web analytics
May 21, 2013 /12 Sivan, 5773
At a Glance ▼
InDepth
Sponsored Post
The Tosfos Yomtov was convinced that the death of 300,000 –600,000 Jews during the Chmielnicki massacres of 1648-49 were because of improper Tefila. Communicated: Tefilla

Chillul Tefila Bifarhesia, as well as halachicly challenged verbiage and dress, are external manifestations of a critical lack of personal yiras shomayim which has lethal consequences.



Home » InDepth » Op-Eds »

When The Only One Left Is The Puppeteer: A Spiritual Perspective on the Gulf Oil Spill

Published: June 30th, 2010
Latest update: October 25th, 2012
tell a friend

There are eerie similarities between the flood and the oil spill. According to one opinion in the Talmud, the flood started during the month of Iyar – the same month this oil spill began. Both the flood and the oil spill were triggered by something unleashed from deep below the surface. And, considering the rampant fraud and theft plaguing our society, the reason given by our tradition for the flood is cause for reflection.

As mentioned above, it is very possible that the use of illegitimate means to hasten the oil extraction led to the broken pipe. Using illegitimate methods to gain something is a form of theft. The image of oil washing up on our shores is also symbolic of theft – something dark and foreboding encroaching upon an area where it does not belong.

Though we strive to be honest and ethical, most of us could stand at least some improvement in those areas. We can utilize the anger and frustration we feel over the oil spill as motivation to focus on these areas.

To get started we can ask ourselves, (1) “Am I doing anything that, though I can rationalize why it’s OK, is against the law?” and (2) “What is a gap in my life in this area and what can I do to plug the hole?”

After we learn the first lesson – reliance on God and seeking His help – the second lesson – respecting boundaries – follows naturally. When our chief priority is having God’s guidance and assistance in our lives, we will never want something He has forbidden. All we will ever want is what God, out of His deep love, wants to give us.

tell a friend

About the Author: Yaakov Weiland has an MSW from Fordham School of Social Service and lives in New York City. Visit his blog at yaakovweiland.blogspot.com.


You might also be interested in:


no comments

You must log in to post a comment.

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

Current Top Story
Entire neighborhoods were flattened by the tornado that struck outside Oklahoma City, OK on May 20, 2013
Chabad to the Rescue for Oklahoma Residents
Latest Indepth Stories
Former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani enters Iran's presidential race
InDepth → Op-Eds

Ahmadinejad may plan to reveal proof that the 2009 elections were rigged if his candidate’s registration for presidential candidacy is not accepted.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
InDepth → Analysis → Rubin Reports

With a ‘friend’ like Erdogan, Obama’s policy toward Syria, Iran, the advance of revolutionary Islamism, and the Israel-Palestinian “peace process,” is in serious trouble.

obama_tv-420x01
InDepth → Columns → Daniel Greenfield

The media loved Obama, but it discovered early on that he did not love it back.

Holocaust
InDepth → Columns → America's Rabbi / Shmuley Boteach

Are we to believe that these Jews who were devout and pious were being punished?

News → Antisemitism

How far the PA will go to present the lie as the truth and the truth as a lie? Its claim that Jesus was a Palestinian is old hat. But now the “resurrection” also refers to “the Palestinian state.”

InDepth → Columns → Daniel Greenfield

The progressive consolidation imagines that organization can contain the messier side of man.

InDepth → Op-Eds

The Russian Yakhont missiles already delivered to Syria threaten Israel Navy ships carrying out vital missions in the Mediterranean.

InDepth → Op-Eds

Islamism represents the transformation of Islamic faith into a political ideology.

InDepth → Analysis → Rubin Reports

America could be said to be building a united front against Iran, but at what price?

InDepth → Op-Eds

The Japanese do not feel the need to apologize to Muslims for the negative way in which they relate to Islam.

InDepth → Columns → Khaled Abu Toameh

Palestinian youths from Hebron, though, who met with Israelis near Bethlehem to share their problems and insights have been forced to issue a statement distancing themselves from the meeting.

InDepth → Columns → Daniel Greenfield

Benghazi isn’t likely to keep Hillary out of the Democratic field in 2016, but after 2008, she is justifiably paranoid.

InDepth → Op-Eds

The contractors received the land at a bargain basement price, moved the prices up to 1.8 million NIS and pocketed one million NIS per apartment.

InDepth → Op-Eds

Many of my fellow college students are quick to voice their acceptance of their LGBT friends, but they turn up their noses and frown slightly when they speak of a Hasid.

InDepth → Columns → America's Rabbi / Shmuley Boteach

The growing revelations that the Obama State Department watered down public statements on the attack in order to cleanse them of any mention of al Qaeda and terrorism is a travesty.

InDepth → Op-Eds

We must confront Islamist groups with what Prime Minister David Cameron referred to as “muscular liberalism.”

More Articles from Yaakov Weiland
InDepth → Op-Eds

During the High Holidays we increase the number of our prayers. We acknowledge God’s kingship, beseech Him to forgive us and ask Him to grant us a new year filled with blessings. How do we make these prayers sincere and effective?

InDepth → Op-Eds

We are now in the Three Weeks, a time of national mourning for the Jewish people. Of the numerous tragedies that occurred throughout history during this period, the central one we grieve is the destruction of both Temples; they were destroyed on Tisha B’Av, the culmination of the Three Weeks.

InDepth → Op-Eds

On Shavuot we celebrate God giving us the Torah, represented by the Ten Commandments. We will explore them here through a broad lens, showing how they apply to our daily lives. We will focus on the First Commandment, the foundation, and the seven commandments phrased in the negative, which tell us what not to do, discussing both sides: the negative (avoiding what God hates) and the hidden side, the positive (doing what He loves).

InDepth → Op-Eds

In my Nov. 26 op-ed article, “The Clarifying Truths of Chanukah,” I explored how clarity, purity and joy bring us close to God and to living a meaningful life. If they are so essential, their potential must exist within our spiritual DNA. I suggest it does; we inherited that potential from our forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

InDepth → Op-Eds

Ever wonder why the Jewish New Year begins with three back-to-back-to back holidays and then no biblical holidays for another six months?

InDepth → Op-Eds

The ongoing crisis in the Gulf of Mexico has been declared the worst oil spill in American history. It occurred when an offshore drilling rig exploded on April 20, killing eleven crew members and causing an oil pipe, 5,000 feet below the ocean’s surface, to rupture. BP, the oil company responsible for the spill, is the fourth largest company, of any type, in the world. Shockingly, BP’s efforts, backed by America, have not stopped the flow.

    Latest Poll

    Which is the most beautiful location in Jerusalem?









    View Results

    Loading ... Loading ...

Printed from: http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/opinions/when-the-only-one-left-is-the-puppeteer-a-spiritual-perspective-on-the-gulf-oil-spill/2010/06/30/

Scan this QR code to visit this page online:

No related posts.

Close