Posts Tagged: Frederick of Prussia
“Strategic Retreat”
Rabbi Abraham said:
I have learned a new form of service from the wars of Frederick, king of Prussia. It is not necessary to approach the enemy in order to attack him. In fleeing from him, it is possible to circumvent him as he advances, and fall on him from the rear until he is forced to surrender. What is needed is not to strike straight at Evil but to withdraw to the sources of divine power, and from there to circle around Evil, bend it, and transform it into its opposite. (Martin Buber, Tales of the Hasidim: Early Masters)
Good counsel! Too often, we (I) try to tackle the enemies and problems in our lives head on. George MacDonald said that, whenever we try to do things without God, one of two things happen: Either we fail miserably, or we succeed even more miserably.
My dad was a good farmer, but he was an excellent repairman of farm equipment. I’ve watched how he operated when there was a particularly difficult problem to solve. He would stop, hum a little tune, light up a Camel cigarette, and look at what he was trying to fix from various angles. He was withdrawing to his source of mechanical power, and falling on the problem from the rear (or from the side). Except for the Camel cigarettes, I think my dad was on the right track.
When I can learn to take a similar approach consistently in the spiritual realm, I will be an even better man than I am right now.
DOWN TO EARTH BELIEVER
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- “Delighting in Being Told What to Do?!?” February 23, 2024“Psa. 112:1 Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments! 2 His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. 3 Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures […]
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- “Searching for the Noble One” December 26, 2023My wife and I were reading Luke, chapter 2 on Christmas Day. Luke 2 talks about the shepherds being told to look for this very special child—in fact, this King—in a stable. I prefer the word “barn”. I grew up on a farm. I know what a barn is. A stable is entirely too biblical […]
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