On us. The burden, the responsibility is upon our shoulders.
The Aleinu project is named after a prayer in the daily morning services that praises G-d and His creations. It is a recognition of His glory and might and a presentation of a deep faith. As part of this project, the participants were asked to develop a reason, a purpose, a project that might benefit others as well as themselves.
This is all part of a simple but powerful Jewish precept - Tikkun Olam - the fixing of the world. Whether it be distributing foods or joining Habitat for Humanity, there are many worthy and simple ways in which to better this world. The main idea is to understand and accept the individual responsibility. It is on us, each and every one of us.
As one ages one tends to look back at a life mostly lived already and wonder if indeed there is any legacy left, any display of the fulfillment of Tikkun Olam, leaving a good mark upon this world, be it in big or small deeds. One especially looks at the children and grandchildren. Who are they and what have they done or are planning to do with their lives. Are they grubbing for fame and money or are they doing good, helping others. taking upon themselves the burden of trust and faith and contributing to this world?
Read what follows and if you can, follow through, but the most important thing here to me is that yes, I have a legacy, the best one that can be left. There are two generations following who understand their responsibilities and mean to follow through on them. This is from one granddaughter and it brought tears to my eyes. I do not always understand why things happen. I often wonder and question why I have PD, for though one can fight off or slow down its harmful effects on the body, the knowledge that it will get worse is always there. One wonders why G-d has 'chosen' yourself to pick upon!
Yet, when I look back at my life since confirmation or what I have known for quite some time, I realize that I have been blessed. There are now special people in my life who were not there before. Friendships have deepened with many and there has been an outreach from unexpected places and people. I have learned to express heretofore unknown interests and skills and am still flabbergasted by that. And I have seen beautiful caring and love from my kids and the grandchildren as the older ones have, one by one, come down to help, especially after two bad falls. Yes, despite it all, I am blessed.
Aleinu - on us and always will be. Just a bit of contribution of time and effort, of behavior, can go a long way. Whether one is Jewish or not, whether one is young or old, the idea of this project comes through, the effort to improve oneself and influence others is clear. Please read the following, even if only to make me even prouder of this young lady and her cousins as each and every one of them is involved in projects that help others or, in the case of the youngest, in a beautiful love of Nature.
Hi everyone! Shavua Tov!
I noticed that at the end of davening, I was always in a rush to get to the next place and to finish in a hurry. My aleinu was very rushed, and most of the time I was saying aleinu while walking out the door to get on with my day. For a while I've wanted to do something but I didn't exactly know what. A few years ago, my grandmother was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. As the years go by, she has less control over her body and her movements, and there is no cure. As a zchus, (plea), for her refuah, (healing), I started standing still during aleinu. I made cards that you could keep in your siddur and it would mean the world for me if you all could take part in this. I'm attaching a link to a google form. All you have to do is fill in your name and address and how many cards you would like to order and I'll send them to you over the next few weeks. You can order as many as you'd like. I'm also attaching a photo that could be passed around in chats along with the form to get as many people involved as we can. Please share this with friends and family and hopefully with Hashem's help, we can make a huge difference!!! Thank you all and tizku l'mitzvot!!!!! (Be worthy of doing good deeds.)
https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fforms.gle%2Fe2M2PzzzqmMUhyQX8&data=04%7C01%7C%7C5bab039bd73f469c8db908d902412615%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637543301096619034%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=WPVF7eKZ2dZgFJiHd7jgTwKLaUl3sJF6BRZFg3acUvM%3D&reserved=0
No comments:
Post a Comment