Two days ago my wife asked me to bring a small bag of new dishes to the mikva to tovel them. I agreed and immediately put it out of my mind. She placed the bag on the dining room table right near the front door so that I would remember on my way out.
The next morning I got up and went to mikva but forgot to bring the dishes. Last night she asked me if I had toveled them. I instantaneously decided that "no" wasn't the right way to phrase the answer so instead I said "tomorrow". Whew. Got out of that one....
This morning after I woke up the thought to bring the dishes quickly crossed my mind but not for long. By the time I had left the house to go to mikva I had already forgotten.
Now what?
I forgot. It happens.
Why did I forget? Why in general do people without Alzheimers forget?
Listen carefully PLEASE!
People forget things that aren't important enough to them.
What don't we forget? Example: In my LIFE I have yet to see a Yid walk out of the mikva pool right out onto the street, forgetting to get dressed. Never. Why? Because it is very important to a person not to embarrass himself publicly. [I was once at the airport and they made me remove my shoes and my jacket and my belt and to empty my pockets for inspection. Being the floaty, forgetful person I am I started going further in the disrobing but I INSTANTLY caught myself and stopped....]
A person never forgets to put the car key into the ignition when he wants to drive somewhere. It is important for him to get to where he needs to go so he doesn't forget to put the keys in the ignition.
ANYTHING important enough to us we don't forget.
I have forgotten people's simcha's to which I was invited but I didn't forget my wedding or my children's brissim and bar-mitzvahs. Too important.
When I went to mikva I didn't forget my towel or change of clothing because those were clearly more important to me that the dishes I was asked to bring. There is a word for that in English - "Self-centeredness." If I would have been able to step outside of myself and experience another human being, I wouldn't have forgotten twice.
When we say that the Greeks tried to make us forget the Torah להשכיחם תורתך what does than mean?? How do you make someone forget something???
What it means is that they tried to make the Torah less important in the eyes of the Jew's which is the road to forgetfulness. If it doesn't matter to me then I forget.
If someone has a chavrusa and forgets it means that it wasn't important enough. If you forget to call someone back it means that the call wasn't important enough to you. If I have a phone call to make to a fine Yid who wants to give me 10 million dollars to build a building for my yeshiva - I don't forget. Pashut!
Making your spouse's needs as critical as your own will prevent forgetfulness:-).
The happy ending is that I went back to the mikva later in the morning and the dishes are now ready for use. And I got some mussar out of it, too.
The next morning I got up and went to mikva but forgot to bring the dishes. Last night she asked me if I had toveled them. I instantaneously decided that "no" wasn't the right way to phrase the answer so instead I said "tomorrow". Whew. Got out of that one....
This morning after I woke up the thought to bring the dishes quickly crossed my mind but not for long. By the time I had left the house to go to mikva I had already forgotten.
Now what?
I forgot. It happens.
Why did I forget? Why in general do people without Alzheimers forget?
Listen carefully PLEASE!
People forget things that aren't important enough to them.
What don't we forget? Example: In my LIFE I have yet to see a Yid walk out of the mikva pool right out onto the street, forgetting to get dressed. Never. Why? Because it is very important to a person not to embarrass himself publicly. [I was once at the airport and they made me remove my shoes and my jacket and my belt and to empty my pockets for inspection. Being the floaty, forgetful person I am I started going further in the disrobing but I INSTANTLY caught myself and stopped....]
A person never forgets to put the car key into the ignition when he wants to drive somewhere. It is important for him to get to where he needs to go so he doesn't forget to put the keys in the ignition.
ANYTHING important enough to us we don't forget.
I have forgotten people's simcha's to which I was invited but I didn't forget my wedding or my children's brissim and bar-mitzvahs. Too important.
When I went to mikva I didn't forget my towel or change of clothing because those were clearly more important to me that the dishes I was asked to bring. There is a word for that in English - "Self-centeredness." If I would have been able to step outside of myself and experience another human being, I wouldn't have forgotten twice.
When we say that the Greeks tried to make us forget the Torah להשכיחם תורתך what does than mean?? How do you make someone forget something???
What it means is that they tried to make the Torah less important in the eyes of the Jew's which is the road to forgetfulness. If it doesn't matter to me then I forget.
If someone has a chavrusa and forgets it means that it wasn't important enough. If you forget to call someone back it means that the call wasn't important enough to you. If I have a phone call to make to a fine Yid who wants to give me 10 million dollars to build a building for my yeshiva - I don't forget. Pashut!
Making your spouse's needs as critical as your own will prevent forgetfulness:-).
The happy ending is that I went back to the mikva later in the morning and the dishes are now ready for use. And I got some mussar out of it, too.
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