Can Do
By Rabbi Raymond Beyda
The ball soared over the little boys head and his head turned slowly
tracking the flight of the ball from his family's yard over the fence into
the neighbor's garden.
His father yelled, "Where are you going?" as the little boy headed for the
7 foot fence that separated the two neighboring properties.
"I am going to get the ball," replied the brave child as he started his
climb up the fence.
"Stop," commanded dad, as he warned his offspring to be careful and
continued, "That fence is too high for a little boy to climb."
The boy ignored his father's warnings and stubbornly climbed the fence --
reached the top -- and pulled himself over as his dad gazed in disbelief.
"How did you do that?" asked the shocked parent. "How come you didn't
listen to me?"
"I knew I could do it and I did," replied the proud child as he tossed the
retrieved ball back to dad. "Play ball!"
Sometimes a person fails to achieve not for a lack of ability but instead
for a lack for self-confidence. One cannot draw on talents or powers that
one does not realize one has. No one is perfect -- true. But you --like
everyone else --often sell yourself short and fail to accomplish because
of a poor self-image.
Today when you think you cannot -- stop. Assume that you can. Draw down
deep into untapped potential and remember the 4-foot boy and the 7-foot
fence. It only takes a minute but it will bring your success average up
way above where you thought it could be.
DID YOU KNOW THAT
In order to get credit for "tefillah b'siboor" -- praying with a minyan --
one must say the Amidah --shemoneh esreh together with the congregation.
One who arrives late is permitted to skip certain portions of the prayers
in order to catch up to the minyan and say the amidah along with them. If
one can say the repeat amidah along with the Hazan then this too counts as
praying with the minyan. The minimum one must say (to enable him to catch
up) is as follows:
1]The blessing Eloki Neshamah
2]the blessings on the Torah
3]from yoser ohr up to the amidah.
At the completion of the prayers he should say the parts that he skipped --
except for Barukh She-amar and Yishtabah. [Source: Yehaveh Daat, volume 5,
responsa 5]
CONSIDER THIS FOR A MINUTE
If it were easy it would have been done already.
Raymond J Beyda
www.raymondbeyda.com
Text Copyright © 2004 Rabbi Raymond Beyda and Torah.org.
