Sometimes you see a meme and laugh. Sometimes you see a meme and cry. Every once in a while, though, you see a meme and think. Recently, I came across a meme that actually made me think; it left me with feelings of inspiration as well as feelings of pridefulness to be a Jew.
“Laziness kills ambition. Anger kills wisdom. Fear kills dreams. Ego kills growth. Jealousy kills peace. Doubt kills confidence. Now read that right to left.”
Perspective plays such a crucial role in our lives. The way we look at things, what we choose to focus on, and how we perceive the world, will correlate to the type of life we are living.
Many people choose to focus on the negative, optioning to only read from left to right. These people focus on the laziness, anger, fear, ego, jealousy, and doubt. These people tend to notice that single black dot on a large white canvas. They view their glass cups as half empty. We all know people like this (perhaps you are looking at yourself right now).
But what if we viewed things a bit different, a bit outside of societal norm’s negative bias box? What if we focused on the large beautiful white canvas of potential/kinetic emotional and spiritual energy, instead of on the small black dot of misery? What if we viewed the glass cup as half full, or at the very least, as refillable? What if we read from right to left, and focused instead on confidence, peace, growth, dreams, wisdom, and ambition?
There are many amazing aspects of being Jewish. One such component is that we are a people of the Book. We study the Torah, written in Lashon HaKodesh. We learn from the Talmud, written in Aramaic. We pray from the Siddur, written in Hebrew. The common denominator of all these texts is that they are read from right to left. As Jews, reading from right to left is part of our very essence and being. We are trained to focus on the positive, on the right side!
Halacha often mandates the right side to “go first,” when it comes to washing, dressing, and so on. Built into the framework of Judaism is a focus on the right.
After Pinchas performed one of the most daring, heroic, and noble acts, Rashi tells us that the tribes spoke disparagingly of him, saying, “Have you seen this grandson of Puti, the father of whose mother used to fatten calves for idolatrous sacrifices? And he has dared to slay a prince of one of Israel’s tribes.”
There was a lot of negativity taking place; a lot of reading from left to right. But none of that mattered to Pinchas. He chose to read the situation from right to left. He chose to remain on the right side of history. He chose to do what was right in the face of adversity, tension, and confusion.
That heroic act of mesirus nefesh, to do the right thing and stay positive in his Avodas Hashem, is what paved the way for his eternal impact on Klal Yisroel.
As we know, “Pinchas zeh Eliyahu.”
🔥Have a holy Shabbos!
Sometimes you see a meme and laugh. Sometimes you see a meme and cry. Every once in a while, though, you see a meme and think. Recently, I came across a meme that actually made me think; it left me with feelings of inspiration as well as feelings of pridefulness to be a Jew.
“Laziness kills ambition. Anger kills wisdom. Fear kills dreams. Ego kills growth. Jealousy kills peace. Doubt kills confidence. Now read that right to left.”
Perspective plays such a crucial role in our lives. The way we look at things, what we choose to focus on, and how we perceive the world, will correlate to the type of life we are living.
Many people choose to focus on the negative, optioning to only read from left to right. These people focus on the laziness, anger, fear, ego, jealousy, and doubt. These people tend to notice that single black dot on a large white canvas. They view their glass cups as half empty. We all know people like this (perhaps you are looking at yourself right now).
But what if we viewed things a bit different, a bit outside of societal norm’s negative bias box? What if we focused on the large beautiful white canvas of potential/kinetic emotional and spiritual energy, instead of on the small black dot of misery? What if we viewed the glass cup as half full, or at the very least, as refillable? What if we read from right to left, and focused instead on confidence, peace, growth, dreams, wisdom, and ambition?
There are many amazing aspects of being Jewish. One such component is that we are a people of the Book. We study the Torah, written in Lashon HaKodesh. We learn from the Talmud, written in Aramaic. We pray from the Siddur, written in Hebrew. The common denominator of all these texts is that they are read from right to left. As Jews, reading from right to left is part of our very essence and being. We are trained to focus on the positive, on the right side!
Halacha often mandates the right side to “go first,” when it comes to washing, dressing, and so on. Built into the framework of Judaism is a focus on the right.
After Pinchas performed one of the most daring, heroic, and noble acts, Rashi tells us that the tribes spoke disparagingly of him, saying, “Have you seen this grandson of Puti, the father of whose mother used to fatten calves for idolatrous sacrifices? And he has dared to slay a prince of one of Israel’s tribes.”
There was a lot of negativity taking place; a lot of reading from left to right. But none of that mattered to Pinchas. He chose to read the situation from right to left. He chose to remain on the right side of history. He chose to do what was right in the face of adversity, tension, and confusion.
That heroic act of mesirus nefesh, to do the right thing and stay positive in his Avodas Hashem, is what paved the way for his eternal impact on Klal Yisroel.
As we know, “Pinchas zeh Eliyahu.”
🔥Have a holy Shabbos!
