King Solomon said: "Remove anger from your heart and you take away evil from your flesh." Very frequently in Holy Scripture and in the maxims of the Talmudic sages we find an admonition against anger, for anger is a very bad quality into which man can easily fall and which then does him great injury spiritually and physically. The sages of the Talmud believe that in anger lies the root of numerous sins. Hence they said, "Be not in anger and you will not sin." And again they say: "He who becomes angry, if he is a sage his wisdom departs from him, and if he is a prophet his prophecy is taken away from him."
My friends, the momentous trials of the last century, and the unfolding events of this century, attest to the decisive role of the United States in advancing peace and defending freedom. Providence entrusted the United States to be the guardian of liberty. All peoples who cherish freedom owe a profound debt of gratitude to your great nation. Among the most grateful nations is my nation, the people of Israel, who have fought for their liberty and survival against impossible odds, in ancient and modern times alike.
This people is known by three signs:
Being compassionate, shamefaced, and charitable.
Everyone who has these three signs is worthy of cleaving to this people.
And I believe that God is speaking to me and through me when I feel that way. I believe that God has planted in me very one of us the desire for more, the reluctance to settle for what we have and what we are, with all of its ambivalence. Our challenge is to want more of the right things.
Our senses are constantly being assaulted. Sometimes it is intentional messaging by those who want to sell us a product or convince us of something. At other times, it is just the noise of the city and of daily life... In order to see, hear, and understand God's message to us, God's direction for our lives, we have to be able to filter out all else that we see and hear that compete to claim our attention. If we aren't able to do so, then we will not be able to discern God's presence in the world or in our lives.
