equanimity
rabbi russ resnik
equanimity and adrenaline

A few years ago, I took up rappelling, the art of descending sheer cliffs by rope and harness, so that we could explore the red-rock canyons of Southern Utah. After I had begun to learn the basics, Steve, our guide, said to me, “You’re one of those people who wants to speed up when your adrenaline starts to flow.”

equanimity and adrenaline
loving-kindness
rabbi russ resnik
fairness or freebie?

Some things in life have to be earned, and some things cannot be. We can earn respect and reputation by our behavior, but sometimes we need help, or forgiveness, or just a break, that we haven’t earned and don’t deserve. And we can also give to others gifts they don’t deserve and don’t have to earn. That sort of undeserved kindness is captured by the word Hesed, often translated as lovingkindness.

fairness or freebie?
adaptability
rabbi russ resnik
age and adaptability

The other day I had coffee with Hal, the father of one of our chavurah members. He had just written his second novel, this one based on his amazing experiences as a Jewish-American soldier fighting the Nazis in World War II. We got together to talk about his book.

age and adaptability
silence
rabbi russ resnik
authentic listening

One of the current terms of religious discussion that I’ve grown to suspect is “spirituality.” I’m tired of hearing people say, “I’m not religious; I’m spiritual,” which often means I don’t have any outward signs of religious or transcendent life, but, trust me, I possess many lofty sentiments.

authentic listening
loving-kindness
rabbi russ resnik
chesed in action

Chesed or loving-kindness is an essential human attribute, but it’s first of all a divine attribute. If we want to cultivate chesed, we should pay attention to how Hashem exercises it. And God’s chesed is on display at the conclusion of the Haftarot of Comfort, the passages from Isaiah that we read during this period between Tisha B’av and Rosh Hashanah.

chesed in action

enthusiasm

why this waste?

why this waste?

“Enthusiasm,” for most of its history as an English word, has had a mixed connotation. The word literally means “being possessed by a god” and by the 18th century had come to mean “ill-regulated religious emotion or speculation.” The Oxford Universal Dictionary gives a 19th century example: “Everywhere the history of religion betrays a tendency to enthusiasm.”

questions to ask yourself

Use these questions to evaluate your day:

  1. What were the seeds that started to affect your enthusiasm today?

  2. Think of matters in which you were successful today, versus ones in which you weren't. Were they a function of your level of enthusiasm?

  3. Do you experience recurring snags in your walk forward or your daily activities? What is affecting your enthusiasm?

  4. If you were on the verge of getting stuck in a rut or wasting time, what did you employ that helped you become enthusiastic again?

  5. Did you use prayer or meditation to help you with your enthusiasm today?

  6. Did you procrastinate in doing something today?

  7. Do you avoid doing certain things because they are not your favorite tasks?