Tag Archives: peace

The Soul’s Long Journey

12 Wednesday Apr 2023

Posted by in Mystic Voices, Rabbinic Sages, Uncategorized

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“To what does the journey of the soul compare? To a person who planted a vineyard in his garden, intending to grow sweet grapes, but it grew sour ones. He saw that his planting didn’t succeed. He notched it and broke it off and cleared out the sour vines, and he planted again a second time. ‘Until how many times?’ [his students asked.] He said to them: ‘To the thousandth generation.’ ~ Sefer Bahir 185

In our high speed internet era, where nearly every need and whim can be satisfied with a mouse click, it can be challenging to accept that personal growth does not work that way. Our souls have their own timeframe, not measured in minutes, hours, days and years.  

Our souls are on learning journeys, and the greatest learnings are the ones that come to us only after many failed attempts at success. In fact, the case can be made that we deeply learn only by repeated failures.

when i learned to ride a bicycle, i did so primarily by being out of balance most of the time, falling down a hundred different ways, until I found the sweet spot where the force of gravity and the force of my legs balanced, where I rode that dynamic knife edge between left and right, moving forward on a path of balance. Once learned, it is not easily forgotten. You never forget how to ride a bike.  

Our souls are on the greatest trip of all, riding the sweet spot between wonder and knowledge, fear and exhilaration, love and solitude, heaven and earth. I don’t know if my soul is immortal or not. I do know that it belongs to eternity, and will travel that path of learning, passing it down through a thousand generations. 

Joe Laur is a father, husband, naturalist, executive, consultant, and student of The All. Send him your favorite teaching quote for commentary. He can be reached at joe.laur@joe.laur.com.

Lying To Make Peace

31 Thursday Mar 2016

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“All lies are forbidden unless they are spoken for the sake of making peace. “

-Rabbi Yehuda Ha-Nasi, Baraita Perek Ha-Shalom

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Lying is bad. We’ve been taught that from an early age. “Whatever you do, don’t like to me!” is a refrain of parents and lovers alike. It’s right there in the 10 Commandments, after all- Do Not Bear False Witness Against Thy Neighbor!

It seems there is one exception. We may like when it is for the sake of making peace between one person and another. Now, don’t take this as an excuse to lie to your spouse the next time you come home intoxicated at 4 in the morning. It’s not intended to get you off the hook for your own shortcomings.

The point being made here is that peace between people is so important that a departure from the strict truth is permitted if it will preserve or bring peace about. It’s about saving lives and restoring love.

Two friends, years back, had a bitter quarrel, and refused to speak to each other for months. A third friend went to each of them separately, and told each of them that the other was really sorry and wanted to make peace, but was too shy or ashamed to do so or even acknowledge their intentions, thinking the other would never forgive them.  Of course, this softened the hearts of each of them, and each thinking that the other was the true initiator, repaired their relationship.  A politician who tells a lie that prevents a war is a hero. Preserving life trumps a foolish insistence on perfect honesty. But it is a narrow gate to pass through, and not to be done lightly.

Is there a place in your life today where you struggle between perfect peace and perfect honesty?

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Judah the Prince (Hebrew Yehudah HaNasi) or Judah I, was a 2nd-century CE rabbi and chief redactor and editor of the Mishnah. He was a key leader of the Jewish community during the Roman occupation of Judea. According to the Talmud he was of the royal line of King David, hence the title nasi, meaning prince. Judah died on 15 Kislev around 217 CE.

Baraita (Aramaic for “external” or “outside”) designates a tradition in the Jewish oral law not incorporated in the Mishnah. Perek Ha-Shalom means “Chapter of Peace.”

Joe Laur is a father, husband, naturalist, executive, consultant, and a lowly rabbinic student. Send him your favorite teaching quote for commentary. He can be reached at joe.laur@godsdog.net.

At Peace With All

26 Friday Feb 2016

Posted by in Historic Voices, Uncategorized

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“The first focus in life here on earth is to be at peace with all people.”

~  Joel Ben Abraham Shemariah

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Shalom, the all-purpose Hebrew word that is used as a hello and goodbye greeting, means peace. But the roots of the word also mean completeness, wholeness, health, welfare, safety, soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, and the absence of agitation or discord. “Mah Shlomcha?” (for a man), or Mah Shlomeych?” (for a woman), means “How are you?” How is your peace, your welfare, your wholeness, your completeness?

This excerpt above from the will of Joel ben Avraham Shemariah prioritizes shalom with all people as our first focus. We can hear the echoes of “Love your neighbor as yourself ” here. What does it mean, what would our lives look like, if we first and foremost strove to be peaceful,  complete, whole, healthy, safe, sound, tranquil, prosperous, perfect, full, restful, harmonious, and looked out for the welfare of and avoided agitation or discord with everyone in our lives? Sounds like a mountainous way to live, but well worth the effort! It would take all our time, but nothing would be left to do! The World would be whole, and at peace.

How is your “peace” today?

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Rabbi Joel Ben Abraham Shemariah (died 1799), lived in Vilna, in what is now Lithuania. He is known for the teachings left in his will.

Joe Laur is a father, husband, naturalist, executive, consultant, and a lowly rabbinic student. He can be reached at joe.laur@godsdog.net.

 

 

If Worrying Paid Off

12 Friday Feb 2016

Posted by in Contemporary Sages, Uncategorized

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“If worrying did any good, all the rich people would hire worriers!”

-Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

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When I was in college, someone gave me a set of “trouble dolls”, six little figures in a box. I was supposed to tell them my troubles each night at bed, and let them carry them while I got a good nights sleep. There were only 6 dolls because I was only allowed to have that many troubles and no more! They were “worriers” I could hire for the night.

As Shabbat approaches each Friday night, my family and I review the week; the blessings and the struggles. As we ritually wash our hands before breaking bread, we wash away and release anything we need to let go of that would keep us from entering a state of peace and joy. And then we throw that water out onto the earth to be processed, recycled and renewed! This ritual allows us to put our worries aside for a day, and relax into the NOW. It’s a life saving break from woes. Repeat as needed.

What worries do you need to release right now to enter a place of peace?

Shabbat Shalom!

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Zalman Meshullam Schachter-Shalomi, commonly called “Reb Zalman“, (28 August 1924 – 3 July 2014) was one of the founders of the Jewish Renewal movement and an innovator in ecumenical dialogue and spiritual practice.

Joe Laur is a father, husband, naturalist, executive consultant, and a lowly rabbinic student. He can be reached at joe.laur@godsdog.net.

Seeing Peace

29 Friday Jan 2016

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“I could see peace instead of this.” – A Course in Miracles

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Following my cousin David’s death in a car crash caused by a drunk driver, my deep sadness was mixed with fiery rage. That drunken, speeding, SOB! That party boy! I stare at his Facebook page, at him smiling in front of the big Mercedes that killed David and his love Liz, and I am obsessed with this smiling hot shot, his sharp clothes, the young women he poses with, pictures of his Bloody Mary he’s calling “lunch” on his page. I am enraged, full of judgment, and it’s starting to obsess and eat me alive.

There is another way. When the Course in Miracles says I could see peace instead of  horror, anger rage, revenge, it offers me a way out of hell. Without denying the outrage and injustice of David’s death, I can channel my righteous action into anger, telling my friends never to drink and drive, donate to M.A.D.D., go for a run to get the energy moving in a positive direction. This is not forgive and forget. It is forgive and remember. Remember that people, all of us, are capable of mindless acts that can do irreparable harm. Remember, that there were times in my youth, when I drove after too many drinks. Times when I sped. Times when I sleepwalk through life, unawares.

Suddenly my anger gives way to deep sadness. I’m sorry this happened, to David, to Liz, even to young playboy Vladymyr in his Mercedes. He’s dead too, his young life extinguished. As I let the tears flow, I see a path out of hell. Channel the anger into right action. Let the grief have its way with me until I find release. Remember my cousin for his life, not just his death. Had I been offered him for 51 years with the understanding that he’d be taken away afterward, would I have signed the deal? Absolutely. His presence in my life has been huge blessing. Why let anger at his passing eat me alive and negate that?

I can see peace now, even through the tears. I can see the blessing that David has been to so many, see the needless loss that many have suffered, and live my life with an awareness that bad things can happen to good people; but if I’m on point, it can happen less. Just like David, I can bring some peace to this world. It eases the sting a little. I know it’s the right thing to do. Channel the anger into positive action, forgive, remember, and stay awake. In David’s name, I can make peace. It’s what he’d do.

What can you make peace with that is eating you?

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A Course in Miracles is a book written and edited by Helen Schucman, with portions transcribed and edited by William Thetford, containing a self-study curriculum to bring about what it calls a “spiritual transformation”.

Joe Laur is a father, husband, artist, builder, naturalist, consultant, and EcoKosher mashgiach. He lives with his wife Sara in western Massachusetts, where he serves as head groundskeeper and resident singer songwriter. Send him your favorite teaching quote for commentary. He can be reached at joe.laur@joelaur.com.