BROKENNESS
The following is an Hasidic anecdote taken from Consciousness and Tradition by Jacob Needleman (New York: Crossroad Publishing Co., 1982) p. 156. The rebbe is asked the following question by a pupil, referring to Deuteronomy 6:6 – “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be upon thy heart.” “Why is it said this way?” the pupil asks. “Why are we not told to place them IN our heart?” The rebbe answers that it is not within man’s power to place the divine teachings directly in his heart. “All that we can do is place them on the surface of the heart so that when the heart breaks they will drop in.” Rev. Robert Calabrese, St. Francis De Sales Church, Purcellville, Virginia 22132
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