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

moderation

the goldilocks principle

the goldilocks principle

The Shema is a most wholesome exhortation of moderation. If we examine what it is saying, at the very beginning and core, it is commanding us to love Hashem in a few different ways. And those ways, if we do them, will help us to love Him in the best and balanced way. Without the complete embodiment of heart, soul, and might, we would fail miserably in our attempt to love Hashem.

proper restraints

proper restraints

The Hebrew for this morsel of wisdom employs alliteration to aid our memory: koso (his cup), kiso (his purse), ka’aso (his anger). A person’s nature can be defined by how he drinks liquor (koso), how much charity he dispenses (kiso), and how he controls himself when provoked (ka’aso). The key to all of these things is self-control. In some aspects of our life, we have too little self-control and at times we have too much.

questions to ask yourself

art-questions.jpg

Use these questions to evaluate your day:

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

  2. Is there an area where you struggle with moderation (clothing, technology, learning, trinkets, food, alcohol, etc..)? Do you have a plan to curb your habits?

  3. Think of how you used the resources around you. Did you squander them, or were you excessive in their use?

  4. If you were on the verge of being excessive, what did you employ that helped you curb this behavior?

  5. Were you able to use prayer or meditation to help in your struggle with moderation?

  6. What do you struggle to practice in moderation? Food, drink, study, work? Discuss…

  7. Do you have a tendency towards asceticism (self-denial)?

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the age of consumerism

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the age of consumerism

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.

questions to ask yourself

art-questions.jpg

Use these questions to evaluate your day:

  1. What were the "seeds" that started to affect your ability to be frugal today?

  2. Think of how you used the resources around you (money, natural, etc..). Did you squander them, or were you excessive in their use?

  3. Is there an area where you struggle with frugality (clothing, technology, trinkets, food, alcohol, etc..)? Do you have a plan to curb your habits?

  4. If you were on the verge of losing your frugality but instead won, what did you employ that worked?

  5. Were you able to use prayer or meditation to help you through the circumstances?