Joe's bouquet of Daisies

B"H

Joe, a newly married carpenter, is walking through a busy mall one friday afternoon.
As he's busily texting on his blackberry, he spots a Florist shop, full of bouquets of beautiful flowers.
Among them is a bouquet of daisies.
Knowing his wife's great love for flowers, especially daisies,
Joe walks in and buys their most expensive arrangement, and happily walks to his car, to bring them to his wife...

Now our friend Joe here, might have any one of 4 motives for buying these flowers:

1) [the lowest motive] Joe loves a good dinner, and knows that
when his wife receives
these flowers, she will be in such good spirit she will cook him an extra good dinner tonight.

2) Joe knows that by making his wife happy, this will help create a pleasant environment in their home.

3) Joe truly desires be a good husband.
Commendable!

{But in these 3 scenarios, can you see who's not truly being taken into account?}

4) Joe wants to buy these flowers, b/c he knows that his wife likes them.

We find these 4 motives not only in human relationships, but also in our relationship with Hashem.
"To cook a better dinner" correlates to serving Hashem in order to have a good life in this world.
"for a good environment in one's home" corresponds to wanting to have a nice Gan Eden, World to Come.
A more refined level of service, is the desire "To be a good husband", corresponding to doing mitzvot & serving Hashem in order to refine one's character traits.
All of these ways are commendable, and in the end of the matter, the right thing was actually done! But just like in human relationships, it doesn't really show on true love for the other.
And then there's the simple motive of "b/c She likes it". To do the right things in life for our loved ones simply b/c it's good for them, and not necessarily for us. To take time out of our busy day to help another, just b/c they will benefit. Not always w/ the mindset
"so what am I going to gain out of this?"

This applies also to our relationship w/ Hashem. To learn Torah, pray, or give charity; to do good to another,
all simply b/c He gets pleasure from it.
(And by the way, don't worry, we'll end up enjoying it too!)

Have an amazing Shabbos!

Daniel
Yerushalayim, Israel

P.S. I just saw an amazing 3 min. video on the final moments of Roi Klein's life, an Israeli soldier who gave his life to save others. I highly suggest watching; you won't be the same after: http://www.aish.com/49080361.html

A Thought from Jerusalem

B"H

"If one says he toiled and found, believe him." -Ethics of our Fathers

So last thursday, there I was, exiting my Air France flight in Charles De Gaulle Airport,with an exciting 6 hr.stopover before departing for Israel. There's nothing like a long stopover on an overseas flight!
But fear not, I still had to pray the morning 'shacharit' prayers. I found a secluded corner next to a random terminal, and pulled out my Tefillin to wrap up. But then the unthinkable occurred...I realized I had left my Siddur in the plane! Now I was stuck.
I figured I would just daven whatever I knew by heart, and move on with life. But then I saw a glimmer of hope...6 computers sitting in the center of the airport! But should I go with Tefillin on my arm and head and pray in front of an airport full of people??
To answer such a question, it's important to take a look at where we Jews come from. We're known primarily by the name "Jews" or "Hebrews." The name 'Hebrew' comes from the hebrew word 'Ivri.' We got this name b/c of our forefather Avrahom, who is referred to in the Torah as an 'ish Ivri.' Why was he called an ivri? "Ivri" means the "other side." Avrahom was the 1st man in history to try and show to the world that there was God in the world, during a time when idol-worship was the only real way of religious practice. When Avrahom came out publicly with this message, he was called by the people around him as 'the ivri': Avrahom stood on 1 side of the world - the rest of humanity on the other. Yet Avrahom was undetterred, and succeeded in influencing a vast array of his generation, being a shining light and example for God on this earth. Now back to the airport...

So I decided to go for it. Heading to the computers, with my tefillin on hand (& head), I looked for where to pay for usage. They only accepted Euros, so I went to the nearest duty-free alcohol shop. To say the least, the French man was a bit surprised to see me. I tried asking him in French/English for change for my dollars, but it wasn't happening. I returned and saw a credit card slot, and try as I might, it wouldn't accept my card(s)! But I wouldn't be detterred.
Finally, w/ God's Help, it worked (hey, I'm doing this for You God!) I sat down and went to chabad.org, thinking I would find it for sure there. But No luck! my 5Euro/1hr. time was ticking down, and I had some praying to do. After about 10 min.'s of scrolling through Google, I chanced upon Idaven.com - and the rest is history. I finished my lovely davening w/ 1 minute left! [I'm curious to know what travelers were thinking when they saw someone praying to a computer. I mean technology helps us a lot these days, but come on!]

From this event, I realized 2 things:
Firstly, the Rabbinic saying: "Yagati U'matzasi, Ta'amin-If one says he toiled and found, believe him." Nearly every good thing in life comes through work and effort. From a successful marriage to a successful spiritual life to a successful business life, one requires 'Yegiah'-effort. This applies to all areas of our lives. And when you're toiling to succeed in the right areas, Hashem Helps you to succeed.
Secondly, I realized one of the 1st halachot (laws) mentioned in the 'Shulchan Aruch' (Code of Jewish law): "lo mitbayesh mipney ha'maligim-Don't be ashamed in front of the scoffers." Funny enough, today I find most people have great respect for a Jew who is proud of his heritage. Most issues we have with this are in our own minds (however, if there are in one's area some scoffing lowlifes, then one can fulfill this halacha quite literally!) In life in general however, it's the one who is proud and confident in what he is and represents that people respect and are influenced from the most. A Jew's mission in this world is to be a 'light unto the nations.' Our very continued existence today is a living testiment to the existence of God. Each of us must know that we are the lamplighters in this world to light up the hearts of all through the light of kind deeds, of Torah and Mitzvot.

I bless you that you walk with a head held high as a proud Jew - there's a lot to be proud about!

Have an amazing Shabbat!

-Daniel
Yerushalayim, Israel
P.S. I'm here helping at an amazing 'yeshiva' called 'Mayanot'-I'm at the boy's division.
To see what life's like here, check out these short video testimonials. Very inspiring: mayanot.edu/testimonials.asp