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Monthly Archives: September 2009
Norman Borlaug, R.I.P.
There have been many obituaries written in the last week for the great scientist, Norman Borlaug, who according to some estimates saved the lives of 1 billion people. By developing new strains of crops that were resistant to disease and teaching poor third world farmers modern agriculture techniques, Mr. Borlaug was a big part of the massive increase in food supply in the world, especially the poorest regions. What is also more interesting is that it is highly unlikely that Asia would have had its economic miracle without such massive increases in the availability of food and improvement of nutrition.
Here are two obituaries that I really liked. I recommend that you read both, just so you can get an impact for how great of a man Mr. Borlaug was.
Obituary from the City Journal: City Journal
Obituary from the Wall Street Journal: WSJ Obit
A Broken Heart
I signed up for Rabbi Simon Jacobson’s 60 Day Journey to the High Holy Days (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) email list. I get an email every day to prepare me spiritually and mentally for this Jewish New Year and the Yom Kippur. The emails have been amazing, but none better than today’s email. Here it is:
Wednesday, September 9
Elul 20
THE SECRET OF A BROKEN HEART
We all make mistakes and break things in our life, but life also breaks us. We’ve all been broken in one way or another. We have all experienced broken promises or broken relationships; we have experienced the loss of a job or the loss of a loved one.
Different people react in a different manner to the hurt that inevitably accompanies breakage. Some people are devastated. Others grow because of it.
Some people have strength, some don’t. And there is a reason why. A tree that doesn’t fall over in a storm is a tree that was strong before the storm. The storm just revealed the strength of the trees. But a tree with no roots may be able to stand up in normal weather, but it breaks when a storm strikes.
And yet, the miracle of creation is that, paradoxically, the more broken you are now the more whole you have the chance to become.
The Rebbes teach that there is nothing as complete as a broken heart. When your heart is broken, you are in a place that is real.
Why is a broken wall the holiest place for Jews? Why do Jews stand and pray at a broken wall when there are such beautiful edifices around? Because, Jews know that this isn’t a perfect world. As long as the world is not perfect, Jews cannot stand in a beautiful edifice. Jews can only stand and cry at a broken wall.
The illusion of perfect edifices in an imperfect world makes us feel good. But it is an illusion nevertheless—good for Hollywood and Broadway, but it’s not reality.
The reality is that the world is a broken place—it’s a broken place full of broken people whose job is to mend what is broken.
If you want to sign up for this email list, go here: 60 Day Journey with Rabbi Jacobson