JamShalom Daydreams

Don't Doubt Your Questions, But Seriously Question Your Doubts

Sometimes we have questions about where we are in our relationships with others; our relationships with friends, our relationships with family, our relationships with girlfriends/boyfriends and husbands/wives, our relationship with our Spiritual teachers (Rabbi/Priests/Imams), and even our relationship with HaShem. Maybe we feel we are not doing enough.  Maybe we feel the other party is not doing enough. Maybe we feel that something is unfair.  Maybe we just feel misunderstood. Maybe things are so beautiful - so very, very beautiful - that we wish there was something more that we could be doing. And it's natural to have questions.  In fact, it's even HEALTHY and ESSENTIAL TO GROWTH to ask questions.  But is having questions about our relationship with someone the same as having doubts?  Is there a line, perhaps a very, fine, fine line, between asking questions for the sake of growth -- while believing in what we have -- and asking questions from a perspective of doubt and not believing in what we have? When we ask questions in a way that casts doubt on our relationships, it is a lot like bailing out water from a rowboat while drilling a hole in the bottom at the same time; under the guise of fixing something, we cause damage at the very foundations.  But when we ask questions in a way that conveys a True Belief in the other person and what we share with him or her,  our questions are like scaffolding on the top of a building; it might make the building less attractive during the process, but the whole structure grows and becomes grander for the transition. Attached please find the shu-shine for the the Torah Portion of Beha'alotcha: "Don't Doubt Your Questions, But Seriously Question Your Doubts". May we all be blessed to believe in ourselves enough to always ask our questions, and believe in each other enough to always do so without doubting all that binds us together. This Shu-Shine is dedicated to Marc, Greg, Richie, Melissa, and all of our friends who will be celebrating PHISHabbos at Bonnaroo.  May you be blessed to dance with the Shabbat Queen, and hear some beautiful grooves that only come when musicians truly connect with and believe in their bond with each other!! With Love and a Smile, ~Shu

Here's Looking at Me

We all get upset sometimes.  And sometimes we might even lose it on someone we love.  Sure, we feel badly about it later.  But what can you do?  We're only human, right? And then there are "those people"...   You know the ones.  Those people that you "just can't stand".  Those people that "drive you crazy".  Those people that "are so annoying"!  It's totally not our fault when we fly off the handle at them.  After all, ANYONE would find them irritating! And yet...  we all love when we meet a Truly Centered people.  We all feel very blessed if we have one friend, or one parent, or one teacher, or one sibling who is always ready to accept us for who we are and how we are -- even in our worst moments. There is no greater gift that we receive than unconditional love.  And when we take the time to appreciate that fact, we suddenly realize that unconditional love is also the greatest gift we can give.  But in order to give it, we must first make peace with ourselves -- within our own hearts and souls. Attached please find the shu-shine for the the Torah Portion of Naso: "Here's Looking at Me". May we all be blessed to achieve the peace of accepting who we are at this moment of life, and where we are at this moment of life, and *how* we are at this moment of life.  And may we blessed, from that peaceful place, to accept all of those we encounter with love. With Love and a Smile, ~Shu

How Special You Are

When we look at the people around us on the street, we can't help but be left in awe.  Every person is unique.  Every person is different from one another.  Every person has unique strengths and challenges.  Every person has a unique combination of feelings, passions, fears, loves, concerns, friends, beliefs, truths, and dreams. Every human being is a Rainbow. Every single one. And so are You. Attached please find the shu-shine for the the Torah Portion of Bamidbar and the Holiday of Shavuot: "How Special You Are". May we all be blessed to establish True homes among Israel and the world, to recognize our unique place within each of our social families, and to Truly feel how special we are to HaShem and to the entire world. With Love and a Smile, ~Shu

I'm Simply Happy!

Remember when you were little, and the simplest things could make you happy?  Remember when you used to cry, and nothing more than a hug or a kind and loving word could make everything in the world perfect again? Don't you wish life was really like that?  Don't you wish that even today, with a simple word or a loving hug everything could be made peaceful and perfect?  Wouldn't it be amazing to be simply happy? The Truth is that life really is that simple.  The Truth is that our world really is that beautiful and harmonious.  Life actually is not so complicated.  It's just that sometimes we grow up to be a bit too smart.  We allow our minds to become complex and sophisticated, and suddenly our lives and relationships seem to get all out of whack.  But with the right frame of mind -- with the right shifting of perspectives (and perhaps a deep breath) -- we can get back to living peacefully. Life is still very simple.  We just have to stop be so smart and making things so unnecessarily complicated. Attached please find the shu-shine for the the Torah Portion of BeChukotai: "I'm Simply Happy". May we all be blessed to take a deep breath, open our hearts, and get back in touch with the Simple Joy that life is always offering us. With Love and a Smile, ~Shu

Parshat BeHar - Let Go and Catch On to What's Real

Dear Friends, We try so hard to hold on.  We try so hard to be in control.  Some people fight so hard to get what they want, and then when they have it, they become prisoners to it -- unable to let go, even when they need to, or want to.  They find it so hard to open their hand to another person.  They find it so hard to leave the office and go out and greet the world, or even to see their family.  They find it so hard to simply take a breath -- to breathe -- to simply 'BE'. But we are all just travelers here.  We are all just here for a journey.  We are not taking the physical world with us, or any of our acquisitions.  What defines us is not what we possess or acquire, but rather the Values we live by: What we do with the resources at our disposal, what takes place in our homes, and how we contribute to and treat the people and world around us. Attached please find the shu-shine for the the Torah Portion of BeHar: "Let Go and Catch On to What's Real". May we all be blessed to let go of what is transitory, and latch on with all our love and might to that which is real -- that which cannot be measured by any physical vessel. This Shu-Shine is dedicated to my dear friend Jeremy Epstein, a wonderful Neshama who has been long-seeking the "real" that dwells within the surface-shell of life. With Love and a Smile, ~Shu

We Hear what We Expect to Hear

Dear Friends, The world is so very, very beautiful.  And people -- oh my goodness -- people are all so incredibly magnificent and beautiful.  But sometimes they don't look that way to us.  Sometimes, for some of us, the world seems to be simply a 'setter of traps' and a 'place of confusion and pain'.  And sometimes, in some of our eyes, other people seem 'suspicious' and 'untrustworthy' and even 'downright ugly'.  And sometimes when another person cries out to us or yells at us, we are sure it is personal; we cannot imagine that perhaps their cry is coming from a delicate place inside them, and we fail to realize that the reason that the person is yelling at us, is because he or she believes that we alone can hear his or her pain. But when we shift our point of view -- when we take off the foggy glasses -- when we take the muddy cotton out of our ears -- we suddenly see and hear things in a different way.  And we realize that it wasn't the world or the people or the cries around us that were wrong.  It was only our perspective. Attached please find the shu-shine for the the Torah Portion of Emor: "We Hear what We Expect to Hear". May we all be blessed to see the world and people around us for all of their amazing beauty, and to hear the voices of those around us with a loving heart that embraces and understands the source of their words.. This Shu-Shine is dedicated in honor of my amazing son, Yair -- who is celebrating his Bar-Mitzvah this week and very much embodies - thank God - the values of love and kindness and understanding that make our world such a beautiful place. With Love and a Smile, ~Shu

The Ultimate High

For all of you out there living in the Galut (the exile!), I am posting last year's shu-shine from Parshat Shmini - "The Ultimate High" (Yes, we are on a different Torah portion in Israel...).  And then you can listen to this weeks shu-shine next week, and next week's shu-shine the week after, etc, etc, etc. Don't worry - eventually y'all will catch up with us.  It's just the way it goes -- Israel leads, and the diaspora follows!  ;-)

Sensing the Absence of that Which We Love

Dear Friends, Nobody likes to be negative, but did you ever take time to notice the things that get you down?  The people we miss.  The places we wish we could be right now.  The fact that a particular friend or family member might be upset with me.  That business is not going the way I wish it would. As caring people, we don't like to spend too much time dwelling on the negative.  But we must not forget that there is a great and beautiful meaning in that which pains us in our lives.  For those pains are a direct reflection of the the parts of life that we have been blessed to care about.  And the degree to which it hurts us , is precisely the degree to which we love.  That strange void of 'hurt', is in fact a highly personal reflection of the values we which hold dearest, and that which we most treasure in our lives. Listening to our hearts, we have the opportunity to remember that which is most important.  Listening to our hearts, we are able to remember that we are each a Holy Vessel, each person with a unique capacity to connect with and to beautify the world around us. Attached please find the shu-shine for the the Torah Portion of Tazria-Metzora: "Sensing the Absence of That Which We Love".    (click “Listen Now”, below!) May we all be blessed to see the true goodness in others, and to recognize that each and every one of us are vessels through which Holiness, light and love flows through to our world. This Shu-Shine is dedicated in memory of Dr. Vera B. Hornstein, whose legacy burns brightly in the home of her children and grandchildren, a family who has always seen the good in those around them, and whom are vessels of love that warm all who know them. With Love and a Smile, ~Shu

The End is Really a New Beginning

We try so hard to see things from a positive perspective.  We try so hard to make the best choices and take the right pathways in life.  But no matter what we do, sometimes we still end up at dead-ends or crossroads that we never meant to be facing.  We cry out to God (or in frustration towards ourselves... or in a blaming way towards someone else...): "Why?!  Why am I here?  Why have I come to this unfortunate place?  Why have things worked out so 'not in the way' I planned?!" And at that moment, we probably sound a feel a lot like the Jewish Nation as it suddenly found itself cornered by the descending Egyptian army with their backs against the massive Red Sea. Attached please find the shu-shine for Shvi'i Shel Pesach & Shabbat: "The End is Really a New Beginning".    (click “Listent Now”, below!) May we all be blessed to embrace the crossroads we face in life as the new opportunities that they are, and to always realize and appreciate that we are exactly where we have choosen to be, and where we are meant to be. With Love and a Smile, ~Shu

Why are We Hatin' on the Chametz?!

On the holiday of Succot we leave our homes and go out into a temporary and simple dwelling.  We overcome our attachment to the physical trappings of our life, and reconnect with the simplest and richest aspects of life -- family, friends, God, and uncomplicated living. And here, exactly six months to the date on the opposite side of the Jewish/Lunar calendar, we celebrate Pesach - Passover.  And while on Succot *WE* break ourselves free from the physical and material life, in order to reach that level, we first need for our hearts and souls and minds to be liberated.  We must be freed from the illusion and belief that happiness is to be found in material wealth, status, power, and gross luxury. This is what *HASHEM* does for us on Passover.  This is what the Seder is all about.  Putting our hearts and souls and minds in "order" (the meaning of the Hebrew word, "Seder").  Reconnecting to the great moment when God shattered the false-illusions of "greatness" that surrounded us in Egypt (and still surround us today), liberating our Spirits to know True Freedom -- the Freedom that is rooted within the self. Succot is an exercise of the body.  Passover is an exercise of the mind.  Passover is our moment of awakening. Attached please find the shu-shine for the Holiday of Passover: "Why are We Hatin' on the Chametz?!".        (click “Listen Now”, below!) May we all be blessed to personally experience a liberation from all the false-idols of life that sometimes seduce us, removing every spec of superficiality from our selves and our homes, and rediscovering the freedom of contentment that is found in the blessings of the moment. With Love and a Smile, ~Shu