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.
Recently I heard of the business failure of a friend. This was not just anybody, but one of the most generous men I know. Though he is not a wealthy man, he has always been generous giving large sums to charity and always donating his time and talents to the body of Messiah. At times like this it is easy to ask, “where is God?” and “why is He so silent?”
{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.
There is no doubt that Rabbi Salanter was scrupulous in his performance of mitzvot. We read countless stories where he was concerned about the status of the food that he ate, knowing that it would break down, nourish his body, and give him the ability to perform the commandments. He wanted to be fueled with only the best for the sake of Heaven.
If we are working for a world to espouse a greater love and service to Hashem, it can only come about through those who are alive: alive in spirit and alive in the flesh. If we crush those around us in an uncaring manner that is strict and so halachically stringent, then we have surely missed the point of observance.
While it is important to be diligent and righteous in our service to Hashem, we must temper that also with serving those around us and showing them love and deference. Our concern for the needs of others, for the time of others, must be at the forefront of our minds as we endeavor to show love to our Creator and His creation.
{enclose 2011-02-09-humility-making-space.mp3}
in this podcast, rabbi rafael gets spacial as he contemplates the construction of the tabernacle (parashat Terumah, Exodus 25) and God's cosmic creation as modelled through the middah of humility.
Now we will discuss humility in relation to one's deeds. This [subject] has four parts to it: conducting oneself in a lowly manner; bearing disparagement; being averse to [positions of] authority and fleeing from honor; and respecting others. --Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, The Path of the Just, page 156
