blogs/rabbi-huberman

I would like to introduce to an idea which was first articulated by the great Rabbi Abraham Twerski.

It is known as "fish love."

Rabbi Twerski tells the story of a rabbi who one day stumbles upon a young man eating a fish.

"'Young man," asks the rabbi. "Why are you eating that fish?"

The young man replies, "Because I love fish."

"Oh. You love the fish. That's why you took it out of the water and killed it and boiled it," says the rabbi. "Don't tell me you love the fish. You love yourself, and because the fish tastes good to you, you took it out of the water and killed it and boiled it."

"So much of what is love, is fish love," Rabbi Twerski remarked of this story. He went on to quote the great ethicist Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler (1892-1953):"People make a serious mistake in thinking that you give to those whom you love. The real answer is you love those to whom you give."

The point is that, too often, the measure of a person is judged by "what have you done for me lately?" or "what's in it for me?"

"True love," taught Rabbi Twerski, "is a love of giving, not a love of receiving."

There are many ways we can invest in another person: a word of comfort, a gentle supportive touch. The quiet power of listening.

The week in our Torah reading, we are introduced to a radical concept which God bestows upon Abraham, the original Jew, and by extension to you and me.

It is called a blessing.

When was the last time you received a blessing? More importantly, when was the last time you blessed someone else?

In