"I was for a while troubled with a haunting fear that if I handled the flower freely its bloom would fade-the sweet charm of freshness would leave it."

"God has given us, in a measure, the power to make our own fate; and when our energies seem to demand a substance they cannot get-when our will strains after a path we may not follow-we need neither to starve from inaniation, nor stand in despair: we have but to seek another nourishment for the mind, as strong as the forbidden fruit it longed to taste- and perhaps purer; and to hew out for the adventurous foot a road as direct and broad as the one Fortune has blocked up against us, if rougher than it."

-Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte
 

The Little Word

If any little word of mine May make a life the brighter,
If any little song of mine May make the heart the lighter,

God help me speak that little word, And take my bit of singing,
And drop it in some lovely vale To set the echoes ringing.

If any little love of mine May make a life the sweeter,
If any little care of mine May make a friend’s the fleeter,

If any little lift of mine may ease The burden of another,
God give me love and care and strength To help my toiling brother.

Author Unknown
 

Prayer

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve, I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked for health, that I might do greater things, I was given infirmity that I might do better things.
I asked for riches, that I might be happy, I was given poverty, that I might be wise.
I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men, I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all the things, that I might enjoy life, I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for- but everything that I had hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered. I am among all men, most richly blessed.

By an Unknown Confederate Soldier
 

Where is Holiness

There is holiness when we strive to be true to the best we know.
There is holiness when we are kind to someone who cannot possibly be of service to us.
There is holiness when we promote family harmony.
There is holiness when we forget what divides us and remember what unites us.
There is holiness when we are willing to be laughed at for what we believe in.
There is holiness when we love-truly, honestly, and unselfishly.
There is holiness when we remember the lonely and bring cheer into a dark corner.
There is holiness when we share-our bread, our ideas, our enthusiasms.
There is holiness when we gather to pray to Him who gave us the power to pray.
Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; all of life can be filled with His glory.

Likrat Shabbat
 

The Grumble Family

There's a family nobody likes to meet;
They live, it is said, on Complaining Street
In the city of Never-Are-Satisfied,
The River of Discontent beside.

They growl at that and they growl at this;
Whatever comes, there is something amiss;
And whether their station be high or humble,
They are all known by the name of grumble.

The weather is always too hot or cold;
Summer and winter alike they scold.
Nothing goes right with the folks you meet
Down on that gloomy Complaining Street.

They growl at the rain and they growl at the sun;
In fact, their growling is never done.
And if everything pleased them, there isn't a doubt
They'd growl that they'd nothing to grumble about!

But the queerest thing is that not one of the same
Can be brought to acknowledge his family name;
For never a Grumbler will own that he
Is connected with it at all, you see.

The worst thing is that if anyone stays
Among them too long, he will learn their ways;
And before he dreams of the terrible jumble
He's adopted into the family of Grumble.

And so it were wisest to keep our feet
From wandering into Complaining Street;
And never to growl, whatever we do,
Lest we be mistaken for Grumblers, too.

Let us learn to walk with a smile and a song,
No matter if things do sometimes go wrong;
And then, be our station high or humble,
We'll never belong to the family of Grumble!

Author Unknown
 

Where is holiness?

There is holiness when we strive to be true to the best we know.

There is holiness when we are kind to someone who cannot possibly be of service to us.

There is holiness when we promote family harmony.

There is holiness when we forget what divides us and remember what unites us.

There is holiness when we are willing to be laughed at for what we believe in.

There is holiness when we love –truly, honestly, and unselfishly.

There is holiness when we remember the lonely and bring cheer into a dark corner.

There is holiness when we share –our bread, our ideas, our enthusiasms.

There is holiness when we gather to pray to Him who gave us the power to pray.

Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts;
All of life can be filled with His glory.

From Likrat Shabbat
 

To call to justice and brotherhood

Justice, justice shall you pursue,
That you may live in your land.

Love your neighbor as yourself;
Hate not your brother in your heart.

If a stranger sojourns with you,
He shall be as the native among you;

You shall love him as yourself,
For you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Have we not all one Father?
Has not one God created us?

Why then do we deal treacherously,
A man against his brother?

Give your bread to the hungry;
Bring the poor that are cast out to your house.

Hate evil and love what is good,
Yea, establish justice in the land

Let justice well up as water,
And righteousness as a mighty stream;

For righteousness and justice
Are the foundation of God’s throne.

The Lord of hosts is exalted through righteousness,
And God, the Holy One, is sanctified through justice.

Based on Biblical verses
 

Wisdom from the Ethics of the Fathers

Beloved is man
For he was created in the divine image.

A person who brings pleasure to other human beings
Thereby brings delight to the Creator

If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
But if I am only for myself, what am I?
And if not now, when?

Say little and do much,
And greet everyone with a cheerful face.

Be a disciple of Aaron,
Loving peace and pursuing peace,
Loving your fellow-men,
And drawing them near to the Torah.

Do not say, “I shall study when I have leisure”;
You may never find the leisure.

Do not separate yourself from the community;
Judge not another until you are in his place

He who shames his fellow-man in public
Is not worthy of a share in the world to come.

Who is wise?
He who learns from everyone.

Who is strong?
He who controls his passions.

Who is rich?
He who rejoices in his portion.

Who is honorable?
He who honors his fellow-men.

The world is sustained by three things:
By truth, by justice, and by peace.

It is not your duty to finish the work,
But neither are you at liberty to neglect it.