gevura shebyesod wrote on 16 Sep 2024 00:32:

I am tired.
Very tired.
Very very tired .
I needed to read this three (3) times to figure out the shaychus.
Shame on me 

redfaced wrote on 16 Sep 2024 01:12:

I understood Gevurah was meanin’ to be madgish that it’s Leviooooosah, not Leviosaaaaah.

I think that very much ties into the conversation above. 

No?

I was thinking more "Swish and flick" but I could be wrong...

Yes indeed, Professor Flitwick…

truthaintflashy wrote on 14 Sep 2024 18:41:

Let me commend you on the catchy thread title, but offer a friendly warning. The mods don' take kindly to catchy thread titles. Spoken as the sole survivor of the "stimulation" thread.

And let me iterate and reiterate my agreement with this premise. Man is doomed. Born weighed down with the burden of an Original Sin he cannto possibly clean he cannot escape the inevitability of Hell without the grace of. Oh wait, wrong forum. Sorry. Let me try again.

A culture of fear and shame is guaranteed to steer people away from sin. After all, modern frum culture is largely built on fear of other people's condemnation, and look how well that is going! Ah. Maybe hell is indeed other people. Which then begs the question if isolation is the preferred torture, or perhaps would be a kindness.

This is has got to be satire.

But still, we practice Judaism not Calvinism. Man is inherently good, not inherently evil. Learn more Rabbi Nachman

truthaintflashy wrote on 14 Sep 2024 18:41:

I came late to the party so I don't know whether my words are still relevant.

I assume you are writing satire out of frustration because from a Torah viewpoint none of this makes sense. The Zohar writes that Teshuva doesn't help for this but all the seforim write that it isn't meant to be taken literally. Locking someone up in a cell will only cause him to be depressed which will cause him to act out even more. Humiliating someone would do the same. If people wouldn't sin because they would be afraid of getting caught then why have we fallen when we were so afraid that we would get caught?

Regarding your frustration, I read on your thread that you haven't acted out for 5-6 years. It isn't right to define yourself by your behavior 5-6 years ago. It is true that the sin is never completely erased in the context that you are a baal teshuvah and not a person who never sinned but you should read what the Rambam writes about a baal teshuva and be proud of your accomplishments. True, it would have been better if you never sinned but you are worlds away from where you were then and that should give you pride and make you happy.

If you are referring to your current struggles, acknowledge that these thoughts are coming from the Yetzer Hora who doesn't want you to challenge him and succeed. He prefers that you believe that you can't change your status because once you believe this then what purpose is there in working to succeed. If I understand correctly you are reading the book The Battle of the Generation. You should be able to find reasons throughout the book for why everything you posted is not the Torah's view on this matter.

youknowwho wrote on 16 Sep 2024 01:58:

It's my understanding that Gevura meant Lesovah Velo Lerazon.

thompson wrote on 16 Sep 2024 13:38:

Who, Gevuuuuuuuuuuuuura?

truthaintflashy wrote on 14 Sep 2024 18:41:

Thank you so much for answering my call. I appreciate your effort.
But invoking Les Misérables is a whole nother story. Quite literally.

Both Valjean and Javert got an unexpected second chance at life, yet their reactions were drastically divergent. While 24601 used the opportunity to build himself up and help those around him, Javert escaped forever into the void. One of the main motivators for the inspector's choice was his belief that "once a thief, always a thief." Of course, he didn't see it that way and still blamed Valjean.

Is he from heaven or from hell
And does he know
That granting me my life today
This man has killed me even so.

At The End Of The Day, we have to Look Down and see what we can do to stop chasing the "Lovely Ladies", stay Master Of The House, and not be left crying, "I Dreamed A Dream."
ODAAT, or One Day More.
We need to find our pure self and Bring Him Home.
Start by asking, "Who Am I?"

See what I did there?

thompson wrote on 16 Sep 2024 14:09:

I did. Bravo. 
Madame Thénardier might approve. 

I personally prefer the book to the adaptation with songs.
I actually got a lot out of it, especially Jean Valjean. 

Fantine made a deep impression, too. Sometimes we don’t have any good choices, and that stinks. But something remains of the heartbreaking effort, I think. 

Never liked Maurius that much, or even Cossette. 

Interesting fact- Rav Aryeh Levine once did with a guest exactlywhat the Bishop did with 24601 - he told the police that he had given all of his (stolen) valuables as a gift to his erstwhile houseguest. And the guy was Chozer Biteshuva.

OK with 19 unread replies, I'd say this is mission accomplished.  

Till next time...

neshomo kedosha wrote on 15 Sep 2024 23:58:

Yeah...chained lion is still a lion.  Don't put your head in its mouth.

I just want to clarify about the inner child business that our job as adults re: the ashamed/scared part inside of us is to have compassion, lots of compassion, as much as it takes to live our best lives.

The other stuff seems to have been picked apart by others b''h

chaimoigen wrote on 16 Sep 2024 14:56:

The problem for me with Fantine is that, at times, I identify too deeply with her plight.
There are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms we cannot weather.

Another way to frame it would be that Fantine characterizes Chesed, Javert symbolizes Gevurah, and Valjean, Tiferes.
Either extreme isn't healthy. We have to live on the golden path.

Another interesting fact about Rav Aryeh Levin - he liked chocolate pudding. (What? He said so himself.)

thompson wrote on 16 Sep 2024 15:39:

Yes.  That is the takeaway from that story [under "Model Educator"].