Shabbat Shalom

I think my favorite time to blog is right before Shabbos. The week fizzles away as the music of Shabbat starts to play in my soul. I look back on the week, breathe, let it go.

Yesterday at Shacharit, my principal, Dr, Kalman Stein shared a beautiful idea. He asked (as I've adapted the wording in my mind) why Chazal made such a big deal about mentioning geulah - redemption immediately before tefilah - the major part of our prayer (Shmoneh Esrei). His answer (from Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik) is that we all realize that we, alone can't bring about redemption, rather we realize that it comes from G-d. One person alone is not going to fix Israel or save the world. However, when it comes to other things like parnasah - livelihood or healing we sometimes forget that it doesn't come from us but from G-d. We need to remember that just as geulah comes from G-d, so too everything in life comes from G-d. Before we ask for anything we remind ourselves, via the example of redemption, that our answers - our health and all good - come from G-d.

I had a student arranged book reading on Monday. It was nice to be heard as an author. I listened to a lot of students. They share their stuff and I hopefully as helpful as they claim, though our best help comes from inside ourselves and most of all from G-d. I assisted one student in writing a dvar Torah. I had an article on Vayikrah published in the Jewish Week. I gave three tests this week. if doing well on these tests lifts the spirits of one student - that will make me feel good better about all the imperfections of tests. Last night I gave the mishmar shiur and I felt that the audience really got the point about true connection to G-d and the message of korbanot.

Shabbos is almost here. Shabbos is the time when we embrace time, while in a way we also let go of time. Maybe the secret to Shabbos is learning how to hold time, too tight and you stifle time, too loose and you lose time. G-d please bless me, and all of us to hold time properly. May we be blessed to recognize that our salvation, that everything in our lives is from G-d.