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

silence

the sound of silence

the sound of silence

Many people have a hard time with silence. It makes them uncomfortable and they feel they have to fill the void.

For those who are aquainted with snow in winter, you know what I mean when I say that all the world is filled with silence when it snows. There is nothing like a snow-covered land. The cars make less noise, everything glistens and everything is pure: pure white and insulated.

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 hold your silence on a matter today?

  2. 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?

  3. Is there a common situation where you find that you are consistently unable to keep silent?

  4. Was there a moment where you should have spoken and didn't? Why?

  5. If you were on the verge of speaking out in a negative way but didn't, what did you employ that worked?

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