"A Fool Spendeth All His Spirit;

But A Wise Man Stilleth It Within Him"

Proverbs 29:11

 

Silent moments, Shabbat electronic[lessness] extended during holy fasts: "a wise man stilleth it within him." Fools spendeth their spirits as they drinketh spirits, spending spirits like extra cash at a shopping mall, no spirits left, all spent and withered. The result of losing one's spirit increases "yetzir ha rah" [evil intentions] to increase cash in a spiritless wallet, spiritless=passionless. Passion that could be used to do tikkun olam, [the healing of the world] but instead lives are led as sluggards. The righteous suffers and so our spirituality increases as we beg God to improve our existence after the suffering. God responds to the righteous by giving us more suffering so we get even closer to God. The sinners receive rewards during their lifetime so their spirituality decreases as they live "the good life." These evil-doers do not humble themselves to ask for God's help and therefore continue actions of evil intent because they do not need God, and so their ethics fail as they get further and further away from the 613 Commandments. They live their lives robbing people of human dignity to increase the cash in their wallets because their cash and their spirits are spent. So the ball spins around and we seek quiet to "stilleth" our souls from all the hubbub. On the secular solar calendar New Year's Eve, the ball drops in Times Square New York as the world drops: the righteous, the few and the proud, get fewer and fewer, tikkun olam is not accomplished, the world drops like a globe, and the end of the world gets nearer and nearer, the coming of the Mashiach gets closer and closer. Reasons for a phoenix to rise from the ashes after the secular new year. Picking up the ball, the globe, the earth, after it has fallen, to keep everyone afloat. Happy New Year happens in a Time[less] Square in New York while I am fasting on 10 Tevet. Scrooges are actually not "scrooges" in the fairy tale sense of the word, they are the fewer and the braver, and distribute food to the poor who become poor when their ball drops and their spirits are spendeth. They are the wise men and know how to "stilleth" their souls with the 10 Tevet Holy Fast.