Why Didn’t Adam Have a Brother?

Mother 1: My son loves me so much; he sends me a beautiful bouquet of flowers for mothers’ day!

Mother 2: That you call love? That’s a “one-time-a-year-get-it-off-my-back-move.” My son, on the other hand, loves me so much that he bought me a Rolls-Royce for my 60th birthday!

Mother 3 (with a snort): What do you ladies know about love? Let me tell you about true love: my son, for the past twenty years, goes to a special doctor twice a week and pays over a hundred dollars a visit – and who do you think he talks about during all those expensive visits? ME!

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“Dear G-d,” the man cried out, “there is so much suffering in this world; why don’t you send help?”

And G-d responded, “I certainly did. I sent you.”

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What are the two most destructive words in the dictionary?

They are neither “global warming” nor “American politics”; not even “Hillary Clinton”.

The winning words are none other than: I CAN’T.

A wise man once said that someone who is scared to fail will never succeed.

Just a few days ago, I asked my friend why he doesn’t begin developing his speaking and writing abilities. He whisked away the idea with two words: “I can’t”.

With that little utterance, opportunities are lost, achievement is spurned… and lives are wasted.

Each time you say “I can’t,” you should know that what you’re saying is: “I am afraid of failure. I don’t want people to lose respect for me.” And yes, this statement has many versions, many languages – it even comes in slang. But to the world it sounds very benign: “I can’t.”

This Shabbos, the Torah scrolls will be rolled back to the beginning. Once again, we will read the weekly portion about the creation of Adam. There’s a lot to talk about, but let’s focus on one point.

We learn that each creature was created with a mate-companion. Man was created alone, only later to be joined by Eve. Why?

The Torah is teaching us that just like, 5768 years ago, Adam had no one judging his successes and failures, but G-d (and a snake), so too, you have no one to be intimidated of.

Our sages taught that man must tell himself: “The world was created for me.” For you. For you to enlighten, perfect and illuminate.

Yes you can.

A call to action:

Close your eyes: there is no one. That’s not an illusion; it’s the true reality.