Articles with the tag: chapter 4
Whose Values
Vice President Dan Quale is worried about values. Parents and educators are worried about values. The question that must be asked is: Whose values?
One imagines that all decent people have an innate sense of right and wrong. While the headlines seem to belie this belief in the basic goodness of man, one can argue that these are aberrations. In truth, however, not only criminals, but even the common man propagates a value system directly opposed to true Jewish ot Torah standards.
This week’s Ethics of our Fathers is a perfect example. There we are taught, “Who is a wise person? He that learns from everyone; Who is strong? He who subdues his impulses; Who is wealthy? He who is…
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What You Have Is Not Who You Are (4:1)
Once again we turn to this week’s Ethics of our Fathers for an insight into human nature and the proper attitude one should have in life. Our chapter begins with these four questions as posed by the ancient sage, Ben Zoma. “Who is wise? Who is strong? Who is rich? And who is honorable?”
Contemporary society has already made clear its response. The wise are those who can teach. The strong are those with the power to dominate others. The wealthy are those individuals with many possessions. And the honorable are those who receive our acclaim and praise.
Fortunately for us Ben Zoma offers another perspective, one that radically alters what we view as truly important. Let us hear what…
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A Student’s Honor (4:12
In several hours, I will be boarding a plane headed for New York. The threats of the ‘Unabomber’ will not stop me, nor will he deter the thousands of other Chassidim of the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe from attending the first Yahrzeit of this great leader.
As always, one needs to look to Torah for an appropriate message on the events in our lives. This week, one does not require extensive research to discover the connection between the Rebbe’s inspirational example and the ideals postulated in Ethics of our Fathers.
In Mishna #12 of this week’s chapter, Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua teaches, “Let the honor of your student be as dear to you as your own…” By the tenets and traditions…
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