[HIGH HOLY DAYS | Rabbi Abba Perelmuter ]
Life is a platform on which we rise above ourselves.
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It is good to draw up a list and then form a plan. By Rosh Hashanah I want to prove that I can live without this. By Pesach I want to prove that I can adopt this or that new practice. By next year Rosh Hashanah, I want allocate this much of my income to charity. Establish short term goals and embark on the process of inner growth.
Line up a long term goal that represents a serious sacrifice, but is also a deeply meaningful achievement. For example, decide if you want to adopt a child in need or travel to a third world country to help people in need. Decide how much of your time you can volunteer to the local soup kitchen or how many days of your week you can devote to Torah study. Most important, choose the parts of your day that you will sacrifice to make that happen.
In the beginning you will miss what you gave up. With time you will miss your old habits less and appreciate your new customs more. In the fullness of time you will wonder what attracted you to those old behaviors in the first place. Slowly you will grow and mature. You will never stop growing. You will never reach a final benchmark. But the goal is not to stop, the goal is simply to start.
With a New Year around the corner, now is as good a time as ever.
Shanah Tova
[HAPPENINGS AROUND TOWN ]
Discovered enjoying a little light conversation at party in a private home in Rossmoor were, left, Joel Block, candidate for the 72nd Assembly District in Sacramento, Cong. Alan Lowenthal and Frieda Caplan of Frieda's Fine Foods.