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Agent of the Almighty

Day 14:
Why is Tikkun Olam important?

וְעַתָּה בְּנִי דַע וּרְאֵה, כִּי הַמִּתְגָּאֶה בְּלִבּוֹ עַל הַבְּרִיוֹת – מוֹרֵד הוּא בְּמַלְכוּת שָׁמַיִם, כִּי מִתְפָּאֵר הוּא בִּלְבוּשׁ מַלְכוּת שָׁמַיִם

And now, my son, understand and observe that whoever feels that he is greater than others is rebelling against the Kingship of Heaven, because he is adorning himself with His garments

One who holds himself above others defies God and is considered idolatrous by “worshipping himself.”

That he is greater than others- Abraham is said to have written over 400 tractates on idolatry which do not discuss pagan rituals and foreign gods, but detail the true source of idolatry, which is man’s arrogance and pride.
 
Because he is adorning himself with His garments– One would think that anyone daring to wear the king’s robes is guilty of treating him with contempt. However, the Medrash teaches that on Fridays the Levites would chant the Psalm describing the creation of Man on that day: 
 
He arose and had the appearance and the likeness of God; he was tall in stature and was clothed with majesty and glory. The creatures of the earth saw Man and feared him. They believed that he was their creator. They came and bowed down before Man, and he said to them: “Why do you come to bow before me?” He began to praise and extol his Creator, and by emulating God he ruled over them for His creator. And they said (Psalms 93:1) “the Lord is king, He is robed in grandeur.” (Medrash Tanchuma, Pekudei 3:18)

From this we learn that our mission in life is to remember that we are to emulate the Almighty, but since God’s “garment” is “grandeur,” we must also be vigilant that we stay humble and know that despite the great things we acheive, we are just agents of God.
 
(Adapted from A Letter for the Ages, page 65)
Click on image to see the letter in Hebrew and in English

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Spiritual Survival Tools for Law Enforcement & Laymen by Rabbi Cary Friedman

Rabbi Cary Friedman, then a congregational rabbi in Linden, New Jersey, was delivering a eulogy at the request of a local funeral home. As the service concluded, a man approached him and introduced himself as a friend of the family who had come to pay his respects and also as a senior officer in the FBI. He asked Rabbi Friedman if he would...

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Daily Goals

Daily Goals:
When we give, when we say, ‘If this is wrong, let me be among the first to help put it right,’ we create moments of imperishable moral beauty. We know how small we are, and how inadequate to the tasks God has set us. Even the greatest Jew of all time, Moshe, began his conversation with God with the words, ‘Who am I?’ But it is not we who start by being equal to the challenge; it is the challenge that makes us equal to it. We are as big as our ideals. The higher they are, the taller we stand.

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