The Burgher and the Pauper – Part 8C

Here’s the next installment of Rabbenu’s tale of the ‘Burgher and the Pauper’.

Watch that here:

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My friend told me she was inspired to read the actual tale itself on Rosh Hashana, and that it gave her a lot of chizzuk to understand that life is inevitably full of ups and downs.

The yetzer, the ‘imagination’, likes to tell us all that real life is picture perfect, and that if it isn’t, there must be something seriously wrong with us.

How many people waste so much time and energy, chasing after stuff that just isn’t real, just isn’t realistic, just isn’t how things are meant to be – at all! – because of this dimayon idea that says life is meant to be perfect?

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On that same line, take a look at this video from Tommy John, talking about aging:

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It’s so strange, at least to me, how much what this guy says, with a few unfortunate expletives thrown in, accords so closely to how Rabbenu talks about ‘health’ and ‘aging’.

Rabbenu tells us repeatedly:

It’s forbidden to be old!!!

But, what does that actually mean, tachlis, in practise?

Listen to Tommy John (you can speed him up to 1.75 and it still sounds fine…) – and then start to form your own idea, of what perhaps Rabbenu is actually talking about.

It’s very powerful stuff.

At least, for me.

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The Rav is back from Uman, BH, the prayers on Ido HaNavi are starting again, hopefully tonight.

And otherwise, Hashem is giving each one of us an invitation right now, to step out of the paradigm that limits us – exactly as the Burgher’s Son is doing in this episode, above, giving away all his power and secrets and ‘signs’ to others, because he doesn’t believe he can really fulfill his true destiny in the world, and marry the Princess.

But, you and me – we know he can. And in the end, he really does.

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Guess what?

God knows that about each one of us, too.

But until we understand that ourselves, we can spend an awfully long time chasing our tails, giving away our power, and feeling sorry for ourselves – instead of taking responsibility for the bad middot and lack of emuna that keep us trapped, small and miserable, and prevent us from being the people, the Jews, God created us to be.

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As always, lots to think about.

And thanks, Alizah, for continuing to nudge me along the path to getting the cartoon done.

Piece by slow piece.