I'm so saturated with this MJ stuff, irritated and concerned that the fascinated repetition of every detail is obscuring matters that really do need our attention. I realize also that the sheer weight of never-ending information - where a hiccup receives equal analysis with a heart-stop - is obscuring the real lessons that this man's life contains, beyond the talent and the music.
Michael Jackson, from an interview with Rabbi Shmuley Boteach:
I am going to say something I have never said before and this is the truth. I have no reason to lie to you and God knows I am telling the truth. I think all my success and fame, and I have wanted it, I have wanted it because I wanted to be loved. That's all. That's the real truth. I wanted people to love me, truly love me, because I never really felt loved. I said I know I have an ability. Maybe if I sharpened my craft, maybe people will love me more. I just wanted to be loved, because I think it is very important to be loved and to tell people that you love them and to look in their eyes and say it.
Rabbi Shmuley’s statement on the passing of Michael Jackson
My family and I have just heard that Michael Jackson has passed away. Our thoughts and prayers are with his children and the Jackson family.
Michael Jackson’s death is not just a terrible tragedy for three young children who will now be orphaned. It is also an American tragedy that affects us all. Our culture, in which fortune and fame readily eclipse family and life nurturing-values, is claiming an increasing number of casualties. There was a great beauty and gentility in Michael’s soul. His talents far surpassed those of his contemporaries and he yearned deeply to make the world a better place. I am saddened that the emotional pain he lived with prevented him from finding the meaning and connectedness which he longed for.
The saddest aspect to this tragedy is that so many watched it happen and few did anything to stop it. I pray that Michael’s death will not be in vain and that we see a return, even among Hollywood celebrities, to the spiritual and family values that are life sustaining.
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