I use ultimate-guitar.com. But if you want only Jewish songs, it won’t really help you.

I’d like to share something I thought of, though it isn’t poetry.

I once posted a small essay about how having faith is related to being a positive person. Here’s the link to it: http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/coffeeroom/topic/faith-and-positiveness

I’d like to add to that, and say that raising our level of faith also helps make us less selfish, and more perceptive of other people. How does it do that?

Well, by having faith, we are essentially focusing on a “bigger picture” than what we actually see in reality. We are letting ourselves acknowledge that there is “more to the story”, and that goodness will prevail, even though things may seem bad. So we are making ourselves more accustomed to understanding that what we see now, in front of us, is not necessarily an accurate representation of what is actually meant to be, through G-d’s plan.

Now, let’s take a look at what being selfish means. Being selfish means looking only at ourselves, our needs, and not seeing outside of that. Refusing to think that others may come before us, or deserve something more than us. Essentially, the mindset of a selfish person is the opposite of the mindset of a person who has faith. Because having faith allows us to look beyond our current situation, and see the bigger picture. Likewise, someone who is UNselfish looks beyond themselves, and sees the needs of other people, and has a more accurate understanding of the bigger picture. So, the two work together, and use the same basic principle of seeing beyond that which is directly pertaining to us in our current situation.

So, with this understanding, I think it is safe to assume that if someone wants to achieve a higher level of faith, he can start by working on becoming more attuned to other people’s needs, and less selfish. Because that will get him used to the mindset of seeing beyond himself, and his current situation. And vice versa, someone who wants to become less selfish can do so by working on his faith.

I actually find it incredible, yet so perfectly understandable, that G-d created us in such a way that by working on one area to better ourselves, we automatically attain the tools to become better in other areas as well. It is remarkable, and a true blessing, that G-d made us that way. May we grow in all these areas.

Getting married provides one with the amazing opportunity to love, respect, and give to another person, at the highest degree possible, while at the same time being given the tools to grow and become a better person.

True love in marriage is when you are thrilled, and have ultimate happiness, to give unconditionally to your spouse. That is why, in reference to G-d, the highest level of fulfilling His commandments and living to give happiness to Him is the level of “Ahavas Hashem”. When we truly love Him. The same is true in marriage, and in every relationship. A truly happy marriage, one that you desire and feel lucky to have, is one where you want to endlessly give to your spouse through your love. That alone can make you the happiest person.

Thanks, SaysMe and NOMTW. Yep, that’s electric guitar and bass. Composing this song has definitely helped with easing stress that I’ve been dealing with. Thank G-d I’m doing much better. Hope you’re doing alright and are enjoying the end of your break, and good luck with the start of the new semester.

NOMTW, sorry I didn’t get back to you till now. My fast was good, thanks. So glad that the piece from my mom can help with that! How are things going?

Hi, kapusta! How are you?

ICOT, really great poem. It shows how all too often we can get swept away with living our lives without any thought of how to get the most purpose and meaning out of it. We are only here for a certain amount of time, and since we know it is meant to be a preparation for the next world, we’d do well to prepare by living with meaning. Thanks for posting!

Hi Luna, glad you were inspired. Hope you’re doing well.

Syag, I agree with you on that outlook. I’d just like to add that since we know this is a “temporary” world, and a preparation for the next world, going through difficulties now will certainly help us appreciate the serenity of the next world even more.

I’m in the process of making a new song, hope to put it up soon!

Luna, your poem about the box of crayons is so beautiful, and so unbelievably true. In general, your poems are really amazing.

Thanks so much for your encouragement, SaysMe, Syag, kapusta, NOMTW. I’m slowly getting back to normal, and I’m taking a few steps at a time toward using my struggles and difficulties to make myself a stronger, better person, and seeing things in a different light. Whether or not my appreciation shows right now, please know that you all are putting meaning in my life.

blabla, it’s great to see you back. How are you?

Think first, ICOT, hope you’re doing alright.

bygirl93, really nice poems.

repharim, thats a great question. I think it’s not a contradiction because it all depends on the reasons behind everything. If you feel you need the raise to help your family, and help yourself grow in your service of G-d, then you should put in the effort to get to that point. And that is not an indication that you aren’t happy with what you have, because one should always feel that there is room to grow spiritually, and be looking for ways to make his family happy. If however, you feel the need to ask for a raise and to have more money because of jealousy or peer pressure, or for your self esteem, then that is not a healthy source. And that means you aren’t happy with what you have.

No. Asking for a raise can be considered part of your effort. Also, monetary wealth isn’t guaranteed. But if one has true faith in G-d, and knows that G-d does what is best for him, he will be happy with his portion. And that is considered wealth.

Faith:

What a concept.

One that keeps me alive

Keeps me sane

But

Am I living in the real world?

Loneliness

Heartbreak

Disappointment

Self-destruction

Faith hides them all.

Keeps them restrained in a locked cage

But what if the cage opens?

If reality kicks in?

I tell myself I’ll be fine

I’ve gone through worse

And I laugh

But is it funny?

No.

It’s simply ironic

Yet expected

That something else unfortunate will happen.

I smile

At G-d’s sense of humor

Because wow, does He have one.

There’s no question

That He is in control.

Who else but Him can create

Such a perfectly executed storm?

Such a beautiful landscape of scorched earth?

Such a high cliff to be thrown down?

Such a huge waterfall to be dropped down?

Inner Peace

Is my salvation.

It called also be spelled:

Inner Piece

Referring to that one piece

Inside me

That is a part of Him

Which is indestructible

And that piece IS me.

What’s the proof of that?

I’m still here

Not destroyed.

So who am I?

I’m a part of G-d

And G-d is a part of me.

So I know

That everything will be fine.

Because the Creator of all things

Is in me.

That is faith.

And that is indestructible.

And that is reality.

What is pain?

Suffering?

A facade.

An illusion.

A test intended to confuse us

To try to pry us

Away from our essence.

It hasn’t worked on me.

Pain?

Suffering?

I know them for what they really are.

They are nothing.

Faith?

I know it for what it really is.

It is everything.

blabla, thanks for communicating your feelings to us in that lovely poem. Wishing you much happiness and success in camp, and I hope you have a wonderful time!

kapusta, I’m glad to hear that.

SaysMe, don’t be sorry, they were great to read! And thanks! I will try.

a mamin, thank you.

popa, I’d assume most men wouldn’t be able to see this distinction, or at least blind themselves to it to justify their viewpoint. But it’s basically this: If your personal satisfaction depends upon another person’s attributes, that is shallow, and even unhealthy. This would include a guy “needing” a pretty wife, more than just being attracted to her. If your personal satisfaction depends upon your own attributes, that is good. This would include a woman’s desire to be attractive, as well as a man’s desire to have respect.

In regard to what you said about women wanting their husbands to wear specific articles of clothing, yes, that is petty. However, once a man is married, he should do everything he can to make his wife happy, so wearing something she wants, which shouldn’t be a big deal to him, would be a good idea to make her happy. If it really IS a big deal to him, he can discuss it with her, and then she would have a opportunity to make HIM happy by not controlling what he wears.

justThink, I’m sorry, but while you made some good points, what you said at the end was rude.

I think there’s a big difference between a woman’s desire to be attractive and a man’s “need” to have a pretty wife. For a woman, being attractive is one of the most natural, and important, things for her in order to feel good about herself. It is literally part of their nature. That isn’t shallow at all. It’s the same as a man’s intrinsic desire to be respected. Being respected makes a man feel good about himself. That isn’t shallow either. But if a man “needs” that his wife be very pretty in order to make HIM feel better, that IS shallow. Your personal satisfaction should not be dependent upon another person. Sure, it is important to be attracted to your wife, but if you need her to simply be pretty to feel good about yourself, that is shallow.

Thank you so much, SaysMe. And thanks for putting so much into this thread. Things are still the same for me in regard to that issue, but another opportunity just opened up for me, as I knew something would. I just had to be patient and put my faith in G-d. Hopefully the first issue will be resolved as well, but even if not, I know that G-d has a plan for me and I will move on with that in mind.

Syag, I’m so glad you’re back in this thread, you offer so much here. Your poem about your boys growing up is beautifully written and portrays your emotions so well. Your fears and worries come from a good place and it is a testimony to just how wonderful of a mother you are to them. Every phase in a child’s life presents different challenges, and as long as we do what we can and have the faith that G-d will help us through it, that is exactly what’ll happen. Wishing you strength in these stages of life, as well as for your son’s bar mitzvah. If you need anything, you know what to do.

Luna, beautiful! I agree with SaysMe, the image you created is one of palpable tranquility, and I hope that you can maintain that wonderful state of being for a long time coming, even through whatever challenges you may face along the way.

kapusta, NOMTW, blabla, ICOT, hope you’re all ok.

Health, while I understand what you are saying, I think it is wrong, in general, to say a certain type of suffering is worse or better than another type, because there are so many factors that go into every individual scenario, and person, that it is impossible, and wrong, to really compare. I was simply stating how for me, suffering with other people would’ve been better than suffering alone. That doesn’t at all take into account what other people may feel about it. I was merely talking for myself.

Regarding what smartcookie wrote, true, there are people who unfortunately do that. I am blessed that I was given a drive to succeed and overcome any challenge I face. If you were to meet me, you’d never know that I’ve gone through anything worse than a slight headache. But there’s a downside to that as well, as Syag pointed out, since I find it difficult to express my pain to others.

Goq, your golden character makes it obvious to me that you took the challenges in your life head on and that you truly have it in you to succeed. And though it seems as though we suffered alone, really, G-d was with us all along. We were never truly alone. Wishing you all the best.

Kodesh, I think many young couples may have similar thoughts. If you are committed to your marriage, and are not just in it to make your own life easier or better, and are willing to grow, you will be able to work things out. I agree with others who said that marriage counseling would help. Wishing you success.

I generally don’t find myself attracted to very thin girls. But don’t assume most guys are like me, because most guys are not like me.

kapusta, SaysMe, thanks for asking about me and wishing me success. Things are still the same as they were before, but I am doing better emotionally. I bounce back from these things relatively quickly as long as I know that people care, so thanks so much for showing care. Hope you’re both doing well.

Think first, just listened to your songs, really great! You have a really nice sounding guitar, what brand is it? Looking forward to more.

Hope everyone’s doing alright. I hope things end up working out for me. I mean, I know things will, I just hope I’m able to see it openly instead of it being hidden.

How do you define “cream of the crop”?

Also, having “the best” isn’t ideal. The ideal level is for a person to have the best spouse FOR THEM.

Luna, that’s so great! 🙂 I’m thrilled you’re feeling that way! May it continue!

Shira, I agree with you for the most part. Yes, lyrics help translate the story into words, but I actually prefer to leave most of my songs as instrumentals, and have the listener dream up their own story through the music. Though of course, I do try to tell a story in my music itself, but I’ve realized that different people get different emotions and feelings from the same piece of music.

It’s kind of like when they make a movie for a novel. It could be great, but at the same time, it’s a bit depressing because when you read the novel, you conjured an image of what everything looks like, and when seeing the movie, it takes away that image.

All this is in terms of actual “compositions”, though. “Niggunim” are something else, entirely. Those are mostly conveying emotions through the spoken message throughout the song, and containing an element of holiness through repeated and easily impressionable progressions.

I think it stems from jealousy and a lack of self worth, and is caused by people needing to have a sense of superiority (which comes from immaturity), as well as severe peer pressure. All bad things. I always try to be an individual, and I’m glad that my mom encourages me to.

Oh, and I’m glad to see you back here, tahini!

How is everyone doing? It’s pretty quiet here. kapusta, SaysMe, Think first, Luna, blabla, ICOT, NOMTW, hope you’re all doing alright.

DY, regardless of the technical definition of “poisonous”, I doubt the author had that in mind. As for the rest of what you said, we both agree that trying to avoid nisyonos, when we can, is a good thing. But we obviously just disagree on whether the internet is an “avoidable” nisayon. I say it’s not, and therefore, we must properly educate ourselves on how to deal with it. You obviously think it is. And again, for what feels like the 5th or 6th time, I think filters are a good thing, you don’t need to convince me of that. And quite honestly, I feel that I don’t need to say anything more because just about every point I’ve made in my previous post holds ground. And you’ve made some great points as well. So that’s all that needs to be said. Thank you for this discussion.

Just one question though: Something that I quoted in my last post from one of your posts seems to be something that you would vehemently argue with, and so I wonder what you think of it. Here’s the quote:

“We must recognize this uniquely personal nisayon as a golden opportunity. Perhaps more than in any other area of our Torah-based lives, the internet gives us the opportunity to display our love for Hashem and our determination to fulfill His will.

Each time a Jew holds himself back from visiting a website that he knows is not appropriate, from one wrong click, he is acting out his pure love and fear of Hashem. It is a moment to be tapped in to; a moment that calls out for reflection and prayer.

We are declaring through our actions: ‘Hashem, I am Your son! I love You and I want You to be proud of me! Help me overcome my yetzer hara, help me fulfill Your will!'”

Obviously, you believe that doing the above in wrong, because it’s wrong to put ourselves into such a situation altogether. Yet it is part of the same brochure that was supposed to be handed out at the asifa.