with wounded souls came to him. Thank God he was able to help many of them.

Every year when he visited the three great Rabbis, he always told the disciples of the Seer, the Maggid and the Holy Yehudi, that self-righteousness, gossip, and slander cause an illness of the soul that can lead to death.

From: FOR THE SAKE OF HEAVEN by Martin Buber pp. 205-210

Rabbi Maller's web site is: rabbimaller.com

The post An Illness unto Death – A Spiritual Story By Rabbi Allen Maller appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

David always asked lots of questions. And his grandmother always tried to answer them. So she just smiled and said, It depends on which prayer you say David. When you say a blessing for the food you eat, the blessing doesn't go anywhere; it just stays with you in your mind and makes you feel grateful and fortunate. When you sing a Hebrew song from the Bible, it goes to your heart and makes you feel joyful and Jewish. And when you say a prayer like the Sh'ma together with the congregation, it is transported to God by Sandalphon. That is what my grandmother told me.

What is Sandalphon? asked David. Is it like e-mail?

I am not sure what Sandalphon is, said grandmother Miriam, My grandmother told me it is a very tall angel with wheels. What is important about Sandalphon is that he takes all the prayers that are said from the heart, in each congregation throughout the whole world, weaves them together into a crown, and places the crown on God's head, which means in God's mind. The crown of prayers is like a verbal rainbow, with each word acting as a sparkling drop. The light and the beauty are reflected back into the heart of people who are praying in the congregation. If they sing their prayers; the reflection is doubled.

But why does God need a crown? asked David.

A crown of prayers is not like a crown of gold, answered grandma Miriam. It is more like when grandpa used to tell you that he loved you. He told you that he loved you every time he saw you, although you already knew that he loved you. Now that he is gone you can't hear him say it with your ears, but you can hear him say it with your heart and in your mind.

If Sandalphon has wheels maybe he is like an escalator, said David.

It isn't important what you imagine he looks, said grandma Miriam, What is important is that our prayers make God holy, just as our doing God's commandments makes us holy. You can't be a husband without a wife and you can't be a wife without a husband. In the same way we need God's love; God needs our love. That is why the prayers are woven into a crown. It is like putting a wedding ring on the finger of the person you love. The kind of ring is not important.

David thought for several minutes about everything grandma Miriam had said. Then he asked his last question. Where did all the cookies go?

After 39 years as Rabbi of Temple Akiba in Culver City Calif. Allen Maller retired in 2006. He is the editor of a series of High Holy Days prayer books; the author of a book on Jewish mysticism, “God, Sex and Kabbalah”; and the husband since 1966 of Judy Coopersmith. Visit his website at http://www.rabbimaller.com for more information.

The post Where Do All the Prayers Go – A Spiritual Story by Rabbi Allen S. Maller appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

Her mother once gave her a bag of nails and told her that every time she lost her temper or insulted somebody she must hammer a nail into the back of their fence.

The first day the girl hit 14 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as she learned to control her anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled. She discovered it was easier to hold her temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the girl didn't lose her temper at all. She told her mother about it and the mother suggested that the girl now pull out one nail for each day that she was able to hold her temper. The days passed. Finally, she told her mother that all the nails were gone.

The mother took her daughter by the hand and led her to the fence. She said, You have done well, my daughter, but look at all the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like these. You can put a knife in a person and draw it out. It does not matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there. A verbal wound is almost as bad as a physical one.

“How can I repair the fence?” asked the girl. “Will it have to remain damaged forever?”

“Yes and no” said the mother. “Our Rabbis say that if the fence is alive and responds to the way you have changed, it too can change and heal itself. If the fence is dead to the possibility of your repentance it will carry its scars onward. The fence will never be as it was before, but it doesn't have to become like new to be a good fence. If you do your part and change, and the fence does its part in response, God will do something wonderful. God will promote a healing that will make you and the fence better. This process is called Atonement. It means that the changes that come about from repentance and forgiveness lead people to higher levels of relationship than was the case before.”

“What happens if the fence doesn't respond?” asked the girl. “Can I ever make it whole?”

“You should try on three different occasions,” said the mother, “but if the fence remains dead even after you have changed, YOU can't force it to become whole. In that case you should fix another fence somewhere else. There are always lots of fences that need fixing, and whenever you fix a fence God will make something wonderful happen. That is the miracle of Atonement. God always responds to our attempts to change by helping us change and always responds to our change by giving us new and wonderful opportunities for Atonement. This is why we have a Day of Atonement ten days after the beginning of every New Year; so the New Year will be a better one than the last one.”

After 39 years as Rabbi of Temple Akiba in Culver City Calif. Allen Maller retired in 2006. He is the editor of a series of High Holy Days prayer books; the author of a book on Jewish mysticism, “God, Sex and Kabbalah”; and the husband since 1966 of Judy Coopersmith. Visit his website at http://www.rabbimaller.com for more information.

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Once three wise men came to the Land of Israel. They had heard about the wisdom of King Solomon and they wanted to test him and see if he was as wise as Jews said he was. When they came to the court of King Solomon the youngest of them asked the king how many stars are there in the night sky.

Everyone in the court was puzzled because no one can count all the stars in the sky. King Solomon smiled and said, “There are as many stars in the sky as there are grains of sand on the seashore.” The young wise man said, “But there are too many grains of sand on the seashore for any human to count.”

Solomon replied, “Exactly, no human can count every grain of sand on the seashore and no human can count every star in the night sky. There are some things that only God knows.” The three wise men agreed and said, “That is a very wise answer.”

Solomon then turned to the second wise man and said, “Do you also have a question Madam? “How did you know that I was a woman” said the Queen of Sheba, “I carefully disguised myself as a man all the time while I traveled from my country. No one else ever suspected that I was a woman.”

Solomon smiled and answered, “When you entered my palace, you walked over a glass floor in the hallway. Because the glass floor reflected light, you thought it was covered with water, and you lifted up your robe, in the same way as a woman would do with her dress.”

The Queen replied,”That is very clever of you to notice. Before I left my own country I sent you a very expensive gold image of the sun, did you get it?'

“Indeed I did” said Solomon, “But you need not provide me with a gold sun. God has given me the wisdom to worship the One God and that is better than the gold mines God has given you.”

“Yes, I have heard of your wisdom. That is why I have brought you a gift as well as a question.” the Queen replied as she opened a large box that contained two dozen beautiful white lilies. She told Solomon that 23 of the lilies were made by a very skilled flower-maker. One was a natural lily. They had all been sprayed with perfume so they smelled the same. The Queen wanted Solomon to point to the one natural lilly without getting up from his throne, which was 15 feet away.

Solomon thought for a moment and then asked one of the Queen's servants to move the box over to the window sill where the light was brighter. Now Solomon, who knew the language of birds, smiled and said something softly. A hummingbird. not much larger than a fat bee, came to one lily and began to feed. “That is the real lily,” said Solomon, “even a very skilled artist can't fool God's creatures.” The Queen said, “That is true, I submit to God's wisdom and to yours.”

Then Solomon turned to the oldest of the three wise man and asked him, “Do you have a question?” He replied, “Yes and no. I did have a question prepared that I thought you would not know how to answer, because like my fellow wise men, I was trying to test you, and prove you are not as wise as I am.”

“Now that I have realized that I was not so wise because I was not really seeking wisdom, I am ready to learn from you. So my question is an easy question. How did you get your wisdom?

Solomon replied, “I became wise because from the time I was a child, and for many years after I grew up, I studied the Torah every day with the sages of Israel.”

“I am over 60 years old.” said the old wise man. “Even if I study Torah night and day I will never learn as much as you or your teachers.”

“You do not have to learn as much as me to be wise. You just have to start learning, and continue studying each day of your life. I can teach you how to start studying Torah while you stand on one foot.”

The old wise man knew he couldn't stand very long on one foot. He was afraid he would fall down, and everyone would laugh at him. But he now knew he had to make the effort and not be afraid of failure. He raised one foot and Solomon said to him:

“Whatever you do not want someone to do to you; do not do to anyone else. That is the basic teaching of the Torah. All the other rules are the details of how to live your life the right way. Now start studying.”

The three wise men agreed that that was the wisest thing they had ever heard.

After 39 years as Rabbi of Temple Akiba in Culver City Calif. Allen Maller retired in 2006. He is the editor of a series of High Holy Days prayer books; the author of a book on Jewish mysticism, “God, Sex and Kabbalah“; and the husband since 1966 of Judy Coopersmith. Visit his website at http://www.rabbimaller.com” target=”rabbi for more information.

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God said to Adam, “It is not good for you to be alone. But now you are free to do whatever you want to do. When you are alone you don't have to share things with others. You don't have to stop talking and just listen when someone else needs to talk to you. You don't have to help when others need help. You don't have to care about how someone else feels. If you had a sister or a brother or a good friend, you would have to do all these things and many more.”

“I don't like being lonely” said Adam, ” I have lots of things for fun and games but I get bored with them after a while. I have several pet animals, but even having animals is not good enough for me. I still feel lonely and all alone. I need someone who is like me but at the same time is different. I need a partner. Someone to stand by my side and be my best friend. I need someone I can take care of, and who will care for me.”

“I know just what you need.” said God, “What you need is a help mate. A person with a different personality, who can grow together with you in love, and help you become a mensch. I am going to form her right out of your side, so she will stand side by side with you as your equal partner, your help mate. The two of you will be like one pair of hands. You know, one hand cannot wash itself. But two hands can always wash each other. You will have to be responsible for and to each other. You will no longer be independent. You will not be free to do whatever you want anymore. You will have to think about another person's feelings. You will have to think less about your self and more about another. I will give you a blessing to help you become a couple.”

God looked down and saw that Adam had fallen into a deep sleep. God hoped that when Adam awoke he would remember all that God had told him. Even if Adam and all his descendants didn't always become the loving responsible help mates that God wanted them to be, God thought they would be become better by trying. And those who were fully responsible partners and help mates would become God's blessing for each other.

If you liked this story, you'll love this! We've compiled a list of the top 10 spiritual stories and parables that our readers love. f

After 39 years as Rabbi of Temple Akiba in Culver City Calif. Allen Maller retired in 2006. He is the editor of a series of High Holy Days prayer books; the author of a book on Jewish mysticism, “God, Sex and Kabbalah”; and the husband since 1966 of Judy Coopersmith. Visit his website at http://www.rabbimaller.com for more information.

The post Adam Needs Eve – A Jewish Spiritual Story appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.