Slaves of Stuff

Lovers of the World One must differentiate self from the world and all that is in it; regarding oneself as distinct from the madness, the conspiracies and the lies woven to captivate one into the mainstream of the grid. Reply

stuff The Rebbe was way ahead of his times! So brilliant was this man...

i touch/use 122 things per day. but i have more than that. i am striving to simplify my life as a minimalist every day. it's just me- what are the chances that i need 6 cups of coffee at once. I can just own 2. clutter is closely linked with stress. more to clean, more to maintain. most ppl me included only use a fraction of what we own. it's not about having nothing, but having a few nice things that make one smile. ppl matter more than things. even if it's expensive and i am not using it i donate it- why am i fooling myself to deny that i may have made a mistake? it's ok square footage cost money..divide price of house by square footage...that is the price of what clutter is occupying...just sharing my experience becoming cluterless Reply

stuff the comments along with poetry written on this subject of slaves to stuff is absolutely fascinating! Thank you so much Reply

Well said Rabbi! You speak truth!
I had come to that conclusion myself when we had moved to Israel for a few years and then came back to North America. Now I am accumulating again and I have often said, I feel weighed down by it all. Living simply and without alot of "stuff" is very freeing but it looked on by others as ludicrious. Reply

Change with very little effort If you expect to make big changes in your life, you will work very hard, and often accomplish nothing. When you change a little bit each day, you can move Heaven and Earth.
___________________________________An Original Dr. Harry poem:

We are all very different

our souls not the same

different levels and the commitment

to praising G-d's Holy Name



Each connected to a root

and joined to the Tree

when grow toward the sky

then light we can see



Start by choosing a Mitzah

does not matter which one

later you can choose another

until City walls finally done

___________________________________

"Mitzvot are the wings of the soul, and a wall around the heart, which is Jerusalem"
Reply

Thank you for the refreshing perspective and the knowledge that life was, and can be, lived differently than it is today. Reply

A New King Rises over Egypt A "new king" rises over Egypt - a new feeling of emptiness reigns after we have built our great cities of Rameses and Pithom - the material obsessions that enslave us. It's time to exit the over-abundance in Egypt and move on in a new direction, taking the good vessels (spiritual qualities) with us. Reply

Shalom,

We ALSO work at our careers to help better our world filled with humans, plants and animals. Some of us work because we love what we do and do what we love, and want to fulfill our potential and bring faith, knowledge, pleasure, health and betterment to others in spirit, mind, heart and action. Tikkun Olam is our mission.

This "material" costly "gadget" of mine, my computer, allows me to read Chabad.org and the Rebbe's teachings, and hear what others have to share and bring our world closer. I can even Skype and smile when I see my grandbaby many miles away.

BlesSings for Torah, health, wholeness, peace, revealed miracles, creativity, discovery, wonder, blooming gardens, love and joy,
and for LIGHT to DISPEL the darkness. Reply

We needn't be slaves of stuff We can control whether "Today we are slaves of the houses, the cars and the gadgets we must acquire." I see them as tools to help us have more time for our families and earn money to provide for futures our ancestors never had. Reply

Madness We have developed a madness
that is eating our brains
it is all about shopping
and driving our country insane

Programed by a fallen society
to buy what don't need
an orgy of idol worship
causing our planet to bleed

Must consume everything in sight
like when the locusts came
next will not come flood
but instead a fiery rain

Please stay home with families
hand a coin to the poor
G-d gives what we need
must not ask for more

Each Friday begins the Sabbath
a very special holy day
time for rest and introspection
when light candles and pray Reply

Slaves to this material world Take away the 21st century tecno, cars, trains, planes, pc`s etc, that may or may not have enslaved us and we may not be any different from our for fathers, but could we survive. Do we have the trust/faith our for fathers had in the conditions and circumstances that they had to deal with every day?. Although we are slaves/bond servants to our Father, we should not be slaves to this world. Reply

SLAVES OF STUFF To add to my previous comments, I think it's all to do with one's attitude of mind. It's do do with the meaning we place on things; are they important in themselves or for what they enable us to do. They can increase our abilities to do mitzvot if we harness them wisely. We should be grateful to G-d for everything he gives us. Too many books? open up a local lending library and spread your good fortune around. Progress is not always bad. If G-d makes everthing and is in everything then He is part of progress too! But as ever, he gives us choice to decide what use to make of things. Are we REALLY slaves of stuff? We have the ability to make things work FOR us. Reply

careers,materialism and stuff There have been times when, due to antisemitism, Jews were not allowed to have careers. A career can be a source of great satisfaction and a way of sharing, with the rest of humanity, our particular G-D given gifts or abilities. How wonderful to be a teacher & inspire pupils, or to give pleasure to millions as a musician, or to cure the sick as a Dr, surgeon or nurse, or to promote peace as a politician, or express the beauty of the world as an artist, poet, or writer, etc. etc. There is nothing wrong in a career so long as it is not the be all and end all. The same with money. Where would charities be unless there were people who earnt sufficient to have surplus to give away? There is nothing great about being poor/ just getting by. We have Yomim Tovim that we are meant to celebrate in style. We can use material things for the good of others; We can share our cars to give others a lift. Host people in our homes, etc. Reply

Material folks Owning a car is supposed to be materialistic, but what's the alternative? Not having a car or easy access to transportation means, often, not being able to go where you want when you need to, giving up worthwhile activities and events that you'd like to attend, and so forthincluding simchas (joyous life cycle events). I've found it extremely difficult to get rides by posting a request in the local community message board. Nobody wants to be a volunteer chauffeur for someone who doesn't have her own car. (I donated by too-large bicycle to charity years ago, but haven't gotten a replacement.) Being a have-not is not necessarily to one's spiritual benefit. Reply

It's true! That's a problem. We must place our hearts on G-d and focus on the godly mitzvot and seek teshuvah trekking back to the former ways. Reply

Reply to Shashi Life in Israel is even harder than the States, and I applaud you and your family for living there. HOWEVER, do you think for a second that the money you earn comes from the work of your hands. In an instant, G-d forbid, you could be taken from this earth, laid off from work, get cancer, or not work for a myriad of reasons. The price of meat could go up. EVERYTHING comes from G-d, as bounty from above, and in exactly the portion each of us needs for our role on this planet. You CANNOT earn more or less than G-d wishes you too.

When one is satisfied with your portion, as the old Hassidic story tells, "water tasted like wine, and a stale piece of bread like roast chicken!

Charity is the only way to increase one's portion, with 10:1 return ratio for each dollar given.

Many more blessings for your family during the upcoming year. Reply

How do we change? Rabbi please tell me how we in this society, in Diaspora can teach ourselves not to become so attached to the material elements that seem to pervade our lives? Reply

Slaves of Stuff YES and they are our IDOLS Reply

This seems like it would have been better for the 1980's when so many of us were Alex Keatons in the making, Rabbi! The economy is tanking and now we are making the most for neccessities.

This being said, last year I was going on a monster purge of my house of cleaning and getting rid of things that had accumulated over the previous 15 years. I had all the kids out of school, no more diapers-- I had time to clean! I was having a hard time getting rid of certain things that I felt like I had to get rid of. I was like, "My husband worked for this! How can I throw it out?" I knew that I was defining myself by my stuff-- why did I need the ten years of Victoria Magazine? I couldn't bear to part with it, and some of my BOOKS!

Then one of my children knocked over a candle and the house burned down. In less than 15 minutes, G-d took it all. Not mine anymore, couldn't have it. Ultimately, I only missed my grandmother's dolls and quilts and a few things that were dear to me. Reply