Many of the essays posted on The Foundation Stone have “Machberes Avodas Hashem” (The Service of God Notebooks) credited as the author. These essays are based on thoughts I’ve jotted down over the years to remember all the significant ideas I learn, hear, and read, and, what is more important, to figure out ways to incorporate into my Service of God in prayer, study, and work on my personal attributes, what I term, “Spiritual Tools,” many of which you can find as “Applications,” at the bottom of an essay.

One of my goals for The Foundation Stone is to introduce people to the idea of, “So What,” now that I have heard an idea; how can I use it.

If there is no practical lesson; it is not real Torah!

I recently posted a few essays on prayer based on the Parsha:

“Without a Battle.”

“Gathering the Joy.”

“Becoming Magnets.”

“Forgiveness.”

I hope to continue a series, “So What,”  on The Foundation Stone, throughout this calendar year of applying the commentaries to the Torah to Prayer and Spiritual Growth. I hope you enjoy this series, and that you will learn to reify all that you learn.

You can find more on this idea in, “Spirituals 101,” and, “Mishlei-Insight and Application,” and, “Stopping the Leaks.”

Enjoy!

Author Info:
Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone™ is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.

I used to worry. A lot. The more I fretted, the more proficient I became at it. Anxiety begets anxiety. I even worried that I worried too much! Ulcers might develop. My health could fail. My finances could deplete to pay the hospital bills.

A comedian once said, “I tried to drown my worries with gin, but my worries are equipped with flotation devices.” While not a drinker, I certainly could identify! My worries could swim, jump and pole vault!

To get some perspective, I visited a well known, Dallas businessman, Fred Smith. Fred mentored such luminaries as motivational whiz Zig Ziglar, business guru Ken Blanchard and leadership expert John Maxwell. Fred listened as I poured out my concerns and then said, “Vicki, you need to learn to wait to worry.”

As the words sank in, I asked Fred if he ever spent time fretting. (I was quite certain he wouldn’t admit it if he did. He was pretty full of testosterone-even at age 90.) To my surprise, he confessed that in years gone by he had been a top-notch worrier!

“I decided that I would wait to worry!” he explained. “I decided that I’d wait until I actually had a reason to worry-something that was happening, not just something that might happen-before I worried.”

“When I’m tempted to get alarmed,” he confided, “I tell myself, ‘Fred, you’ve got to wait to worry! Until you know differently, don’t worry.’ And I don’t. Waiting to worry helps me develop the habit of not worrying and that helps me not be tempted to worry.”

Fred possessed a quick mind and a gift for gab. As such, he became a captivating public speaker. “I frequently ask audiences what they were worried about this time last year. I get a lot of laughs,” he said, “because most people can’t remember. Then I ask if they have a current worry – you see nods from everybody. Then I remind them that the average worrier is 92% inefficient – only 8% of what we worry about ever comes true.”

Charles Spurgeon said it best. “Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, but only empties today of its strength.”

An excerpt from Attitude is Everything by Vicki Hitzges

I am often asked to post new “Tools” to deal with anger. I recently read “Life Lessons” by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross and David Kessler and found a powerful lesson:

Untreated fear turns into anger. When we’re not in touch with our fears – or when we don’t even know we’re afraid – that fear grows into anger. If we don’t deal with the anger, it will turn into rage:

Andrew was supposed to meet his girlfriend, Melanie, at a coffeehouse. There are several of the coffeehouses spread throughout the city, and each went to a different one. Andrew waited for Melanie for thirty or forty minutes, left a message on her answering machine, and went back to his apartment. “I figured that there must have been some sort of mix-up, so we’d try again,” he explained. “That was not Melanie’s impression. She was very angry with me. She was implying that I deliberately left her there, that I disappointed her, that I couldn’t be trusted. I pointed out that we both just assumed it was a different coffeehouse.”

What for Andrew was a simple mix-up was for Melanie a horrible letdown suggesting he was unreliable and would disappoint her again. She brought more anger to the situation than it deserved, anger that was left over from an old hurt. Out of touch with the fear under her anger, Melanie made Andrew the villian. Unfortunately, she only took the first step – she got mad.

We’re all very good at this step: “I’m angry because you weren’t there,” “I’m angry because you were late,” “I’m angry because you didn’t do a good job,” “I’m angry because of what you said.”

We need to learn how to take the second step, looking into ourselves to explore the fear underneath. Here are some clues to what may really be going on:

The anger: I’m angry because you weren’t there.

The fear underneath: When you’re not there, I fear you’re abandoning me.

The anger: I’m angry because you’re late.

The fear underneath: I’m not as important to you as your work.

The anger: I’m angry because you didn’t do a good job.

The fear underneath: I’m afraid we’ll make less money and not be able to pay our bills.

The anger: I’m angry because of what you said.

The fear underneath: I’m afraid you don’t love me anymore.

“Life Lessons” by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross and David Kessler, pps 150-152

Author Info:
Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.