When You Think Your Hut is Burning...

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for G-d to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.

Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions. Then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened; everything was lost.

He was stunned with grief and anger. "G-d, how could you do this to me!" he cried.

Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. "How did you know I was here?" asked the weary man of his rescuers. "We saw your smoke signal," they replied.

It is easy to get discouraged when things are going bad. But we shouldn't lose heart, because G-d is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain and suffering. Remember, next time your little hut is burning to the ground it just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of G-d. 

Great little parable to bear in mind next time it seems as though the worst has happened. We are surrounded every day by Blessings in disguise and it’s our job to uncover them. 

Never, ever give up faith. It’s so imperative to always, no matter how dire the circumstance, stay strong in your faith. 

“When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.” -FDR

All For One and One For All

Wow! It’s been quite some time since I’ve blogged but I’m back and better than ever :)

As humans, most of us tend to have a selfish nature to us. It doesn't stem from a spiteful place but with the busy lives we all lead it’s easy to focus your attention on your own personal needs and not so much focus on that of others. 

How often do we see the urgent cries of a fellow facebook friend to please say Tehillim for an ill loved one or an organization seeking volunteers for their upcoming event, and we think to our self I’m sure someone else will help out. 

When it doesn't personally involve you and is solely the problem of a friend it can be very easy to just look the other way and hope the problem will get fixed on its own or with the help of someone who maybe has more time on their hands etc. 

This is why it is so important to at all times remember- “Kol Yisroel Araivim Zeh Lazeh.” As Jews we have that inborn responsibility to help out our fellow brethren and sisters. Like it or not, we are all connected. We share one Father, Hashem, and just like we would never abandon a blood sibling in their time of need we should do the same for our fellow Jew. 

Take a look at the following parable:

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. “What food might this contain?” He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.

Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning. “There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!”

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, “Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it.”

The mouse turned to the pig and told him, “There is a mousetrap in the house.”

The pig sympathized, but said, “I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers.”

The mouse turned to the cow, and the cow said, “Wow, Mr. Mouse. I’m sorry for you, but it’s no skin off my nose.”

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer’s mousetrap alone.

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house, like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey.

The farmer’s wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer’s wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital, and she returned home with a fever.

Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup’s main ingredient. But his wife’s sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.

The farmer’s wife did not get well; she died. So many people came for her funeral; the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.

So the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn’t concern you, remember, when one of us is threatened, we may all be at risk.

We see in Bereishis, Kayin turned to Hashem and said about Hevel, his brother, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

We are all involved in our task down here of turning this physical world into a dwelling place for G-d. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another.

“Each of us is a vital thread in another person’s tapestry; our lives are woven together for a reason.”