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

template

middah summary template-v3b

{acp var top-intro}

{reg}

cat-inspiration
inspiration

These are our special April Fools 2012 articles. Trust with caution!

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var inspiration-cat}|count=7}

{/reg}

quotes

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var quotes-cat}}
daily living

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var daily-cat}|count=5}
torah

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var torah-cat}|count=5}
besorah

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var besorah-cat}|count=5}
mesorah

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var mesorah-cat}|count=5}
stories

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var stories-cat}|count=5}
meditation

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var meditation-cat}|count=5}
accounting

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var accounting-cat}}
podcasts

{pub}(Login for access to podcasts){/pub}{reg}{zmodule cat-podcast|catid={acp var podcast-cat}}{/reg}

middah summary template-v3

{acp var top-intro}

{pub}(Login for link to print version){/pub}{reg}(Click here for the print version){/reg}
quotes

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var quotes-cat}}
daily living
{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var daily-cat}|count={acp var daily-cat-intro-count}} {zmodule cat-item-list-brief|catid={acp var daily-cat}|startfrom={acp var daily-cat-intro-count}}
torah
{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var torah-cat}} {zmodule cat-item-list-brief|catid={acp var torah-cat}}
besorah
{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var besorah-cat}|count={acp var daily-cat-intro-count}} {zmodule cat-item-list-brief|catid={acp var besorah-cat}|startfrom={acp var daily-cat-intro-count}}
mesorah
{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var mesorah-cat}} {zmodule cat-item-list-brief|catid={acp var mesorah-cat}}
stories
{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var stories-cat}} {zmodule cat-item-list-brief|catid={acp var stories-cat}}
meditation

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var meditation-cat}}
accounting

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var accounting-cat}}
podcasts

{pub}(Login for access to podcasts){/pub}{reg}{zmodule cat-podcast|catid={acp var podcast-cat}}{/reg}

middah summary template

{acp var top-intro}

{pub}(Login for link to print version){/pub}{reg}(Click here for the print version){/reg}
quotes

{zmodule cat-item-list-col|catid={acp var quotes-cat}}
daily living

{zmodule cat-item-list-col|catid={acp var daily-cat}}
torah

{zmodule cat-item-list-col|catid={acp var torah-cat}}
besorah

{zmodule cat-item-list-col|catid={acp var besorah-cat}}
mesorah

{zmodule cat-item-list-col|catid={acp var mesorah-cat}}
meditation

{zmodule cat-item-list-col|catid={acp var meditation-cat}}
stories

{zmodule cat-item-list-col|catid={acp var stories-cat}}
accounting

{zmodule cat-item-list-col|catid={acp var accounting-cat}}
podcasts

{pub}(Login for access to podcasts){/pub}{reg}{zmodule cat-podcast|catid={acp var podcast-cat}}{/reg}


{acp var top-intro}

middah summary template-v2

{acp var top-intro}

{pub}(Login for link to print version){/pub}{reg}(Click here for the print version){/reg}
quotes

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var quotes-cat}}
daily living
{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var daily-cat}} {zmodule cat-item-list-brief|catid={acp var daily-cat}}
torah
{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var torah-cat}} {zmodule cat-item-list-brief|catid={acp var torah-cat}}
besorah
{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var besorah-cat}} {zmodule cat-item-list-brief|catid={acp var besorah-cat}}
mesorah
{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var mesorah-cat}} {zmodule cat-item-list-brief|catid={acp var mesorah-cat}}
stories
{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var stories-cat}} {zmodule cat-item-list-brief|catid={acp var stories-cat}}
meditation

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var meditation-cat}}
accounting

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var accounting-cat}}
podcasts

{pub}(Login for access to podcasts){/pub}{reg}{zmodule cat-podcast|catid={acp var podcast-cat}}{/reg}

middah summary template-v4

{acp var top-intro}

{pub}(Login for link to print version){/pub}{reg}(Click here for the print version){/reg}

featured articles

{zmodule middah-featured|catid={acp var middah-cat}}

 

podcasts

{pub}(Login for access to podcasts){/pub}{reg}{zmodule cat-podcast|catid={acp var podcast-cat}}{/reg}

 

accounting

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var accounting-cat}}

quotes

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var quotes-cat}}

stories

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var stories-cat}}

meditation

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var meditation-cat}}

 

middah summary template-v5

middah{acp var top-intro}

featured articles

{zmodule cat-item-list-featured|catid={acp var daily-cat},{acp var torah-cat},{acp var besorah-cat},{acp var mesorah-cat},{acp var stories-cat},{acp var meditation-cat}}

 

accounting

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var accounting-cat}}

quotes

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var quotes-cat}}

 

more articles

{tab=daily living}

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|count=8|catid={acp var daily-cat}}

{tab=torah}

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|count=8|catid={acp var torah-cat}}

{tab=besorah}

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|count=8|catid={acp var besorah-cat}}

{tab=mesorah}

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|count=8|catid={acp var mesorah-cat}}

{tab=meditation}

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|count=8|catid={acp var meditation-cat}}

{tab=stories}

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|count=8|catid={acp var stories-cat}}

{tab=podcasts}

{zmodule cat-podcast|catid={acp var podcast-cat}}

{/tabs}

middah summary template-v3a

{acp var top-intro}
quotes

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var quotes-cat}}
daily living

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var daily-cat}|count=5}
torah

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var torah-cat}|count=5}
besorah

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var besorah-cat}|count=5}
mesorah

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var mesorah-cat}|count=5}
stories

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var stories-cat}|count=5}
meditation

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var meditation-cat}|count=5}
accounting

{zmodule cat-item-list-v2|catid={acp var accounting-cat}}
podcasts

{pub}(Login for access to podcasts){/pub}{reg}{zmodule cat-podcast|catid={acp var podcast-cat}}{/reg}