Come On In and Have Your …Faith Lifted
The Torah-Like Wit & Wisdom of Michael Franklin Ellis
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CHAPTER 1 FAITH LIFT: TRUST IS A MUST …And He is my G-d, my living G-d. To Him I flee in time of grief, He is my miracle and my refuge, who answers on the day I shall call. At the time that I sleep and when I awake, And with my soul and body G-d is with me, I shall not fear." Daily Liturgy - Adon Olam FAITH LIFTING The sign on a temple whose Rabbi quite gifted, Read, “Come in and pray, And you'll have your faith lifted.” FEAR NAUGHT Fear naught in life save conscience, That constant pricking prod. For peace of mind obey it, The still small voice of God. NOT SEEING IS BELIEVING Faith is that quality you will agree When you believe in what you do not see. WASTED WORRY Worry’s like a rocking chair Neither gets you anywhere. KEEP THE FAITH Without faith man produces naught While with faith greatest things are wrought. FAITH LIFTED If into the slough of despond you have drifted, This moment's the right time to have your faith lifted. Judging from the volume of words that Ellis wrote about the concepts of bitachon (trust) and emunah (faith) – two Hebrew words that are often used interchangeably, we highlighted what was likely his favorite theme, and also the one that is most fundamentally Jewish. In these poems, only a fraction of which are presented here, Ellis explicitly and often mentions faith and God. The following story illustrates the subtle yet significant difference between the two: In November 1966, Mr. Benzion Rader, a Lubavitcher chassid was in a private audience with the Lubavitcher Rebbe. The Rebbe asked Mr. Rader if he knew what emunah meant. Mr. Rader replied, “Emunah means faith, belief, and trust.” The Rebbe probed further, asking, “Do you know what bitachon is?” Mr. Rader replied in the negative. The Rebbe said, “If one is confronted with a problem and one has emunah, then one has faith, belief, and trust that God will help you overcome the problems. But if you have bitachon, you do not see that there is a problem because God does not send any problems--only challenges!” “Bitachon is not baseless optimism. It does not mean, "Everything will be okay." Bitachon is trust in Hashem's kindliness and in His boundless mercy, understanding that it is the Creator's Will that we place our trust in His kindness. Therefore, we look to the future calmly and serenely, secure in the knowledge that we can rely on Him now and always.” - Nachmanides’ (RaMbaN) Commentary on The Psalms “Cast your burden upon Hashem and He will sustain you.” - Psalms 55:23 “The Gate of Trust tells us the many benefits of bitachon. One of them is “This brings one to menuchas hanefesh” — peace of mind.” - Chovos HaLevavos - Duties of the Heart by Ibn Pakuda at the beginning of the Sha’ar HaBitachon (The Gate of Trust) “… The obligation to trust in G-d - to have bitachon - is not merely to believe in G-d's ability to treat one benevolently and to rescue him from distress and the like. It means that one trusts that G-d will in fact do this. And this trust is so certain that the individual is completely relaxed and not worried in the slightest. This is spelled out in Chovos HaLevavos: "One who trusts in G-d has a tranquil spirit. His heart relies on the One in Whom he has placed his trust.”” - In Good Hands – 100 Letters and Talks of The Lubavitcher Rebbe, on Bitachon: Trusting in God, Compiled and Translated by Uri Kaploun
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About the Book
Dear Reader, Before you is a unique compilation of the poetry of my maternal grandfather, Michael Franklin Ellis – a.k.a. “Gramp.” This short manuscript highlights a selection of verses from his 13 published books of poetry annotated with parallel Torah excerpts. Do not let the brevity of this volume deceive you regarding its inherent depth! Before my mother’s passing, she assisted me in choosing various verses to include here, that were remarkably and intuitively Torah-aligned. Most of Gramp’s poems are witty and philosophical; some are outright sarcastic or sardonic. It was to the latter, more negative and ‘critical’ poems (the Torah tradition would call “Mussar-style”), that Mom gave a thumb’s down – these were rejected outright. In life, she always glossed over the negative and put a positive spin on things. Gramp had no formal Torah education, nonetheless, his poetry sounds as if it is informed by or taken straight from classic Rabbinic literature such as: the Mishnah, Talmud, Midrash, Biblical commentaries, Mussar and Chassidic Philosophy. Although brought up in a Jewishly-identified and culturally involved Jewish family, we were not Torah observant or knowledgeable of the traditions that The Torah and its commentaries provide. After close to four decades of living a Torah observant lifestyle and thirstily studying Torah whenever I can, while revisiting these poems, I am continuously amazed at Gramp’s intuitive, Torah-like, Kabbalistic and Chassidic bent. I am sure you will be in awe at the similarity too, as you read through this book and see the parallel Torah quotations we have included herein. You will see how Gramp’s humor and personality shines through with wit and wisdom in the upbeat style of the witty, Chassidic aphorism. Darcy F. Wallen (a.k.a. Rus Devorah Wallen) Granddaughter of Michael Franklin Ellis, ob”m Daughter of Joan Ellis Shatkin ob”m and Dr. Samuel Shatkin, DDS, MD, ob”m
About the Author
MICHAEL FRANKLIN ELLIS Michael Franklin Ellis was born June 11, 1896 and educated in Buffalo, NY, where he learned and then taught the art of advertising, publicity, public relations, and business administration. He went to Hutchinson Tech High School and then he got his start working under his very own father Newman Ellis, who had a smoking pipe company called The Ellis Pipe House. It was through promoting the company, that he got his start in advertising. He soon became a teacher and mentor to many throughout the advertising and public relations industry. He established Ellis Advertising Company in Buffalo in 1924—one of the first advertising companies in Western New York. Because Ellis had a humorous outlook on life, he was able to see the lighter side of every situation, which is captured in his many books of poetry. With book titles like: “Rhymes without Reason, Rhyme Doesn’t Pay, Ellis in Wonderland, Prhyme Ribs, Rhyme Marches On, A Rhyme A Dozen, In The Rhyme-Light,” etc., one can definitely gain a sense of Ellis’ sense of humor. Ellis served as either an officer or on the board of over 20 community and civic institutions, and participated in dozens more clubs and organizations. His life is best described by the statement: “When you want something done and done well, ask the busiest man you know to do it.” That was Mike Ellis. To know Mike was to know a devoted husband and family man, a sports enthusiast, a poet, a comedian, a clever businessman, and community leader. One of the secrets to his success he attributed to his wife, Corinne (Eloskey) Ellis. She was his inspiration for life and work. Michael and Corinne had three children, who blessed them with eleven grandchildren, twenty-two great-grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren and counting! Michael F. Ellis seemed to have a secret supply of hours to accomplish all that his calendar demanded and still give time to others. His life is best described by the statement, “When you want something done and done well, ask the busiest man you know to do it.” That was Mike Ellis.