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

cleanliness as holiness

cleanliness as holiness

In a world where spirituality is characterized as being an inner reality, it is easy to fall into a state of disconnect with the externality of spiritual life. We can lose the sense of value of how we present ourselves to one another and God on a physical level. We mustn’t forget that there are many times when the externalities of life are used as metaphors for things that encompass all dimensions of existence. Cleanliness is particularly connected to holiness in TaNaKh and in the apostolic Writings.

dry-cleaning for the soul

dry-cleaning for the soul

It’s strange to say, but unfortunately the spiritual disease of tzara’at does not exist today. Life might be a little easier if we had a physical barometer of how well our soul is connected to others and to the Divine. Once we see the physical signs we could get some help, repair, restore, and reconnect. Today our purity of soul is much more difficult to measure so we must be proactive in it’s care.

oil changes of life

oil changes of life

The service check light never came on, but the sticker on my windshield is telling me that I need to get my oil changed. It's not like I couldn't think of a myriad of other things I would rather be doing. What I do know is that if I continue driving my car much longer without that oil change, I put my car in closer proximity to having engine difficulties and serious car bill headaches.