Be a mountain

By now, I am sure many of you read the article about the 9-year-old boy who walked off the baseball field when an umpire asked him to remove his tzitzit. One comment posted caught my eye. It was about the chain reaction that began as a result of this incident.

the story did not end there!
I heard -2nd hand but maybe it can be confirmed by Shliach- that the Shliach in Kentucky told this story to his congregation and it caused an excitement in the shul..so the Shliach seized the opportunity and offered to purchase Tzitzis for anyone that would commit to put on Tzitzis at least once a week. 5 PEOPLE COMITED TO MITZVAS TZISIS,...
http://www.collive.com/show_news.rtx?id=30505&alias=chabad-boy-bravely-walks-off-field#.U4r-X3tmkHE.facebook

Can you imagine, after meah ve'esrim, when one will be ulitmately judged, an individual will be surprised to find more good deeds added to the scales. "But I didn't know Mr. John Doe Goldberg. Why am I being credited for the fact that he put on tzitzit?"

You may not have known him but your actions had a profound effect on him.

The article also contained a thought for Shavuot.

The Midrash tells us that G-d chose Mt. Sinai, and not a more impressive mountain, to teach us the value of humility. The question, of course, is this: If humility is paramount, why did G-d give us the Torah on a mountain at all? Why not a plain, or even a valley? The mere term "Mt. Sinai" is an oxymoron. It’s a mountain, towering and majestic. And it’s Sinai, meager compared to her sister mountains, humble. If humility is paramount, why did G-d give us the Torah on a mountain at all?

When G-d gave us the Torah and inaugurated us into Jew-hood, He said, "You are going to need to be real strong to be a Jew." Be a mountain. Have a backbone. Be a charismatic light unto the nations, and don’t give a hoot if people laugh at you.

But be a humble mountain. Humble in your recognition that your strength comes from G-d. Your life’s value is not about your image, it’s about your higher calling. Don’t measure yourself against the standards set by your neighbors; measure yourself against your soul’s potential.

Abigail R. Esman has written an article titled The French Jihadist Killings in Belgium: This is Just the Beginning.

The Washington Post writes about the Bergdhal prisoner exchange, "Lawmakers were not notified of the Guantanamo detainees’ transfer until after it occurred."

Free Beacon links to a video of White House Spokesperson Jay Carney answering a question at a June 21, 2013 press briefing about a detainee transfer in which he states, "As we have long said, however, we would not make any decisions about transfer of any detainees without consulting with Congress and without doing so in accordance with U.S. law."


In the most American of crimes, a South Carolina woman was arrested Saturday afternoon for stealing a Bible from Walmart.
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/Walmart-Bible-theft-687243