Positivity Bias Quotes

“we each have the power to define and influence our experience based on our perception.”
― Mendel Kalmenson, Positivity Bias

“the goodness and G-dliness of the Jewish soul that defines who and what a Jew is, regardless of their level of religious observance.”
― Mendel Kalmenson, Positivity Bias

“This is the essence of the Rebbe’s Positivity Bias: To believe in G-d’s ultimate goodness, to know that blessings await us beneath the surface of our experience, no matter how bleak, to actively seek those blessings out, and to spread their light to the world beyond.”
― Mendel Kalmenson, Positivity Bias

“We Called Him Monsieur R. Dovid Aaron Neuman currently lives with his family in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. He was interviewed in November, 2013, and shared the following remarkable story which happened during the war. “...In the midst of all this chaos and upheaval, my family was forced to split up.... I was sent to an orphanage in Marseilles. The orphanage housed some forty or maybe fifty children, many of them as young as three and four years old. Some of them knew that their parents had been killed; others didn’t know what became of them. Often, you would hear children crying, calling out for their parents who were not there to answer. As the days wore on, the situation grew more and more desperate, and food became more and more scarce. Many a day we went hungry. “And then, in the beginning of the summer of 1941, a man came to the rescue. We did not know his name; we just called him “Monsieur,” which is French for “Mister.” Every day, Monsieur would arrive with bags of bread—the long French baguettes—and tuna or sardines, sometimes potatoes as well. He would stay until every child had eaten. Some of the kids were so despondent that they didn’t want to eat. He used to put those children on his lap, tell them a story, sing to them, and feed them by hand. He made sure everyone was fed. With some of the kids, he’d sit next to them on the floor and cajole them to eat, even feeding them with a spoon, if need be. He was like a father to these sad little children. He knew every child by name, even though we didn’t know his. We loved him and looked forward to his coming. Monsieur came back day after day for several weeks. And I would say that many of the children who lived in the orphanage at that time owe their lives to him. If not for him, I, for one, wouldn’t be here. Eventually the war ended, and I was reunited with my family. We left Europe and began our lives anew. In 1957, I came to live in New York, and that’s when my uncle suggested that I meet the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Of course I agreed and scheduled a time for an audience with the Rebbe’s secretary. At the appointed date, I came to the Chabad Headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway and sat down to wait. I read some Psalms and watched the parade of men and women from all walks of life who had come to see the Rebbe. Finally, I was told it was my turn, and I walked into the Rebbe’s office. He was smiling, and immediately greeted me: “Dos iz Dovidele!—It’s Dovidele!” I thought, “How does he know my name?” And then I nearly fainted. I was looking at Monsieur. The Rebbe was Monsieur! And he had recognized me before I had recognized him.”
― Mendel Kalmenson, Positivity Bias

“In yet another example of the Rebbe uplifting others by acknowledging their special spark or soul attribute, he once said to a convert during Sunday Dollars: “G-d loves you [the convert] more than he does me [the Rebbe].”139 Perhaps the Rebbe was alluding to the fact that the Torah commands us to “love our fellow” only once but instructs us to “love the convert” no less than 32 times.”
― Mendel Kalmenson, Positivity Bias

“As the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Chasidic movement, taught: You see what is inside of you. Therefore, the more you condition yourself to look for the good in others, the more good in others you will see.”
― Mendel Kalmenson, Positivity Bias

“When we speak with others, we are often unconsciously importing the energy of our previous encounters, and we sometimes carry over the residue of angst and resentments from the past. In any conversation or encounter there is the possibility for misappropriation of meaning and intent, giving rise to unnecessary skepticism, and ultimately suspicion of others. A person can easily fall into a default mode in which they immediately assume the worst about people.”
― Mendel Kalmenson, Positivity Bias

“YOCHANAN BEN ZAKKAI, A great Talmudic Sage and leader, once sent his students out into the world to ascertain the best advice for living a righteous and fulfilling life. When his student R. Eliezer ben Horkenus returned from his travels, he reported: “I have searched, and I have found that the best advice is to develop an ayin tov, a good eye.”116 When your eye, your lens on life, is good, what you see will be good, no matter what.”
― Mendel Kalmenson, Positivity Bias

“In this eternal moment, as illuminated by our Sages, the Torah is teaching us that a Jewish soul, no matter how brilliant or broken, is not a means to an end—it is in fact an end unto itself. This is the Torah’s last word, its crown jewel.”
― Mendel Kalmenson, Positivity Bias

“In a world where real people are perpetually put in the service of abstract principles, whether religiously or politically, Moses made a revolutionary statement: It is not a matter of having to make a choice between loving people or loving G-d, because it is G-d’s essential will that the best way to love Him is to love His children.”
― Mendel Kalmenson, Positivity Bias

“R. Schneur Zalman of Liadi makes a similar point. He was asked, “Which takes precedence, the love of G-d or the love of Israel?” He replied, “Love of Israel takes precedence—for you are loving whom your Beloved loves.”
― Mendel Kalmenson, Positivity Bias

“According to Chasidut, every Jewish soul is essentially pure and incorruptible at its core, and nothing can ever sever the eternal bond with the Divine.”
― Mendel Kalmenson, Positivity Bias

“Jewish thought is essentially positive in its assessment of the soul; there is no need to be “born again” or to “turn over a new leaf” in the process of the spiritual journey. Even if a person sins and seeks absolution, there is never any need to become something completely different.”
― Mendel Kalmenson, Positivity Bias