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Rabbi David Botton's Journal
New Entries Date: October 13, 2008
Most of my entries over the last 2 years have been on http://www.growthvillage.com. I will start posting here again soon as well.
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 2
Choice Date: October 16, 2006
Atheist or Believer, we all know we have choice. That is God's gift to us, use it wisely.
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 0
Retribution Date: August 30, 2006
The means of retribution is only by that which you fear more than God. (Matok Lenefesh, Rav David Parchi)
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 1
Where are you Date: August 17, 2006
Where ever you are, that is exactly where God wants you. It's your choice to decide where to go next.
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 0
The Future Date: March 20, 2006
What will be will be, but where will you be?
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 0
The Universal One Liner Date: December 19, 2005
God created the world to bestow good, man's purpose is to be worthy to receive that good
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 2
Expectations Date: December 18, 2005
The most powerful force of improper desire (yetzer harah) is expectations
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 0
Ask Yourself Date: September 13, 2005
Elul is a good time to ask oneself, do I try in life to find out "how to do what I want" or "how to want what He wants".
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 0
Rebellion Date: August 03, 2005
The Yetzer (the evil inclination) is very good at letting you think you can actually do something against God, in reality anything one does against God is only against themselves.
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 0
Forgiveness Date: March 29, 2005
One of the most grievous sins is to not believe you are forgiven once you repent. For as long as you believe that you are still a sinner, you will fool yourself in to believing you have no hope and sin again.
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 7
Getting It Done Date: January 19, 2005
See the completed product in your mind before you even start and imagine yourself already enjoying the goal. As long as the imagine is still in your mind you will be able to reach your goal even with many years of work ahead.

The secret of Bitachon, Trust in God, is that the rewards of the world to come are already yours for the good deeds you have done and so also the coming punishments!. Living with the feeling of results now propel one to enjoy an aspect of the world to come even now, secure with out worry or concern and as such happy for it is "in the bank". So to also one will be inspired to repent and clean out the filth before one has to lie in it.
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 0
What is an Adult Date: December 30, 2004
You are an adult when you cry because what you have done, not because of the punishment you have received.
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 3
Is there a God? Date: December 26, 2004
If you ever ask yourself, is there a God? Don't forget to ask yourself, do I ask that question only when I want to go against what God wants from me?
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 0
Advice for the Traveler Date: December 05, 2004
Enjoy the road and envision how great the end is going to be at every moment, but never dwell on the length of the journey as that is the source of despair.
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 1
Caring Date: November 25, 2004
Love it or hate it, but be passionate about it! Nothing gets done when you just don't care.
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 1
Love Date: October 25, 2004
The path to loving every one is to work hard to understand every one.
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 0
Sight Date: September 22, 2004
The distance we can see is inverse to how much we look at ourselves and directly porpotionate to how much we take account of ourselves.
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 0
Successful Marriage Date: September 05, 2004
The key to success in marriage is for a women to respect her husband and a man to appreciate his wife.
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 0
Guilt Date: August 19, 2004
Guilt is an excuse for not changing and fixing your problems.
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 3
Peer Preasure Date: August 10, 2004
One of the most powerful of all Yetzer Harot, desires, is to lose ones mind, and so responsibility for self, to a group.

The commandment to "Love your Neighbor as yourself" is only possible when you have a "yourself", that is a "you" making decisions. To love your neighbor and to conform to the group is only a Mitzvah when "you" make the decisions with the group having asked a question of your Posek, the Rabbi you have chosen to lead you in matters of Jewish Law, if it is correct to do what the group is doing or not.

When the group is wrong, "Do not be drawn after him, do not listen to him, do not have compassion on him, do not take pity on him, and do not cover for him". (Devarim 13:9)
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 1
Learning Their Ways Date: August 10, 2004
One of the many first moves of the Yetzer Harah, man's inclination to wrong, is to convince them to "study" the workings of a desire in order to peak it. So it is that Hashem warns do not ask "How did these nations worship their gods" for then "I will do so too" (Devarim 12:30)
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 0
Ekev - Heal Date: August 08, 2004
In parshat Ekev the Torah tells us of such wonderful things that will happen if we keep the Torah, but doesn't it say that there are no rewards in this world for keeping the Torah?

The Rambam teaches these are not rewards, they are what assist us to serve Hashem. If we take advantage and are careful about trying to keep even the lightest of Mitzvot that we would be want to tread on with our heals (See Rashi - Ekev) than Hashem will insure every detail of assistance to serve him will be there for us.
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 0
Excuses Date: July 27, 2004
Don't ever lie to yourself or allow yourself to believe others that lie to you saying:

You are no good
You are good for nothing
You are a loser

These and other statements like this are just your evil inclination working to find ways to help you make excuses for not taking responsibility for what you have done wrong and what you should be doing!

In fact, you are good, you have a Godly soul, God created you and maintains you in this world, so you have a purpose, you came to this world with no good deeds and have accumulated many so you are already a winner and there is still much more you will achieve!

Stop making excuses, you were created able to succeed and will succeed. Repent for your sins and serve God with who you are and with the talents that you DO have.
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 0
Destiny Date: July 21, 2004
You don't control your destiny, God does. When Adam and Chavah ate the forbidden fruit, their eyes were opened to the constant worry of what could happen to them at any moment. (Perush HaGra)

When your serve God, you see his hand in everything and realize that everything follows his plan. No worries, just happiness and rewards to come even if you lack right now. When you don't, you get a lousy ride to a place you don't want to go.
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 0
On Writing Date: July 19, 2004
It is better to have written 10,000 pages and throw them away than to have never written them at all.

Write down every though of Torah that comes to your mind as there is no greater loss to the world than forgetting it, you can always judge it later.
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 0
Relax Date: July 15, 2004
A friend recently handed me a business card with the following text:

Good Morning!
THIS IS G-D
Today I will be handling all your problems. I will not need your help, so relax... and have a great day!

Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 0
The Image of God Date: June 28, 2004
To truly live up to being in the image of God, we must work to lift every one else to be in the image of God.
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 0
Study Date: May 28, 2004
We don't know anything. When we realize this, we are ready to learn.
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 1
Free Choice Date: May 17, 2004
Free choice is not sin or good deed. Choosing to sin is a form of insanity as even an animal will not throw itself in to a burning flame.

Free choice is about choosing to serve God with love and awe or to just serve his wishes to avoid punishment and receive reward.
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 0
Today Date: May 10, 2004
It's always a good day to repent.
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 0
Success Date: April 22, 2004
Success is doing, but being a success only comes from committing.
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 0
The 50th Chamber Date: March 28, 2004
Even the most evil person in Israel does not reach the 50th level of defilement. In order to enter into the 50th chamber one must descend for 400 consecutive days.

Every year thirty days before Passover, God, in his abundant kindness, lifts the defilement from the Jewish people 1/30th each day and so each year on the night of Passover the Jewish people are once again given freedom from the bounds of defilement.

God in his wisdom slowly removes the defilement in order that the other side not be aroused and raise a complaint against the Jews.

It is on Passover night when we are free that we can seize the moment with nothing holding us back and change the world though the discussions of Torah and fulfillment of commandments at our tables.

May we all merit a kosher and happy Passover!

(Based on Chesed LeAvraham 2:57)
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 0
All for Good Date: March 16, 2004
We must use the experiences of the world to grow from while understanding that why what occurs in the world is God's will and not our knowledge but His.
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 2
Purim and Awe Date: March 04, 2004
The goal of Purim is to be drunk with the Awe of Heaven, overwhelmed realizing the incredible masterly woven tapestry of the universe is so finely and constantly controlled by the hand of the Almighty that in a single twist multiple acts occur as in the fall of Haman with the rise of Mordechai
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 1
Trust Date: February 18, 2004
Trust those that trust in Him for their fear of Him takes away their fear of any other.
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 0
Jewish Healing Date: February 05, 2004
Small changes in high places naturally create huge lasting changes in all places.

"Repent one day before you die" is the key to living forever.
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 0
Assume Nothing Date: January 19, 2004
Assumptions are made about others in order to lie to oneself and avoid coming to terms with the fact that the other may be right in some places where you are wrong.
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 0
Deed Saves Date: December 26, 2003
Belief in God goes to the grave with you unless you use it, and all that which you grasp of the heavens, to grant wings of love and awe to your service of Him.
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 0
Prayer for Afflictions Date: December 22, 2003
When God brings affliction upon us it is a cure for our soul. Just as a doctor will prescribe bitter medicines or even amputations and the patient will gladly accept the medicine to prevent the spread of disease and their ultimate destruction, so too our troubles are a prescriptions for our souls.

How then can a person pray for themselves?

There is no affliction with out sin.

When we sin we cause affliction to the upper worlds. God gives the Jew the special mission to represent his truth in the world and so his every act of falsehood distorts the divine revelation.

Just as a father feels the pain of the administering of painful cures to his child so too is their affliction above. For as a result of the falsehoods once perpetrated now the bearer of the mission is afflicted creating the illusion that perhaps the mission itself is tainted.

How can we not pray for the end of affliction on high!

May God grant a complete recovery to each and every one of us so that we should be strong to bear His mission in the world and fulfill his will.

Based on Nefesh HaChaim Gate 2 chapters 11-12
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 3
Repentance is the Fountain of Youth Date: December 16, 2003
As children we don't fear death and see it as a continuation of life, we want to live to discover and learn. As we age and become addicted to the momentary pleasures of the world we begin to fear being torn away from our fixes and stop trying to learn and grow. When we repent and walk in the path of God, we embrace and desire life and growth that provides us with the opportunity of the world to come.

Remove the fear of death by severing your ties to the physical pleasures of the world. Embrace life by embracing the opportunity it offers to server the creator and learn his ways, and you will be happy not having the stress of fear, but instead have the passions to learn and grow again.
Related Link: Based on Shaarei Teshuvah
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 0
Day Dreams Date: December 12, 2003
Always write down your day dreams! Day dreams tell you where you are in your personal development.
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 1
Welcome Date: December 12, 2003
Welcome, this is my public journal. I will be recording here my thoughts a few times a week and hope that you will share with me your comments and feelings about my ideas. In order to post comments, you will need to join the TeachItToMe.com community. It is free and easy, just click the key icon above or on Join in the side bar navigation and choose a username to join!
Related Link: Join TeachItToMe.com
Read or Add Comments Num. of Comments: 2


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