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.
My comments on frugality earlier this year emphasized the limited resources of our planet and the mitzah of sharing more with those in need. These are worthy reasons to practice frugality and be free from the love of money, of course, but now I’d like to consider the root of frugality, which is contentment, or being satisfied with what we already have, so that we’re not constantly coveting more.
Those of you who know me, know that over five months ago, I underwent gastric surgery. During that time, I have lost about 75 pounds. While that is a great thing, the drawback is that I have run out of all the “thin” clothes I had been saving for when I lost weight, and now I’m at the point where I have to buy new clothes. I hesitate to spend a lot of money on new clothing because in a few months, they will be too big for me and I’ll have to give them away.
{enclose 2011-02-20-frugality-and-the-half-shekel.mp3}
in this podcast, rebbetzin malkah relates the giving of the half shekel in parasha Ki Tisa as an institution to bring us together in community. Frugality is a balance of when to give and when to keep. This is expressed not only in the value of our finances, but the value of our soul infused intention. When we get tired out from giving too much of ourselves, it is time to be frugal and recharge before we have nothing left to give to others.
A few years back, my son Daniel converted me away from bottled water. I had thought that drinking pure and healthy water was an act of environmental awareness, but he helped me see it the other way around. Spending resources to make little bottles that could only hold one long drink, to put water into those bottles, ship them all around the country, put them on shelves and sell them one by one, could hardly be corrected just by recycling the bottles after we used them.
{enclose 2010-11-25-Jacob-and-Frugality.mp3}
this week's podcast highlights the reunion of Jacob and Esau after many years apart. Each values the material world and wealth differently. As we enter this coming holiday shopping season, consider the middah of frugality as it relates to our own material resources, wealth and what we truly value in life.
Living in Seattle, I take very seriously the concept of not only preserving resources, but making sure that every bit can be recycled or composted. Normally our recycling and composting outnumbers our trash by probably ten to one. Taking out the trash in our house would be an easy job; instead, my teen sons get the hefty job of taking out the recycling.
The Hebrew word for frugality is keemutz. Keemutz translates to thrift, economizing, frugality, retrenchment.
If any of us have difficulty with being truly frugal, many times it has to do with the concept of there being an innate dissatisfaction within ourselves that we have difficulty quelling. We always have this fleeting wanting, wanting, wanting.
Frugality and moderation are not the most popular virtues in the age of consumerism in which we live. Rabbi Mendel tells us, “Be careful with your money. Do not spend even a penny needlessly.” In the afterglow of the recent global economic meltdown, this looks like good advice. But it also has the potential to derail the global recovery, since today’s economy depends on the opposite of frugality, on free and ever-expanding spending.
