Moment Of Mindfulness | The White Tiger

In this moment of mindfulness, Rav James offers us the powerful image of a caged white tiger, causing us to consider those times when we choose to remain safely in our cages, rather than embracing growth and change.

Transcript

There was a white tiger at the National Zoo in DC many years ago,

Which had a paste in a 12 by 12 cage.

They then built a huge natural habitat for her,

And with excitement,

Let her out into it.

She found a corner and paced in a 12 by 12 space for the rest of her life.

We do that,

Right?

We're given the opportunity to become free,

And we just stay trapped in our old patterns.

It's like those who refuse to leave Egypt.

When the Midrashim says,

When B'nai Yisrael left Egypt,

There are some people who are like,

No,

No,

No,

No,

Desert?

That doesn't sound like a good idea,

Right?

We're staying here.

It's safe,

Right?

They had the opportunity to break free,

But fear overcame them.

But we can break free.

We can be free.

So shemishon,

Because actually this discernment,

This b'kheirah,

This daht,

Is actually our nature.

We don't have to go creating it.

We can just discover our nature of discernment,

Which is there when we're not trapped in these other patterns.

And it's quite simple.

Every time we choose to come back to the breath,

Every time we choose not to be lost,

We strengthen that capacity in ourselves.

It's just that simple.

It's that technical.

It's just that simple.

Every time we choose to come back,

We strengthen the capacity to actually choose instead of being trapped in what is arising.

Reviews

🙏🏾 2025.

Very good, a clear path to creating positive change.

Thank you. How do we navigate the confusion ? Sometimes a gut feeling says “no”. Sometimes we do it anyways and it turns out great. Some times we do it and turns out chaotic . Sometimes we don’t do it and we miss out. And at times we don’t do it and find out it was a great choice to not do it. We keep chosing trying to find the path that brings the most peace and most joy. But the truth is, we don’t really know at times , many times, what the best choice is and when the feeling of fear is here to actually help and guide. Any thoughts ? Thank you in advance for your kind choice to spread your enlightenment

Great reminder! I will use the White Tiger to remind myself to return to mindfulness. Thank you!

Bows🙏

Great story to make a very good point. 🐅🙏🏽

Truly enjoyed this and needed it .. thank you

Powerful! Thank you 🙏

Short and yet so powerful!! Thank you 💜🙏🏼💜

Concise and to the point.

Very thought provoking. Thank you.
BTW, the end of the, “This is brought to you by ... “ is cut off.

So good!! Used to open an adolescent mental health group.

Appeals very nicely to reasoning!