In this week's Torah portion, hired by Balaak the king of Moab, the prophet Bilaam attempts to curse the Jews.  In a series of shaming and even comedic (talking donkey - think Shrek) Balaam is forced to bless the Jews with a series of blessings that are of the greatest the Jewish People have ever received.

It’s a box that I moved into long before I had basic self-awareness. The box is the lenses through which I look at the world.  It’s how I show up for good or for ugly. It’s how I perceive others and judge (sometimes even being judgmental – shocker) what I experience. 

I'm getting it, more and more.  And as I get it, I develop much more compassion towards others, more accepting of their limitations and how that bumps up against me and my jagged edges but also inner strength. 

Let me begin at the end. I have always admired Chabad. Their passion and commitment to every Jew, no matter their level of observance, is one of the most beautiful aspects of this unique and outstanding movement. I have had so many great experiences interacting with different leaders of Chabad that perhaps naively, I thought I knew everything there was to know about Chabad… That was until this past Shabbat.

There is much discussed in the good books about the role we play in our own destiny. Are some people doomed to remain farkvetched (squeezed) while others fortunate to live in abundance? And do we have the ability to change that? I'm going to leave the theological question for others.