{"id":92865,"date":"2026-06-11T09:57:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T14:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spiritualsparks.beehiiv.com\/p\/spiritual-sparks-taking-the-high-road"},"modified":"2026-06-11T09:57:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T14:57:00","slug":"spiritual-sparks-taking-the-high-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/spiritual-sparks-taking-the-high-road\/","title":{"rendered":"Spiritual Sparks: Taking the High Road"},"content":{"rendered":"\n    <div class='beehiiv'><style>\n  .bh__table, .bh__table_header, .bh__table_cell { border: 1px solid #C0C0C0; }\n  .bh__table_cell { padding: 5px; background-color: #FFFFFF; }\n  .bh__table_cell p { color: #2D2D2D; font-family: 'Helvetica',Arial,sans-serif !important; overflow-wrap: break-word; }\n  .bh__table_header { padding: 5px; background-color:#F1F1F1; }\n  .bh__table_header p { color: #2A2A2A; font-family:'Trebuchet MS','Lucida Grande',Tahoma,sans-serif !important; overflow-wrap: break-word; }\n<\/style><div class='beehiiv__body'><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\"><i>Where obligation ends, the high road begins<\/i><\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">Fiorello LaGuardia, mayor of New York City during the 1930s, occasionally presided over night court. One evening, a woman was brought before him, accused of stealing a loaf of bread. The facts were not in dispute. <\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">LaGuardia listened to her story. Her daughter was ill, her grandchildren were hungry, and she had no money for food. She had taken the bread, and the law required a penalty.<\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">The courtroom waited to hear what the judge would do. Would he show mercy, or strictly enforce the law?<\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">\u2728<b>3 Ideas<\/b><\/p><ol start=\"1\"><li><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\"><b>Beyond what is required <\/b><\/p><\/li><\/ol><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">The high road is choosing what is best when something less would have been sufficient. Honesty is good; integrity is better. Fairness is good; generosity is better. Civility is good; kindness is better. <\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\"><b>The soul is drawn to what is noble, not merely what is permissible<\/b>. It seeks excellence, greatness, and the expression of our finest values.<\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">The high road is loftier than refusing to retaliate or choosing not to get even. It asks not, \u201cWhat must I do?\u201d but \u201dWhat is the best thing I can do?\u201d <\/p><ol start=\"2\"><li><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\"><b>Why the high road is difficult <\/b><\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\"><\/p><\/li><\/ol><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">The soul asks, \u201cWhat is the best thing I can do?\u201d The ego insists, \u201cI deserve recognition.\u201d <\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">Once we begin focusing on what we deserve, it becomes easy to keep score. We replay old hurts, remember overlooked sacrifices, and calculate who owes us what. <\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\"><b>The high road begins where obligation ends.<\/b> It invites us to rise above resentment, entitlement, and pride, and to act according to our highest values rather than our strongest impulses. <\/p><ol start=\"3\"><li><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\"><b>Choosing greatness <\/b><\/p><\/li><\/ol><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">The high road can be found in everyday choices: showing more patience than a situation requires, returning money that could have been kept, or offering kindness when simple courtesy would have been enough. <\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">Such choices reflect a deep connection to the soul\u2019s desire for excellence. They express a commitment to doing what is right and good, not merely what is expected. <\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\"><b>Every high road choice shapes the person we are capable of becoming.<\/b> In choosing what transcends mere obligation, we outwardly express the greatness within us. <\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\"><span style=\"color:rgb(208, 224, 227);\">----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<\/span><\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">\ud83d\udcdc<b>2 Quotes<\/b><\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">\u201cRighteousness guards the one whose way is blameless \u2026\u201d <br>\u2014 <i>Proverbs 13:6<\/i><\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">\u201cTake the high road; it\u2019s far less crowded.\u201d <br>\u2014 <i>Warren Buffett <\/i><\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\"><span style=\"color:rgb(208, 224, 227);\">----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<\/span><\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">\u2753<b>1 Question<\/b><\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">What is one way of interacting with others that you can elevate from \u2018good\u2019 to \u2018great\u2019? <\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\"><span style=\"color:rgb(208, 224, 227);\">----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<\/span><\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">What did LaGuardia do? He upheld the law. <\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">The woman was guilty, and he imposed the required ten-dollar fine. But then he did something extraordinary. He paid the fine himself and fined everyone in the courtroom fifty cents for living in a city where a grandmother had to steal bread to feed her hungry grandchildren. LaGuardia then took the extra money and gave it to the grandmother. <\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">LaGuardia understood that justice alone was not enough. The law required a penalty. The high road called for something more.<\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">We encounter similar situations daily. The question is whether we are willing to do what is best, not simply what is required. The high road begins where obligation ends. <\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">Until next time,<br>Wishing you a week of expressing the greatness that already exists within you,<\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\"><b>Rabbi Ze&#39;ev Smason<\/b><\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">P.S. Has anyone recently showed you kindness beyond what you expected? If so, I\u2019d love to hear the story. <\/p><p class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\">P.P.S. Last week marked the release of <i>Spiritual Sparks: A Reader<\/i>\u00a0<b><a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B0H2R2Q94Z?utm_source=spiritualsparks.beehiiv.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=spiritual-sparks-taking-the-high-road\"  rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">on Amazon<\/a><\/b>. 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