My answer to a young, courageous mans Post on x:
g0dspeed to you, young man. If you need some spiritual support from an old jew who rose out of the ovens, welcome to my blog: ryba2613.blogspot.com
I am 2nd. gen. I grew up with no extended family. Just me, my parents and my siblings.
A teaser for you:
In this weekly portion, we read, amongst many other things:
דברים ל':י"ד
(יד) כִּֽי־קָר֥וֹב אֵלֶ֛יךָ הַדָּבָ֖ר מְאֹ֑ד בְּפִ֥יךָ וּבִֽלְבָבְךָ֖ לַעֲשֹׂתֽוֹ׃
Devarim 30:14
(14) But the word is very near to you, in your mouth, and in your heart, that you may do it.
The emphasis by me. What does Scripture tell us hiere?
1st: Go read the text before it and after.
2nd) We learn here the basics of human psychology: Our heart will believe something, if it hears it enough times repeated aloud. Sound familiar?
This is why jewish learning always is done aloud. Every text is read aloud, and repeated many times.
But then we go deeper: You need to do it yourself. No one else can do it for you.
You wanna live? Learn to walk your talk. Learn to learn yourself. Think for and by yourself. Because G0d has made us as HIS parnters. Therefore, HE has given every single one of us a completely unique view of the world, and of the holy text. Only we ourselves can bring it out, no one else in this world, across all of time and space.
But we must delve as deeply as we can. And if we do, then HE, in HIS infinite Mercy, will unlock our very personal treasury for us, and for the world, and we will find bliss beyond anything we can imagine.
But then there is even more: We preferrably learn in pairs, called Chevruse - the brotherhood. Because, once we hear words from someone else, we are confronted with the fact, that, even though our very unique view of the world may be valid, there are billions of other views out there, and our brother - in - learning is completely different from us.
And alas! His view is maybe closer to the meaning of the text?
And we need to start grappling with our own limitations, and give way, and admit error, and learn from an Other.
Have a great week!