{"id":158,"date":"2019-12-06T20:28:18","date_gmt":"2019-12-06T20:28:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thegreenbubbie.com\/home\/?p=158"},"modified":"2019-12-06T20:28:18","modified_gmt":"2019-12-06T20:28:18","slug":"who-is-rich-the-green-bubbies-pirkei-avos-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thegreenbubbie.com\/home\/?p=158","title":{"rendered":"“Who is Rich?” The Green Bubbie’s Pirkei Avos #2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Pirkei Avos is Jewish wisdom from the time that Moses received it from Sinai. As we read the words, and discuss them, we join the conversation, becoming part of an ongoing \u2018commentary\u2019 on the timeless words of our Sages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The premise of the Green Bubbie\u2019s PIrkei Avos- is that you are never too young or too old to learn ethics and values and to continue to grow, becoming your best self!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBen Zoma says, \u2018Who is rich? The one who is happy with what he has.\u2019 As it says in Tehillim, (Psalms 128:2)When you eat of the work of your hands, you are happy, and all is well with you.\u2019 Pirkei Avos 4:1<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at the image above. Anyone who has ever distributed lollipops or crayons to young children has probably heard the words- \u201cI don\u2019t want that one\u201d or, \u201cI want the one she has!\u201d
Children are not always happy with what they get.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A popular mantra that adults use in response to children who are disappointed with what they get is, \u201cYou get what you get and you don\u2019t get upset\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ask yourself-How are the words of Pirkei Avos different from this response? Are these two statements the same? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Don\u2019t get upset\u2019 denies children their feelings, and teaches a level of complacency and acceptance with \u2018what you get.\u2019 Ben Zoma is challenging us, how can we become happy? We can learn to be happy with our lot, we can recognize what is from Hashem, and at the same time- learn to put in effort and to benefit from the work of our hands, and to do something with what we have been given. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Children for sure ( and adults too) are not intuitively happy with what we have, or what we get! - High expectations for gifts, or desired outcomes, can lead to real disappointment. We can learn how to recognize the good, even when disappointed (with the green lollipop, or a rejection letter) We can learn how to re-frame a situation, and consider alternatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, \u201cDo you know someone who really likes green lollipops? Can you make a trade?\" or \u2018What can you draw with a purple crayon even though you really wanted the blue?\u201d
These may seem silly or inconsequential in the world of moral and ethical behavior, but it teaches children to have an exit ramp for their disappointments, develop the ability to re-frame a situation, consider what they can do with what they have, and search for alternative points of view- clearly a much needed strategy for communication and ethical relationships!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You have to put in effort, and simultaneously recognize it\u2019s not all about you! When you plant- and do all the work in your garden. You could take total credit for the bounty of your crop- or you could recognize that while you may have \u2018labored in the field\u2019 - the seeds and the soil, the sun and the rains, all come from Hashem- quite a dose of humility and a lesson in gratitude. Of course, if you don\u2019t put in the effort, nothing happens,When we teach Gratitude to HaShem for all that we have, we teach children ( and ourselves) to recognize the good (HaKaros HaTov) in every situation, we experience the profound happiness that comes from feelings of gratitude . Learning to see the good takes effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Positive psychology is gaining more popularity each day, but ''happiness' is not a new. The ancient teachings in Pirkei Avos- based on the words of Hashem direct us toward happiness. This teaching says directly, \u2018the person who is HAPPY with what s\/he has\u2019 not the person who is content, or who has \u2018settled\u2019 or who is monetarily secure. \u201cHappiness\u201d is an important state of mind, it matters, it is the standard by which our real wealth is measured, and a lens through which we see our lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It may take years- it certainly took me years not to just teach my own children, but to teach myself, and to live MY life as one who sees the good. Now my grandchildren see me as a person who is demonstrably grateful to Hashem for all that I have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a grandparent, of \u2018pension age\u2019 I can revisit this teaching-and ask myself, what do the words of Ben Zoma mean to me now? My understandings of each Mishna change over time- it\u2019s humbling!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a whole new challenge to appreciate retirement - It\u2019s all too easy to count how many homes, cruises, or even grandchildren friends do - or do not have. It\u2019s time for us to re-evaluate what it means to be \u2018happy with your lot\u2019 materially, spiritually, physically and socially. We can redefine our \u2018assets\u2019 and focus on what we have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn to be grateful to HaShem for all that you have, and you will be happy and become \u201crich\u201d beyond what you ever imagined.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pirkei Avos is Jewish wisdom from the time that Moses received it from Sinai. As we read the words, and discuss them, we join the conversation, becoming part of an ongoing \u2018commentary\u2019 on the timeless words of our Sages. The premise of the Green Bubbie\u2019s PIrkei Avos- is that you are never too young or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"HERE IT IS! post#2\n\"Who is Rich?\" The Green Bubbie's Pirkei Avos \n\nthanks to all who joined for the learning! IM if you'd like to participate!","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[39,36,37,40,41,34],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thegreenbubbie.com\/home\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thegreenbubbie.com\/home\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thegreenbubbie.com\/home\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thegreenbubbie.com\/home\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thegreenbubbie.com\/home\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=158"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/thegreenbubbie.com\/home\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":164,"href":"http:\/\/thegreenbubbie.com\/home\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158\/revisions\/164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thegreenbubbie.com\/home\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thegreenbubbie.com\/home\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thegreenbubbie.com\/home\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}