My Name is Asher Lev

About 10 years ago I read a book called "My Name is Asher Lev" by Chaim Potok.  This book is where I got the name for my little boy (although some people think I got his name from one of the tribes of Israel).  If you've ever read it, you might think it's a weird book for me to get a name from.  The story is very sad, but I love the way it's written.  It's about a Jewish boy who becomes a great artist.  His father works for the Rebbe (Rabbi) and wants his son, Asher, to do away with the foolishness of trying to become an artist and instead work for the Rebbe just as he does.  Asher becomes a great artist and it causes quite a rift in their family.  I think the reason I like it so much is because of how much passion Asher shows for his art.  I love all the fine arts and I think that, outside of the artist community, art is greatly overlooked and needs to be fought for more.  While I was reading this book, I found so many great gospel insights.

I had a religion teacher that liked to point out the similarities between the LDS faith and the Jewish faith.  I love hearing about the Jewish people because it helps me understand our way of life even more.  Here are some of the insights I gained from this book:

-"Any man who has caused a single Jewish soul to perish, the Torah considers it as if he had caused a whole world to perish; and any man who has saved a Jewish soul, it is as if he had saved a whole world."  I loved this because it helps me to understand why God considers murder such a horrible offense.  There are many reasons, I know, but this one I really appreciate.  You are taking away the chance for that person to give spirits a mortal body.  These spirits may come through someone else, but you are taking away that chance.  You aren't just affecting one person, you're affection many generations.

-"May Michael be at my right hand; Gabriel at my left; before me, Uriel; behind me Raphael; and above my head the divine presence of God."  This is a prayer that is to be said each night before bed.  Sometimes I think we forget that we can ask for help, and that we should always ask that the presence of God be with us.  If we know we are protected by angels and God, we wouldn't have any fear.  It's comforting to me to think that we are protected on all sides against the evils of the world, if only we seek and are worthy of the presence of our Heavenly Father.

-"A tremulous crescendo of sound began to fill the synagogue.  Men swayed fervently back and forth.  Arms gesticulated toward the veiling and walls."  My religion teacher told us that when Jewish men pray, they but their entire bodies into it.  They sway and rock in order to focus all of their energy and thoughts on their prayer.  They commit themselves completely to communing with God.  Sometimes I think it's much to easy to get distracted during prayers.  Your mind wanders and you lose your concentration.  I like the idea of what these Jewish men do, it helps me realize that I could put so much more into my prayers.

-"Someone once asked how it is possible to establish a connection between man and the Master of the Universe.  The answer was that man must take the first step.  In order for there to be a connection between man and the Master of the Universe, there must fist be an opening, a passageway, even a passageway as small as the eye of a needle.  But man must make the opening by himself; man must take the beginning step.  Then the Master of the Universe will move in, as it were, and widen the passageway."  I love this analogy.  It tells me that as long as we create a crack, a hole, some kind of break in our minds to allow Heavenly Father to communicate with us, He will take that opening and expand it as far as we will let Him.  He wants to be with us and wants to share everything that He has with us.  All we have to do is take that first step towards Him.

I'll end with this last one.  I'll probably do another post with more from this book.  But here is one that I thought was sweet:
"Is it dead, Papa?" (a bird they saw near their house)
"Yes," I heard him say in a sad distant way.
"Why did it die?"
"Everything that lives must die."
....
"Why?" I asked.
"That's the way the Ribbono Shel Olom made the world, Asher."
"Why?"
"So life would be precious, Asher.  Something that is yours forever is never precious."
I don't agree that if something is yours forever it isn't precious, but I do think we appreciate things more if we know we won't have them for long.  The reason I loved that quote so much is because it reminds me that life is precious.  David and I have been having a little bit of a rough time with school and work and basically the day to day struggles of life, and it's too easy to get caught up in it.  When I start getting overwhelmed and want to sit down and cry, it's usually then that I really look at Asher and realize that no matter how hard things are, I have this precious little boy that I love with all my heart.  And he doesn't care that we don't have money.  He doesn't care that we can't buy him all sorts of fun toys and fancy clothes.  He just wants us to play with him and care for him.  And I can do that.  It changes my whole perspective and makes me so happy that I have him.