JamShalom Daydreams

In Search of You

Perhaps the most important journey-of-all in our lives is our journey to find ourselves.  Who are we as individuals?  What is our purpose in being here?  What are the values that define us?  What do we hope to accomplish?  When we look back at our lives, God willing after 120 healthy happy years, what do we wish to see in our wake?  What impact do we wish to have made upon the world and around those whose lives we have touched?

Attached please find this weeks Shu-Shine for the Torah portion of 'Lech Lecha': "In Search of You"

(click 'listen now' below!)

May we all be blessed to break free of all the ideas and projections that the world, society, and even those closest to us have placed upon us, and to discover ourselves for who we Truly are.

With Love and a Smile,

~Shu

This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land

It feels great to make it big.  I mean, isn't that the American Dream?  More money than I can possibly spend.  Luxuries galore.  Honor and prestige everywhere I turn.  A big house.  A fancy car...

And sure, it's nice to help out other people.  But the truth is - I mean - what am I supposed to do, anyway?  I'm no Florence Nightingale.  And I'm no Moses.  Fixing the world is a cute concept for idealists and poets -- I say just live and let live, and hopefully somehow it will all come clean in the wash.

Right?

...um...   ...not really.

Attached please find this weeks Shu-Shine for the Torah portion of 'Noach': "This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land"

(click "listen now", below!)

May we all be blessed to appreciate that each of us is blessed in many ways, and that those blessings are not a gift, but rather a *trust*; a trust to care for those around us, better the world we live in, and make this world as perfect as it was created to be.

With Love and a Smile,

~Shu

Falling in Love All Over Again

Love is amazing.  Discovering it.  Becoming delirious over another person.  The Romance.  The adventure.  Feeling like we are walking on clouds.

But then comes the hard part.  The challenges of building a life together.  Understanding each other.  Respecting each other.  Seeing each other.  Making room for each other.  Learning to let go of our defenses, admitting to our flaws, and rising to the challenge of always growing as a matter of devotion to the other person in the relationship.

The greatest wonder, however, is the love that is found on the other side of those struggles -- the love that awaits at the other side of conflict and growth.  It is a seasoned love.  A love built on an accomplished trust.  A love that is found in a closeness that can only be found once all the defenses are gone, and a perfect honesty of seeing the other and being ourselves emerges.

And it is the best thing in the world.

Now imagine, for a minute, that the love we are talking about is the love between you and HaShem.

Below, please find this weeks Shu-Shine for Succot: "Falling in Love All Over Again"

(click 'listen now', below!)

May we all be blessed to experience the joy of taking down all the walls, being at peace with who we are, seeing the beauty of those around us, and celebrating the safety of loving one another without conditions or barriers -- through thick and thin.

With Love and a Smile,

~Shu

Yom Kippur - The Joy Inside Us All

Firstly, I have to apologize for the length of this week's Shu-Shine, a whopping 38 minutes!  The first time I recorded it, it came out at 32 minutes.  So I decided to record it again in order to tighten it up, and it came out longer!!  So rather than try a third time (which might end up getting longer, yet), I'm going to have to let you break it down into your own bite-size pieces.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Yom Kippur is supposed to be one of the happiest days of the year.  Seriously!  That comes straight from the Talmud, our Oral Tradition from Mount Sinai.  But of course, you wouldn't know that from the vibe of the services in most synagogues today.

But if we accept the Talmud at its word (and we should), then one would think that at least the words and structure of the prayer service itself, as well as the holiday's customs (like not eating or drinking) would lend towards a joyous day.

And the big secret is: THEY DO.

Attached please find this weeks Shu-Shine for Yom Kippur: "The Joy Inside Us All"

(click "listen now", below!)

May we all be blessed to discover the light within ourselves, and see the goodness in those around us -- forgiving ourselves and others for mistakes gone by, and reaching forward to become all that we can become.

With Love and a Smile,

~Shu

Anyone but God?

We stand at the eve of Rosh HaShana, with the future of our own lives and the future of the world in our hands.  What kind of year will it be?  What kind of blessings will it bring?  Blessings filled with joy and peace?  Or blessings of challenge and difficult growth?  The answer is in our hands.

But upon whom do we place our hopes?  Upon our money?  Upon our skills?  Upon our cleverness?  Upon our connections?

In whose fate does the world's future lie?  In Obama's hands?  In Europe's hands?  In terrorist hands, God forbid?  In the hands of those with the most clever PR machines?

Attached please find this weeks Shu-Shine on the Torah portion of 'Ha-Azinu': "Anyone but God?"

(click "Listen Now", below!)

May we all be blessed to serve as priests to the world around us -- turning to HaShem for our success, and connecting those around us to the same Source of Goodness.

With Love and a Smile,

~Shu

Opening the Door for HaShem

I think perhaps the hardest thing of all is to talk about HaShem (God) as if He is really there, and really part of our lives. It is easy to talk about "spirituality". And it is even OK to talk about "heaven" or our "soul" or maybe even God in some remote sense. But to really talk about HaShem - to really see Him as an active, engaged, involved, and caring part of our lives - well, that just kind-of freaks us out. And so most of the time, most of us choose not to go there. But that doesn't really work, any more than ignoring that we have feet might work for us. Because HaShem is there. HaShem does care. And the truth is, so do we. Attached please find this weeks Shu-Shine on the Torah portion of 'Nitzavim': "Opening the Door for HaShem". (Click "listen now", below!) May we all be blessed to open the door of our heart to HaShem, and build a relationship of love with Him -- a relationship that is all our own. With Love and a Smile, ~Shu

Whose God is He, Anyways?

Why is it that sometimes another person finds harmony in a certain Spiritual path, but when we try the same approach we come out wanting? And in my search for a personal relationship with HaShem, how do I find my way? Below, please find this weeks Shu-Shine on the Torah portion of 'Ki Tavo': "Whose God is He, Anyways?" (Click "listen now", below!) May we all be blessed to forge our own individual relationships with HaShem, finding our paths, finding success, and bringing our gifts to the communities and world we are a part of. With Love and a Smile, ~Shu

Perfect Stones and Perfect Homes

It's crazy sometimes how far a person will go to win public popularity contests. We all trip up on this sometimes - the desire to earn the approval of those in the world around us. Maybe at work. Maybe at the synagogue. Maybe in the community. Or maybe even in front of strangers in the street. And it's heartbreaking, how sometimes our passion for certain acquisitions or goals can blind us to our own deeper values. Sometimes we forget that it is not only about "getting there", but also (and most importantly) "how we got there". Attached please find this weeks Shu-Shine on the Torah portion of 'Ki Tetzei': "Perfect Stones and Perfect Homes". (click "Listen Now", below!) May we all be blessed to create gemstones and vessels that bring honor to all of our relationships, and to delight in the fruit of True Integrity in our public and private lives. With Love and a Smile, ~Shu

Giving Pause and Choosing Wisely

What is it that gives us pause when we are about to make an important decision? Do we know which decisions, among those we make each day, will truly impact our lives the most? And if we do recognize the 'gates', and we do give pause at the proper moments, how do we weigh out our choices in order to produce the best results? Below please find this weeks Shu-Shine on the Torah portion of 'Shoftim': "Giving Pause and Choosing Wisely". (click "Listen Now", below!) May we all be blessed to recognize the gates within our daily lives as we step through them, and to be blessed with the tools to make the wisest decisions in even the tiniest choices that affect our lives. With Love and a Smile, ~Shu

See if You Can Hear Me

We all want to be heard. We want others to see us; to listen to us; to value us; to understand us. It is a special thing when another person gives us the floor, and lets us speak with limitless patience, interested and attentive to every word we have to say until our last word is spoken. But are we able to do this for others? Do we really know how to listen? Do we really know how to see those around us? What is it that leads us to take others for granted, and to think that we somehow don't need to see them, to listen to them, to receive and respect the things the other person has to say? Attached please find this weeks Shu-Shine on the Torah portion of 'Re'eh': "See if you can hear me". (Click "Listen Now", below!) May we all be blessed to come to appreciate that the relationships that we have in our lives is a gift from the other party, be that other party a friend, a spouse, a relative, a stranger, and even God; and in appreciating that the relationship is a gift, find the respect to listen and to hear and to truly see the other party. With Love and a Smile, ~Shu