10:12 AM

Long ago I was introduced to the idea that there are negative (yetzer hara) and positive forces (yetzer hatov) inside us. I recall reading as a child (in a newspaper version of Jewish history called Chronicles that I got as a Bar Mitzvah present, in the name of the Ba'al Shem Tov) that just as the yetzer harah is always increasing ammunition and forces so too must we always be upping the effort on the side of good.

Someone once said to Rav Eliyahu Lopian that they noticed that his light was on late at night and they advised that as he was old, he should sleep more. He said that he would have plenty of time to sleep when he was dead. That's one of those stories that is in the extreme yet serves to teach us a level that exists regarding a value we should appreciate. It comes to mind, along with the thoughts in the first paragraph, as I'm tired - and part of me wants only to sleep. There's another part of me, thank G-d, that wants to increase the ammo and fight on. Go to this post from a year and a month ago and look at three paragraphs up from the bottom to see a relevant quote.

I wonder why I write here, have been both wondering and writing for seven years (not yet, but soon to be). Mom (OBM) used to say that I write things here that I shouldn't write here. Lately - I think - I've been (boringly) cautious. I've been writing elsewhere, including the tablet of my heart (sorry if you're not in the mood for corn). Every now and again - and now it's then - I feel like blogging old style, free form.

A student just told me that two teachers he/she has had for the same subject are similar in content, but one seems to love what he/she teaches and the other seems not into it. Said student explained that the latter would be the better teacher content wise but the former is far better due to her genuine affinity for the Torah he/she teaches. Wow. That statement is so pregnant I think it's going to have twins.

I just had the pleasure of chatting with two dear, experienced colleagues who have each been here at work for twenty plus years. One of these dear men shared two outstanding divrei Torah. When I liked the first - parshah related one, he told me another of his - general - favorites:

Rashi says that Avraham sat at his tent door watching for people passing by to take in and host. The phrase used to describe those crossing through Avraham's path are "oveir veshav." On a drash level these words could mean Avraham was looking for people who were oveir an aveirah and he would assist them in being shav - returning in teshuvah to G-d.

The second vort that Rabbi Shimon Murciano told me was on the pasuk "Hinei mah tov umanayim shevet achim gam yachad" - "How good and pleasant it is when brothers sit together." The word "gam," which means also, often goes untranslated. Why does Dovid Hamelech say, ""How good and pleasant it is when brothers also sit together." The explanation may be that it is easy to call someone your brother when he is far away but to be brotherly even when you're together is a big deal.

Time to make the donuts.