2:00 Am

     One of the things that I like to do each morning is to set up for the minyan (quorum). I started doing it some 29 years ago to help the old, righteous Jew who would do it if I didn’t. How could I sit there and watch that nice old man move the tables and chairs? So I replaced him and have been doing it every day since. The idea is to retire at 30… we’ll see.

     It turns out that not only does it help the men in the minyan who come and find a place prepared for them, but it is also good me to do that physical exercise.

     They did a study some time ago and found that old people who have someone looking after them live longer. Then they did another study and found out that people who help older people live longer they themselves live longer. It’s a win/win situation when you help others. 

     When Yacov was fleeing from his evil brother Esau he went to sleep one night and had a wondrous vision of Hashem speaking to him. He awoke and said, “There is G-d in this place!” Since Yacov knew that Hashem is everywhere, Rashi (commentator) had to explain that Yacov was really saying “There is G-d in this place…if I would have known it I would not have slept.”

     This is what every soul is going to say when it leaves this world and its life on earth is reviewed before the Holy One. The soul’s station in that world, its nearness to the Brilliant Glory, will be determined by its actions in this lower world.

     Oy! If only I had known, I would not have slept.

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