Why I’ve Always Written So Much With Such Intensity And Why I Won’t Stop Now
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tell a friend
Barry Rubin
We have to judge ourselves by whether we’ve lived up to our ideals and done our best. Not by the accumulation of power, wealth or fame; not for failing to achieve the impossible.
A famous Jewish story about that is the tale of Rabbi Zosia who said that he did not expect God to berate him for not having been Moses—who he wasn’t—but for not having been Zosia.
To me, that means we must do the best to be ourselves while trying to make ourselves as good as possible. I’ve really tried to do that. I don’t have big regrets, nor bitterness, nor would I have done things very differently.
And I’ve discovered the brave community of those who are supporting and encouraging each other in the battle against this disease.
Finally, I find myself identifying with a poem by a Turkish writer named Ilhami Bekir that goes like this:
“Neither vineyards, nor gardens
Do I ask.
Nor horses, nor sheep.
Don’t take my soul away,
O God!
I am curious.
I must see how this game ends!”
The game, of course, doesn’t end and I don’t expect to live to see utopia realized. But it would be nice to live long enough to see America and the world pass out from this current dreadful era, to see some restoration of sanity and reality, some kind of victory for goodness, some kind of restoration of intellectual standards, and a higher level of justice.
Some friends tell me they think we’ve turned the corner and that there’s real hope of beating the terrible forces that have messed up our societies and insulted our intelligence and tried to sully our reputations.
That’s something worth living for and fighting for. I hope to do it with you people as long as possible.
tell a friendAbout the Author: Professor Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal. See the GLORIA/MERIA site at www.gloria-center.org.
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Hashem Yirachem and a refuah shleima.
A suggestion: If you are not already doing it, please consider studying Daf Yomi. I think it is no coincidence that this dreadful diagnosis was revealed at the turn of the new cycle.
In two months you can complete the entire Masechet Brachos. Another 5 months will give you Masechet Shabbos. Chap -a -rein! Torah is life and if you are "greedy" enough, we will definitely see you on a "completers" podium at the completion of this cycle in another 7 1/2 years, IY"H.
Good rule to live our lives by: "We have to judge ourselves by whether we’ve lived up to our ideals and done our best."
I'm out here too, and I read and appreciate you, Barry. May HaShem give you an immediate and complete recovery, via the Moshiach even, b"H, so we can all get in on it. : )
Your writings have been an inspiration to me, and many that I work with (we met at the SPME Conference last year). It is our fervent hope that Hashem intercedes and gives you refuah shlema, and many more years to do His work, your work, our work, in support of the miracle that is our Jewish State.
How sad, we are vulnerable to ailment and life's vicissitudes. May Adonai touch your body to restore wholeness to you. The gifts HE imbued you with, worked their way through your readers. May HE grant you refuah shleima.
Barry Rubin, an uncompromising writer, journalist.
Thank G_d, the Jehovah Rapha, He touched Barry Rubin, HE made him overcome.
How sad, we are vulnerable to ailment and life's vicissitudes. May Adonai touch your body to restore wholeness to you. The gifts HE imbued you with, worked their way through your readers. May HE grant you refuah shleima.
How sad, we are vulnerable to ailment and life's vicissitudes. May Adonai touch your body to restore wholeness to you. The gifts HE imbued you with, worked their way through your readers. May HE grant you refuah shleima.