Teaching Team
Over Yonder Mountain…
Over the past few months my interest in bluegrass music has been rekindled. I really got into bluegrass music for a while in Colorado but it has resurfaced once again here in Missouri. Last night I was listening to one of my favorite groups and here is a line they sang:
“I used to think it was the bad things that you do that you pay for in the end, but more than that it is the good you could have done and you did something else instead.”
This concept is very Torah. In fact the famous Jewish scholar the Chofetz Chayim brings this out in his book called Ahavat Chesed [Loving Kindness]. He states that when we have an opportunity to do kindness and don’t that we have transgressed an opportunity that HaShem has put before us. To him this is not only to loose the reward of the mitzvah but often brings punishment. Something to think about for sure…
The study and application of kindness is often lacking in our movement. During the summer my family and I started to read through this book on Loving Kindness. It’s called Chofetz Chaim Loving Kindness: Daily lessons in the power of giving.
We try to read it every night during dinner. Many of the concepts in it are similar to the Master’s teachings in the Gospels. It is also loaded with practical application and is divided up into small daily study sections. Although we certainly don’t agree with everything, as a family we have really enjoyed it. I would recommend it to others.
Search in Blogs...
Browse through Blogs
Feeds
Use this RSS feed to track our blogs in your favorite reader.
The FFOZ Blogs RSS Feed
Blogs by Category
- Back Office
- Events and Administration
- Founder’s Blog
- Guest Authors
- Lessons from the Land
- Levertoff Documentary
- Mishlei Musings
- Publications
- Road Trip 09
- Shalom Tour
- Teaching Team
- The Siddur Project
- Torah Club
- Video Blogs
- Site Info Blog
Blogs by Author
- Aaron Eby
- Boaz Michael
- D. Thomas Lancaster
- FFOZ Staff
- Guest Authors
- Media Staff
- Hope Egan
- Seth Dralle
- Toby Janicki
More Recent Posts
- Shameless Self-Promotion
- Is the Bible B.S.?
- Becoming A Better Boss
- Remembrance and Repentance
- Passover and the Death of James the Just
- Hosting Your First Passover Seder
- Devil's Children
- Vacation Time
- Visit Israel with FFOZ
- A KISS from me to you
Visitor Feedback:
Speaking of blue grass, it is a little known fact that my brother and his wife are accomplished bluegrass musicians. I actually saw them perform with one other fellow, a Jewish believer, in a small club in Tel Aviv back in the mid 1990's. Steve plays the standing bass and Mona plays mandolin, and has the perfect blue grass voice. Perhaps if we press them on the Israel tour this year they will favor us with a few songs!
dtl
***Toby's Response: That would be awesome!
D. Thomas Lancaster | September 7, 2007 1:14 PM