IF YOU CAN HEAR YOURSELF TALKING SIT DOWN – Marc Gafni

Marc Gafni
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Teachers can take us home, but only if they teach from the inside. It is reported that Ziv Hirsch of Zhitomir, charismatic mystical master of the 19th century, would occasionally in the middle of his speech, sit down, abruptly ending his address in mid thought. When pressed for explanation he responded, “My master — the Maggid of Mezritch — taught me, ‘If when giving a sicha (spiritual lesson) you can hear yourself talking, sit down.’”

In A Movable Feast, Hemingway remarks on the difference between his telling a story and the story telling itself. When he begins to tell the story, he knows it is time to quit for the day. This is a true echo of the temple tradition. Sit down when you can hear yourself speak