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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
art-questions
Use these questions to evaluate your day:
What were the "seeds" that started to affect your order today?
Did you start your day with a plan? Did that plan come to fruition, did it fall apart, or were there glitches in it? How did you handle this?
If you or your possessions became disorderly today, what was the cause of this?
If something unfortunate happened today because of lack of order in your life, how did you overcome it or remedy the situation?
Were you able to use prayer or meditation to help create clarity so as to add more order to your day?
Did you employ any new order/routine into your day as something that will be permanent fixture?
How do you need to reorder your life tomorrow, this week or this year?
Use these questions to evaluate your day:
What were the "seeds" that possibly affected your decisiveness today? Social, financial - what were they?
Think of how your day progressed - were you able to make decisions with clarity? Why or why not?
If you wavered on making a decision today, either regarding something that was for the present or for the future, what was the reason for your vascillating? Were you finally able to make the decision, or are you still up in the air?
Were you able to use prayer or meditation to help with decision making?
Use these questions to evaluate your day:
What were the "seeds" that started to affect your cleanliness today?
Were you able to be pure in your deeds and thoughts today?
What events today caused you to stray and perhaps not act as ethically and wholesomely? How did you respond to them? Were they in speech? Movies? Television? The Internet? Emails?
Were you able to use prayer or meditation to help you through the circumstances?
Use these questions to evaluate your day:
Use these questions to evaluate your day:
What were the "seeds" that started to erode your ability to maintain a heathy separation from those things that you should have distance from today?
What was your reaction in your moments of challenge?
If you were unable to maintain a separation from the things or people that cause you to stumble, is this a recurring struggle? What will you do differently tomorrow to prevent it? What fence will you erect to help you?
If you were on the verge of losing the battle with separation but won instead, what did you employ that worked?
Were you able to use prayer or meditation to help you through the circumstances?
art-questions
Use these questions to evaluate your day:
What were the "seeds" that hindered your ability to manifest righteousness today?
Did a good deed you tried to perform today lift up someone while lowering someone else, or was this good deed mutually beneficial for all involved?
Were your deeds done merely for the sake of Heaven, or for some personal gain?
Did you consider the honor of your fellow in all your actions?
Were you able to use prayer or meditation to help you in making the more noble choices you were confronted with today?
Use these questions to evaluate your day:
What were the "seeds" that started to affect your ability to be frugal today?
Think of how you used the resources around you (money, natural, etc..). Did you squander them, or were you excessive in their use?
Is there an area where you struggle with frugality (clothing, technology, trinkets, food, alcohol, etc..)? Do you have a plan to curb your habits?
If you were on the verge of losing your frugality but instead won, what did you employ that worked?
Were you able to use prayer or meditation to help you through the circumstances?
Use these questions to evaluate your day:
Use these questions to evaluate your day:
What were the "seeds" that started to affect your ability to hold your silence on a matter today?
Think of several good things that happened today. What was your reaction to them in contrast to your moments of challenge? Did you speak out righteously, or use your speech in a negative and non-productive fashion?
Is there a common situation where you find that you are consistently unable to keep silent?
Was there a moment where you should have spoken and didn't? Why?
If you were on the verge of speaking out in a negative way but didn't, what did you employ that worked?
Were you able to use prayer or meditation to help you through the circumstances?
Use these questions to evaluate your day:
What were the "seeds" that started to erode your calmness today?
If an event caused you to lose your calm spirit, what was it and how did you react? Is this something that has caused you agitation previously?
If you were on the verge of losing your calmness of spirit, what did you employ that helped you?
Were you able to use prayer or meditation to get through the circumstances and remain calm?
Use these questions to evaluate your day:
my·op·ic – adjective 1. Ophthalmology . pertaining to or having myopia; nearsighted.
2. unable or unwilling to act prudently; shortsighted.
3. lacking tolerance or understanding; narrow-minded.
Then a certain sage arose to test him and said, “Teacher, what should I do to take possession of eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Torah? How do you read it?” He answered and said, “Love HaShem your God with all of your with all of your soul, and with all of your strength, and with all of your knowledge [Devarim 6:5], and your fellow as yourself” [Vayikra
He desired to justify himself so he said to Yeshua, “Who is my fellow?”
Yeshua answered and said, “A certain man went down from Yerushalayim to Yericho, and he fell victim to robbers. They stripped him, even wounding him, and they abandoned him. As he stood between death and life, they walked on. A certain kohen happened upon him going down that road. He saw him and passed over him. Likewise, a Levi came to the place and approached and saw him but passed over him. Then a Shomroni was walking on the road. He came upon him and saw him, and he felt moved. He approached him and bandaged his wounds and applied oil and wine to them. He had him ride on his animal, led him to the inn, and provided for him. The next day, when he traveled, he brought out two dinarim and gave them to the owner of the inn. He said, “Provide for him. Whatever else you spend on him I will repay you when I return.” Now, who of these three was a fellow in your eyes to the one who fell victim to the robbers?
He said, “The one who carried out the chesed.” Yeshua said to him, “Go and do likewise yourself.” – Matthew 10:25-37, DHE
“Silence is a protective fence for wisdom.”—Avot 3:17
“And you shall honor it [Shabbat] by abstaining from your affairs, by refraining from your wants, and by not engaging in [prohibited] speech.” —Isaiah 58:13
Rabbi Shammai said: “Say little and do much, and receive all men with a cheerful countenance.” —Avot 1:15
“For the whole of the Torah is summed up in this one sentence : 'Love your neighbor as yourself'; but if you go on snapping at each other and tearing each other to pieces, watch out, or you will be destroyed by each other!" —Galatians 5:13-15
"By the blessing of the upright, a city is raised up; but the words of the wicked tear it down. He who belittles another lacks good sense, whereas a person of discernment stays silent." —Proverbs 11:11-12
"Anyone who thinks he is religiously observant but does not control his tongue is deceiving himself, and his observance counts for nothing." —James 1:26
"Don't speak impulsively—don't be in a hurry to give voice to your words before God. For God is in heaven, and you are on earth; so let your words be few." —Ecclesiastes 5 :1-2
“Evil talk (lashon hara) is so grievous a sin because it kills three people: the one who speaks evil, the one who listens to evil talk, and the one who is being slandered.” —Talmud, Erechin 15b
“When a person insults someone else, it is his own defects that he is revealing.” —Talmud, Kiddushin 70a
“In an abundance of words, offense will not be lacking, but one who restrains his lips is wise.” —Proverbs 10:19
For who in the skies can be compared to G-d? Who is like G-d among the heavenly beings? -- Tehillim 89:7
When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. -- Mishlei 11:2
Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. -- Mishlei 16:18
Be lowly in spirit before everyone. -- Avos 4:10
Wherever you find God's greatness, there you will find His humility -- b. Megilla 31a
The greatest among you shall be to you as a servant. Everyone who lifts himself up will be brought low, but everyone who lowers himself will be lifted up. -- Matthew 23:11-12, DHE
A true genius admits that he/she knows nothing. -- Albert Einstein
True humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less. -- Timothy Keller
Be careful not to mistake insecurity and inadequacy for humility! Humility has nothing to do with the insecure and inadequate! Just like arrogance has nothing to do with greatness! -- C. Joybell C.
Pride must die in you, or nothing of heaven can live in you. -- Andrew Murray
The humble person is open to being corrected, whereas the arrogant is clearly closed to it. Proud people are supremely confident in their own opinions and insights. Filled as they are with their own views, the arrogant lack the capacity to see another view. -- Thomas Dubay
It stands to reason that anyone who learns to live well will die well. The skills are the same: being present in the moment, and humble, and brave, and keeping a sense of humor. -- Victoria Moran
Humility is that freedom from our self which enables us to be in positions in which we have neither recognition nor importance, neither power nor visibility, and even experience deprivation..and knowing that we are not in the center of the universe, not even in the center of our own private universe. -- David F. Wells
“And he called out to the people, saying to them,'Listen and understand! It is not what enters the mouth that makes the person tamei, but what comes out from the mouth—that makes the person tamei.'” --Mashiach Yeshua, Matthew 15:10-11, DHE
Rabbi Samuel bar Nachman said in the name of Rabbi Yonatan: “Here the Yetzer seduces you, there the Yetzer betrays you.” --Talmud
Nittai the Arbelite said: Keep thee far from an evil neighbor and associate not with the wicked; and abandon not belief in retribution. --Avot 1:7
“The greater a person is, the greater is the force of his temptation.” --Talmud, Succah 52a
Hasten to do even the slightest mitzvah, and flee from all sin. Because one mitzvah will lead to another, and one sin will lead to another.” --Avot 4:2
“You have given Your people beginnings of new months, which are time of forgiveness for all their transgressions.” – Rosh Chodesh Mussaf service
“One who walks with the wise will grow wise, but the companion of fools will be broken.” --Proverbs 13:20
Rabbi Eleazar ha-Kappar used to say: “Jealousy, lust, and ambition remove man from the world.” – Avot 4:28
“Reflect upon three things and you will not come within the power of sin: Know what is above you --a seeing eye, a hearing ear, and all your deeds recorded in a book.” --Avot 2:1
Don't quench the Spirit, don't despise inspired messages. But do test everything – hold onto what is good but keep away from every form of evil.” --1 Thessalonians 5:19-22
“What G-d wants is that you be holy, that you keep away from sexual immorality, that each of you know how to manage his sexual impulses in a holy and honorable manner, without giving in to lustful desires...” --1 Thessalonians 4:3-5
“Therefore, do not let sin rule in your mortal bodies, so that it makes you obey its desires; and do not offer any part of yourselves to sin as an instrument for wickedness.” --Romans 6:13
Simeon ben Shetah said: "Examine the witnesses diligently and be cautious in thy words lest through them they learn to falsify." --Avot 1:9
“You shall be sincere with the L-d your G-d.” --Deuteronomy 18:13
“Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from deceitful speech.” --Psalms 34:14
“Accustom your tongue to say, 'I do not know.'” --Talmud, Berachos 4a
“Correct yourself first, and then you can correct others.” --Talmud, Bava Metzia 107b
“Keep your distance from falsehood.” --Exodus 23:7
“Foolishness is joy to one who lacks [an understanding] heart, but a man of understanding [will rejoice] when he walks uprightly.” --Proverbs 15:21
“Do not offer vain testimony against your fellow, to denar yourself with your lips. Do not say,'As he has done for me, so will I do for him; I will reward the man according to his acts.'” --Proverbs 24:28
“One who deceives his fellow through flattery is spreading a net for his own footsteps.” --Proverbs 29:5
