Chazal tell us (Makkos 10b): "b'derech sh'adam rotze leilech, molichim oso" -- the way a person wants to go, they guide him that way. Who guides him? The Maharsha says that a persons actions, thoughts, and even desires create malachim. Those malachim provide a spiritual "bubble/shroud/whatever-you-want-to-call-it" around the person that makes certain choices easier to pursue than others. Chazal also tell us that Yosef told the brothers not to get involved in halachic discussions on their way back to Eretz Canaan to bring their father down. Why? Because he wanted them to come back quickly and didn't want them delaying on the way.
I like to learn. So does Baruch Weinberg. We both ride our bicycles downtown to work. We do not arrange to meet, but we often end up biking along the same route at the same time. I find this happens most often when I am mulling over some idea or other on which I don't have clarity. Baruch is a perfect chavrusa for me, as he freely disagrees with almost everything I say. That's works out great, because I tend to disagree with him also. So we fight the whole way downtown. It's not so easy to talk while riding along Lincoln, so we prefer intersections while waiting for the lights to change. Baruch HaShem, b'derech sh'adam rotze leilech, molichim oso", and we tend to get stopped at a lot of red lights. (Ok, ok... so we help out the malachim by slowing down appropriately to be forced to stop; just trying to do our bit to make their job easier.) We get to work a few minutes later than we would otherwise, but that helps to assuage the pain we felt in leaving the bais medrash before jumping on our bikes.
We had a great fight this morning that should yield several days of thoughts. I just wanted to begin by giving credit where credit is due.
I like to learn. So does Baruch Weinberg. We both ride our bicycles downtown to work. We do not arrange to meet, but we often end up biking along the same route at the same time. I find this happens most often when I am mulling over some idea or other on which I don't have clarity. Baruch is a perfect chavrusa for me, as he freely disagrees with almost everything I say. That's works out great, because I tend to disagree with him also. So we fight the whole way downtown. It's not so easy to talk while riding along Lincoln, so we prefer intersections while waiting for the lights to change. Baruch HaShem, b'derech sh'adam rotze leilech, molichim oso", and we tend to get stopped at a lot of red lights. (Ok, ok... so we help out the malachim by slowing down appropriately to be forced to stop; just trying to do our bit to make their job easier.) We get to work a few minutes later than we would otherwise, but that helps to assuage the pain we felt in leaving the bais medrash before jumping on our bikes.
We had a great fight this morning that should yield several days of thoughts. I just wanted to begin by giving credit where credit is due.
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