You Can Say That Again!

You can’t help getting older, but you don’t have to get old

A friend is someone who reaches for you hand 

but touches your heart

Wherever you are, its your friends who make your world

Its not the years in your life that count, it’s the life in your years

To have joy you must share it

Winners make things happen, loser’s lets things happen

Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without being discouraged

Nothing is a total loss.

It can always be served as a bad example

Anyone can admit they were wrong. 

The true test is to admit it to someone else

If you ever had a difficult task, 

give it to a lazy person, they’ll find an easier way to do it.

There must be more to life than sitting and wondering if there is more to life

Money cant by happiness, but it lets you be miserable in comfort

It’s nice to be important, 

but its more important to be nice

You cannot make a discovery, 

if you are afraid to make a mistake

No one cares how much you know,

until they know how much you care

A balanced diet is cookie in each hand

Don’t tell Hashem how big your problems are, 

tell your problems how big Hashem is

Hashem created you with two ears and one mouth;

to listen twice as much as you speak

Failure is success, if you learn from it

Happiness is a journey, not a destination

Leave everything a little better than you found it

Until you can see good within a person, 

You are incapable of helping him

You can’t discover new oceans until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore

If you’re like everyone else, 

what do we need you for?

When everyone is coming your way, 

You are in the wrong lane

When something goes out of control, don’t go with it

No man was ever honored for what he received;

man is honored for what he gives

Anger is one letter shorter than danger

There is an instant tea, and instant coffee, 

but theres no instant success

Life is like a bicycle. 

When your ridings are easy, you’re going downhill

Stick up for what’s right, even if you’ll stick out

Focus less on why, and more on what and how

Live as you will die tomorrow; learn as you will live forever

Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% of how we react

Don’t worry about the world coming to an end;

It’s already tomorrow in Australia

Put on a coat and you will be warm. 

Light a fire, and make others warm too

Instead  of  thinking  what  you  need,  think of what you’re needed for

You can never do a kindness too soon, 

for you never know how soon will be too late

You can never see eye - to - eye to a person 

you look down upon

When you point a finger at someone, 

three fingers point back at you

You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression

The only problem of being punctual 

is nobody is there to appreciate it

Courage means to stand up and speak. 

Courage also means to sit down and be quiet

True friends are the ones who know everything about you 

And love you anyway

Growing older is mandatory, growing up is optional

When in doubt, use high vocabulary

For one minute of anger, 

you loose 60 seconds of joy

If you fail to plan, plan to fail

Stand up for what you believe in, 

but more importantly, 

believe in what you stand up for.

Laugh until it hurts, cry until it gets better

If something is blocking your way, jump over it

Its not what  you have in life, its what you are

Don’t worry about making an impression,

work on making a difference

Acting good is a giant step closer to being good

Of all things I’ve ever lost, I miss my mind the most

To the world you may be one person,

but to one person you may be the world

One thing we all know about the speed of light,

it gets here way too early in the morning

What most of need, is to need less

I complained I had no shoes,

until I saw the man without no feet

Right when I was getting used to yesterday,

along came today

If you shoot for 100, you may get an 80,

but if you shoot for an 80, you certainly wont get a 100

Stand up for something or you’ll fall for everything

They say that money talks, but mine just knows how to say good bye

You can’t climb a ladder with your hands in your pocket

Life would be much simpler if we were born at age 80 

and gradually approach 16

Junk is something you kept for years and throw out three weeks before you need it

Honesty has one great advantage;

You never have to remember anything

The ladder of life is full of splinters, 

but they always seem to hurt when sliding down.

Everyone brings happiness. 

Some by entering, others by leaving

Don’t let your parents down, they brought you up.

Common sense is the least common of all senses

Insanity is hereditary; you earn it from your children

My mind is like a video machine. When it goes blank, it’s a good idea to turn off the sound

Many people walk in and out of our lives. But true friends will leave footprints in our heart.

Experience is the best teacher, 

and considering the price, it should be.

Friends listen to what you say, 

but best friends listen to what you don’t say.

The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary

Thinking is the hardest work there is 

which is probably why so few engage in it.

Everyone must row in the oars that he has

Poor eyes limit your sight.

Poor vision limits your deeds

A rich man is nothing but a 

poor man with money

You can’t cry over spilled milk unless you milked the cow yourself

Most of the things worth doing in the world 

have been declared impossible before they were done

If excellence is possible, than good is not enough

If not for the last minute, 

nothing would ever get done

Everything will be ok in the end. 

If it’s not ok, its not the end.

When I stand before Hashem at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a singlebit of talent left and could say

“I used everything you gave me”.

Emuna is not a belief. Belief is passive. Emuna is active

Instead of trying to live the life you like, try liking the life you live.

Kind words are short and easy to say, but their echos last forever

If you want something done, do it yourself

The best way to get rid of an enemy is to make a friend of him

I ahev a photogenic memory, its just not developed

I don’t suffer from insanity. I’m enjoying every minute of it.

Friends are relatives you chose for yourself

School work wont kill you, but why take the chance?

Before you go to bed, give all your thoughts to G-d, he’ll be up all night anyway.

Everyone should admit thief faults. I’d admit mine if I had any.

Doing nothing is very hard to do.you never know when youre finished

If two wrongs don’t make a right, try three

Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

People who are late are often so much jollier than the people who have to wait for them

Your  mistakes in the past are the keys to your success in the future

The world is full of willing people, some willing to work, others willing to let them.

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind

Life is like a bowl of cherries, school is the pits

The brain is a wonderful thing that works from the moment you wake up till the moment youre called on in class

If Hashem brought you to it, He’ll bring you through it.

Knowledge is knowing you can not know.

Every action has a reaction

He has a plan, you just don’t know about it

Silence is a true friend that never betrays you

A man who committed a mistake and didn’t correct it, it’s as if he committed two mistakes

It doesn’t matter how slow you go, as long as you never stop

Light travels faster than sound. That’s why some people appear bright justuntill you speak to them.

Be the change you want to see in the world

A wise man speaks because he has something to say, a fool speaks because he has to say something

The trouble with trouble is: it always starts out fun

Put your brain in gear before you put your mouth in motion

The reward for something well done is to have it done

Don’t burn your bridges after you’ve just used them. Take the material and help others build theirs

Id rather be hated for who I am than loved for who I am not

Wisdom is knowing what to do, skill is knowing how to do it, and virtue is doing it

No matter what happens, someone will find a way to take it too seriously

If you give all you’ve got, youll get all you’ve given

How come my road to success is always under construction

You spend the first two years of your childs life teching them to walk and talk and the next 16 teaching them to sit down and be quiet

Before you criticize someone, walk a  mile in his shoes. Tha t way when you criticize them, youre a mile away and you have their shoes

Friends are Gds way of apologizing for your family

Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. Its about learning to dance in the rain

Luck never gives, it only lends

I have seen the future and its like the present, only longer

Sometimes you’re the windshield sometimes you’re the bug.

If you feel like you’re under control, you’re just not going fast enough.

The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude towards the problem

Of the thirty six ways of avoiding disaster, running away is always the best

Wish for what you want, work for what you need

The more you praise and celebrate your life the more there is in life to celebrate

If you carry your childhood with you, you never become older

Champions aren’t made in the gym. Champions are made from something the have deep inside them- a desire, a dream, a vision.

Life is like a box of chocolates..you never know what youre going to get

Love doesn’t make the world go round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile

If you have nothing to say, don’t say it

The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter

Attitudes are contagious. Is yours worth catching?

Take a lesson from the weather. It never pays attention to criticism.

Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others: it is the only means.

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself, any direction you choose.

Sometimes the questions are complicated abd the answers are simple

What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you  take your eyes off the goal.

The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing

People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if theer is a light from within.

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment

A bird doesn’t sing because is has an answer, it sings because it has a song

Keep away from people that belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.

Whether you think you can or whether you think you cannot, you’re right.

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind

Twenty years form now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the things you did do.  So throw off you bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance

Whatever the mind can conceive and perceive, the mind can achieve

Its important to have a twinkle in your wrinkle

A Chilling True Story Flight 370

A Chilling And Awe-Inspiring Malaysia Air Flight 370 Story

March 11th, 2014 by Dan

Please scroll below this update for the original story.

Update, 03/11: Well this turned out to be more controversial than I thought it would be…

At any rate let’s make a few things perfectly clear:

1. My thoughts and deepest prayers are with every single man, woman, and child that was on-board MH370 as well as their families.

This story isn’t intended to diminish from the shocking events even one iota. It was only an attempt to shine a small glimmer of light into the darkness, just like stories of people who were saved from other tragedies.

2. This story is 100% true. I know the travel agent very well and he is a completely honest person who shies away from attention, even more so given the negative responses here, and while the saga is ongoing.

I examined the original unedited email exchange and I’ve heard from the traveler as well. I am absolutely positive that the story below is legitimate.

3. Call it a coincidence, call it the hand of G-d, call it whatever you want, but because a travel agent put his religious convictions and values over profit, Andy is alive and safe today.

4. The fact that the fate of hundreds of people is still unknown is a terrible tragedy beyond my comprehension. However hearing the true story of even 1 life being spared from that fate is something that shouldn’t be tossed aside like rubbish, as it means that 239 passengers are missing and not 240.

The Talmud says that he who saves one life is as if he saved the entire world.  This particular article may focus on that one life, but does not imply that the disappearance of MH370 is any less of a tragedy.

5. In absolutely no way am I implying that G-d struck down the plane because of the Sabbath. Nor am I implying that anyone would ever deserve this fate. Again, Andy had a small religious awakening and for whatever reason, that had a direct correlation to him being safe today. It’s rare that we get to see a story like this with the digital trail left behind so neatly and I enjoyed reading it. I hope that sharing it inspired more than it offended.

6. I fervently hope that somehow, against all odds, we hear about the safe rescue of all onboard MH370. Once again, you are all in our prayers.

——————————————————–

This is the original story as posted on 03/10:

The whole world’s eyes are on the far east, wondering how a Boeing 777 can just disappear without a trace.  Malaysia Air Flight 370 took off from Kuala Lumpur at 12:43am this past Saturday morning and has yet to be located.  Flying is the safest mode of transportation that exists today, so the disappearance of an airplane like this is really sobering.

I heard the following story firsthand from the travel agent involved.  He is an avid DansDeals follower that I’m friends with.  He sent me the unedited exchange that follows and I made the necessary edits to protect the privacy of the parties involved.

The saying goes, “More than the Jews have kept the Shabbos (Sabbath), the Shabbos has kept the Jews.”  When I think of that saying, I picture my life if I were constantly wired 7 days a week.  As it is, I feel like a slave to my digital devices, but the knowledge that Shabbos is right around the corner keeps me going. From sundown Friday evening until when the stars come out on Saturday night it’s 25 hours spent completely offline and it’s blissful.  It’s 25 hours spent praying to G-d and consuming obscene amounts of calories eating scrumptious meals with family and friends.  It’s perfect.  Sure anyone can always disconnect, but there’s something awesome about the forced routine that can’t be properly explained to one who hasn’t experienced it.

But the saying goes much deeper than that in this story.

Click on any of the emails to enlarge them.

On 01/13/14 Andy emailed his travel agent his desired itinerary:

The Misnagid Becomes Chabad. How Craig's List Played A Role

                                                                                        To Be Lubavitch –

 A Contemporary Guide - Rabbi Dalfin -

                           

"Rabbi Dalfin,

                 I have a truly fascinating story to tell you.  Well, at least it is fascinating to me.  It will answer your question regarding how I heard of your book.  And I apologize up front for the length of the email.

I am 56 years old, and became frum approximately 30 years ago, shortly after I attended law school at Columbia University.  The series of events as to how I became frum are interesting enough, but I will spare you most of the details.  Suffice it to say, Hashem has bestowed tremendous kindness to me in my life. Not only did I become frum on my own, but Hashem took me away from the Modern Orthodox environment in which I initially made my decision to become frum, and placed in the yeshiva of R. Moshe Feinstein, ztl, where a Boyaner chosid in the kollel taught me for approximately 2 years, after work.  My family has been in the U.S. for generations (originally from Belarus, a town called Radoshkovichi), Both my father and mother's families are totally assimilated, and in fact every first cousin of mine who is married, is married to a goy.  When you are the only frum person in your entire extended family, you feel a strong sense of having been "selected" - but why Hashem chose to select me, I don't know.  

For close to 30 years I have lived the life of a more right-wing litivishe Jew.  And, I am sad to say, I was ANTI- Chabad.  I thought Chabad chassidim were all ignoramuses, running around with "Yechi" yarmulkes trying to convince the world that their Rebbe was moshiach.  

In early 2011, I opened up my own law office in Manhattan.  It's a small operation - just me.  Anyway, on Erev Shabbos, a couple of Chabad bochurim came to my floor, and asked me whether I'd mind their coming by my office.   I met with them - and continued to meet with them every Erev Shabbos.  To put it mildly, they proceeded to destroy many misconceptions I had about Chabad.  In fact, my meeting with the bochurim became a highlight of my week, and much time would be spent with me.  Ultimately, I started to learn Tanya - and I loved it. One should not take that for granted!  That too, is a brocha from Hashem - that I was imbued with an appreciation for chassidus.  If i were to show members of my shul in New Jersey the Tanya I was learning, trust me, 90% of them would respond, "Get that narishkeit out of my face!"  Tanya may be for every Jew, but every Jew is not (yet) ready to learn chassidus.   I then started doing Chitas (I subscribe to Chayenu, and listen to various shiurim).

Now for how I got to your book.  During the first week of July, I had seen your video on "Chabad Lite."  As I was learning Chitas, I looked up and thought, "Who am I kidding? I will always be nothing more than Chabad Lite! I am living in a misnagdishe community, and I don't have even the basics of what a Chabad chosid has."  I thought specifically of 2 items - Rabbeinu Tam tefillin and Chabad talleism.  I was not going to buy a pair a Rabbeinu Tam tefillin, because of the cost (my wife would have probably killed me!) and the talleism - well, I couldn't see myself going out to Crown Heights to buy them, and besides, I had a perfectly good non-Chabad tallis in my house.  I sadly became resigned to a life of Chabad Lite.  

 And then, came motzei Shabbos.

Sometimes, I'll take a look at the items people give away for free on Craig's List, an online collection of classified ads.  About ninety percent of the ads for free items on Craig's List are people giving away their junk - broken down furniture, old books, chachkas, etc.  When I look on the New York Craig's List, I look only at the Manhattan ads, since I work in Manhattan.  Yet, shortly before I went to bed, after midnight, I looked at items being given away for free on the "All of New York" section of Craig's List, which included Brooklyn, Queens, southern Connecticut, Staten Island, etc..  As I said, I never do that, because it includes parts of the New York City area I'd never go to.

And then I spotted it.

It was posted in the Brooklyn Craigs List - where again, I would never normally look, but it came up because I was looking, for some reason, at all ads in the Greater New York area.

A very strange and unusual ad.  I must say, when I saw it, my eyes almost popped out of my head.

"Free tallis and Chabad Rabbeinu Tam tefillin. I am upgrading, and I have a beautiful tallis and magnificent tefillin (alter rebbe ksav) to give away. Email me your story and why you want them."

The ad was originally posted June 30th, and then reposted July 7th (after midnight), just when I started to look.

Initially, I thought, "Why would someone give these items away on Craig's List? Why not make a few phone calls to friends/family instead?

I wrote back, and told the individual who posted the ad of my story, about how I was anti-Chabad for many years, but have come around within the past couple of years, due to the bochurim visiting my office on erev Shabboses. The bochurim slowly won me over with their sincerity and ahavas yisroel.  I added that I now learn chassidus daily, and if I got these items, to me, it would be "min Ha-Shomayim," and that I would use these items every day.

The person wrote back, "Do you have an address?"  By now, it was 12:30 AM.

Since I did not know who I was dealing with, I provided my New York office address.

He then wrote, "I will be sending them to you. Use them well."

I quickly wrote, "If you are in Brooklyn, I would be honored to meet you and thank you personally."

He responded, "It's okay, I'm not in New York very often.  Just use them well."

In an instant, the ad was deleted, as though it had never existed.

Subsequently, I received an email that the items were being shipped by insured mail, and that I would receive them on Wednesday, July 10th.  Keep in mind, I still had no idea who the person was or where the items were coming from.

On Wednesday, when I returned to my office from court, a large box was in my office.  I looked at the return address.  The box was from "A. Yachad," with a post office box in Sharon, Massachusetts.  Inside the box were 2 Chabad talleisim and the Rabbeinu Tam tefillin.  I had the tefillin checked out by a Chabad sofer, R. Tuvia Simon, who informed me that the parshios were actually Arizal ksav, rather than Alter Rebbe ksav, and that they were in excellent condition.  

What were the chances that shortly after thinking about these specific items, I would find an ad giving away these items on Craig's List, of all places?   In fact, the ONLY way I would have obtained them was through such a manner!  And you would never see such items on Craig's List, of all places!

To this day, I don't know who gave me the tefillin and talleism.   But if ever the phrase "min -HaShomayim" applies, I believe it applies here.  I view my receiving these items as a sort of confirmation that I should continue the path I'm on.

And the first time I wore one of the chabad tallesim in my shul, I was given the aliyah with the aseros hadibros,

So, due to your video, I looked you up on line.  You seem to have conviction in what Chabad chassidus is, and what a Chabad chosid should be.  And this is the help that I need right now.  On my own, in recent months, in addition to Chitas, I took on keeping cholov yisroel, putting on the Rabbeinu Tam tefillin daily after saying tehillim, going to the mikva every morning, and growing my beard.  (Actually, my mother was niftar on chof Elul, and I kept the beard since then).  But these are chitzonious, by and large.  I need to know the essence of what makes a good chosid and I suspect that your book may be of some assistance."

The lessons of this story are MANY: 

1. The MANY details of Hashgacha Protis etc..

2. The impact a Bochur can have just from Friday's mivtzoim. Even on a frumer yid. The bochur on mivtzoim IS the "ADVERTISEMENT" for Chassidus & Lubavitch. Note that it was the bochurim's "sincerity and ahavas yisroel" that won him over. The bochur who is a proper role model has the power to "destroy" the previously held false notions about chassidus of an "ANTI", and to be an instrument of Ohr v'Chayos that brings awesome benefits.

3. The impact of a short YouTube clip of Chassidus (Torah). Never underestimate the power of 

"Makifim she'be'makifim". One can be farbrenging or giving a shiur in chassidus, without having a particular person in mind, and, moreover, the person viewing didn't really invest much into his "involvement" with this clip (he didn't pay for it, you can't really say he's seriously concentrating, and he doesn't even really know what's he going to see..); still, that clip can be the cause of a major transformation in many a future viewers life. You just never know what could be the results of your talk/shiur etc.

4. The impact of a Mitzvah - good "old-fashioned", maasim tovim. Gemilas Chassodim. How it inspired the recipient on so many levels. (And the act itself. Think about it. There's doing acts of kindness [tzedokoh] and there's doing acts of kindness. The details of care and concern of this chesed - mitzvah - are worthy of Avrohom Avinu: 1. The person went looking for someone to help.(placed an ad). 2. Went out of his way - in an unusual way - thought "out of the box". (didn't just take his talis & tefillin and leave it in his local shule to be used as a spare for whenever..). 3. Matan Ba'seser. In tzedokoh, from the highest levels. 4. Top level. Quality. Class. I can think of many people that would give away their old tefillin etc., but they would tell the recipient when he can come and pick it up, it's still a great "deal" - 2 talleisim and a good pair of tefillin for free!!! But I can't think of many people that would've done it in such a way as to even go ahead and pay the cost of insured shipping. 

Tachlis: The Friediker wrote often of the concept of "Chovas La'sois Li'maan Chassidus - The Obligationto play an active role in the "Cause of Chassidus"" - as in Hayom Yom 21 Menachem Av:

 "Activism on behalf of the ways of Chassidus means that even when a chassid is in the marketplace, deeply involved in his business, he still thinks about what he can do for chassidic concerns and the welfare of chassidim. When he encounters a business acquaintance among the market people he should seek to persuade him to attend the shi'urim (public study sessions) in Chassidus, or to attend a farbrengen.

Activism on behalf of the ways of Chassidus is a personal obligation, regardless whether one is great or limited in knowledge of Chassidus."