Rabbi Yisrael Salanter of saintly and blessed memory was an immensely pious man, but a he lived a life of poverty. His wife once heated up some milk that they could barely afford; the milk came to a vigorous boil, overflowed, and spilled onto the floor. A person with no emuna would have likely yelled at his wife, "Stupid! Why are you so careless?" One can imagine how a bit of spilled milk could trigger a domestic war…
No, there was no war in the Salanter home. Rabbi Yisrael asked his wife, "Sweetheart, what do you think we did wrong to deserve the milk being spilled?" His wife pondered for a moment and remembered that she forgot to leave the payment for the milk in the prearranged hiding place for compensating the milkman. If the milk hadn't spilled, she would have forgotten to pay him entirely. Negligence in paying a debt is a serious violation of Torah. What's more, the milkman – out of respect to Rabbi Yisrael – might have been embarrassed to claim what's due. Then, the Salanters would have been guilty of swindling the milkman, G-d forbid. As such, they were happy that the milk spilled because it saved them from serious transgressions.
The Salanters' story has a happy ending because of emuna. Without emuna, little stories with happy endings become major dramas with tragic outcomes. Walking the path of emuna is like walking in a flowering botanical garden where one flower is prettier that the next. The path without emuna is a perilous jungle of negative emotions -- snake-pits of anger, quick sands of depression, poison spiders of anxiety, and torturous nightmares. Isn't it better to choose the garden?
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Dear readers of this post: Nationalists for EY are comprised of many political parties. Some are fans of Feiglin and others are fans of National Union or whatever party. Let us learn from the lyrics of a popular song from production of "Oklahoma" entitled "Oh the Cowboy and the Farmer Should be Friends......Territory folks should stick together...."
May all of us who love Eretz Yisroel Hashleima stick together and unite under the common umbrella of Torah and with Hashem's help find the key to victory.
Sincerely,
Robin Ticker
Activist emails sent to my list are L'Ilui Nishmat Yisrael ben David Aryeh ob"m (Izzy - Kaplan) a great activist and lover of Eretz Yisroel, Am Yisroel and the Torah. Yehi Zichrono Baruch.
Most of these emails are posted on Shemittahrediscovered.blogspot.com
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