Lessons of a Soul

Last night I went to a speech by Rabbi Paysach Krohn and as I was sitting there waiting for him to begin to speak I was scoping out the scene, instantly judging all those around me. It was then that Rabbi Krohn said a few words that turned my mind around. He simply observed how special it was that so many people came and that this demonstrates the innate desire of Jews to always be growing higher and learning more. All of the sudden my judgments melted and I looked around and saw a beautiful crowd of neshamos that wanted to soar.
That was the first of many lessons that were re-affirmed for me last night in that gorgeous shul in Manhattan.

Last night I learned that Hashem wants to hear our regrets and open our hearts to Him and in turn He will embrace us wholly.

I learned that King Yoshiyahu was unique and significant because he said “Alai L’hakim”, that he would take it upon himself to sustain the Torah in his generation by spreading it to each Jew.

I learned that each Jew has a responsibility to provide his fellow Jew with strength, inspiration and encouragement.

I learned that what defines a person is their soul, not their job.

I learned that the proper response to “what are you?” is “Ivri Anochi”, “I am a Jew” and that every action in my life is dictated by that knowledge.

I learned that just because a person cannot afford a first-class ticket does not mean he is not first-class.

I learned that a Jew is conspicuous to all, and that we cannot hide our true identity from anyone, therefore we must act in a way to sanctify G-D's name.

I learned that a truly great person is one who can humble himself to truly and sincerely say, I’m sorry.

I learned the value of time, that in two minutes you can change someone’s life.

I learned that what you do tomorrow cannot make up for what you lost today.

I learned that intelligence is when you realize you have a soul and you understand that you will one day have to return it to G-D.