wow - walking down the street is tough for me - pesach shopping and eveything...

so i decided to play a game - rather than let my sensors seek out every beautiful woman (and in jerusalem they are all beautiful and all mostly frum, too ) I decided I was going to pick out everyone (of the guys) who I thought was holy...and filled with kedusha.

the hasidim were easy targets... black hats also a no brainer... some of the younger students were more challenging but I gave them the benefit of the doubt too...after a few moments of this I started to really enjoy my game...seeking out all the kedusha on the holy streets of yerushalim... but for some reason and I am not sure what... my Y"H decided he had enough of this game...

I was able to clear my head - and go home and humble myself and begin scrubbing the walls for pesach.

keep on trucking sb.

DovInIsrael wrote on 22 Mar 2010 16:31:


Hey - yet another reason for aliyah, everybody!!

yea - but one has to deal with teh Y"H bigger brother , too

No. I'm telling you: just ride a bike!
The squeegee man generally leaves bike-people alone!! Maybe he thinks we are dogs, or something.... ;D

I just had this image of myself in a black hat, going over to a first year yeshiva guy who's looking a bit "out of place" in mea she'arim, and just patting him on the shoulder and telling him that he looks like someone who really cares about his ruchniyos....hm. Have to try that sometime.

I like your game! 

Beautiful, SB, just beautiful!

silentbattle wrote on 23 Mar 2010 16:39:


BTW that you pat on the back you gave me in Meah Shearim really changed my day. I was having second thoughts about this whole 'Israel Experience' thing. When you came along with your nice comment, I went right back to the Bais Medrash and sat down to learn with renewed vigor. YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT REWARD IS WAITING FOR FOR SUCH A SEEMINGLY 'SIMPLE' ACT!!!



[The above may not be completely true - but it could have been true....]

KUTGW!! 

Silent How are ya buddy??

Doing great, thanks.

Had an interesting realization yesterday while riding my bike. It was a concept I'd heard of before, but experiencing it was something else. While riding to the store, I was amazed at how difficult it was. I thought, "wow, I'm really out of shape, plus I didn't eat breakfast yet, and I really hope there's nothing wrong with my bike!"

On the trip back, though, it was so much easier - and i realized that the street was actually on a hill. It was slight enough that I didn't realize it, but enough to make it really difficult to get up!

Sometimes, we think that things are difficult, and we get discouraged because despite all our efforts, we don't seem to be growing, going higher. What we need to remember is that when we're pushing, that means we ARE growing, whether or not we see it.

As long as we're really pushing.

I remember a similar story: two guys on bikes, on opposite sides of the street. Observer on curb sees one going fast, the other barely moving. Observer concludes that one guy's a pro and the other just a fat slob. Until he realizes there's a big hill:  one is coasting downhill and the other pedaling uphill.

A good lesson in "never judge." We can never know what silent struggles (sturggles? battles?) our fellow Jew is facing, or how masterfully they're succeeding.

Only the folks on the forum know the depths of our battles. And it's clear that you're making real progress with yours. Cool.

I heard yet another story (trains not bikes..)
Ever been on a train riding directly parallel to another train?

If your train is going 98mph
and the other train is going slightly faster at 99mph

In relation to the other train It will seem as though your train is actually going backwards...

Lesson is= never judge yourself based on the progress of others...
You can be the second fastest train... and yet feel like you are moving backwards....

Thank you, Briut!

Trying123 - very true.

Been really busy, life has been going well, in all areas. In case I don't have another chance, have a yom tov of freedom!