seattle mussar kallah 5772

Join Riverton Mussar in Seattle at our Mussar Kallah 5772 and prepare to learn and grow. Rabbi Russ Resnik, Rav Rafael and Rebbetzin Malkah will bring fresh, interactive sessions on the middot and inspiration for your personal Mussar practice. This Kallah will translate Shema, the great commandment, into tools for a more ethical and accountable life. You won’t experience lectures—you’ll experience Mussar alive. Drink deeply from the wellspring of sessions andwalk away even more motivated to continue personal ethical change. Sunday, Dec. 4th, 2011 (10am - 6pm) Beit Hashofar Synagogue 13001 37th Ave S, Tukwila WA 98168 $20 per person (Buffet dairy lunch and snacks will be provided.) Click here to get tickets

Session 1, Rabbi Russ Resnik:  Obeying the Great Commandment

The Shema is a central Jewish prayer and statement of faith, but above all it is a commandment. We will consider six ramifications of the Shema-as-commandment and how they shape our practice of Mussar. 

Session 2, Rabbi Russ Resnik:  The Great Commandment, Part Two

In this session we explore the commandment that Messiah (along with Jewish tradition) describes as inextricably linked with the Shema: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” What does this mean and not mean, and why is the Shema incomplete without it?  

Session 3, Rav Rafael: Na’aseh v’Nishma – We Will Do and We Will Listen

We will examine the ethical mussar imperative that Yeshua gives us in Matthew 5,6,7 and concretely apply it to our lives. Yeshua’s mussar teaching from the mount is an allusion to the giving of Torah from Sinai when we said  “All that Hashem has spoken we will do and we will hear (Na’aseh V’nishma)!”   How we do and listen is a reflection of our character development.

Session 4, Rebbetzin Malkah:  When All You Hear Is Noise

During this session, we will explore the middot of gratitude and silence.  In doing so, we will learn how these middot can be used within meditation to help us stop the noise and truly listen to our souls.

Click here to get tickets

ripe but not ready

Olives are a naturally bitter fruit that is typically subjected to fermentation or cured with lye or brine to make it more palatable.

Green olives and black olives are typically washed thoroughly in water to remove oleuropein, a bitter carbohydrate. Sometimes they are also soaked in a solution of food grade sodium hydroxide to accelerate the process.

Green olives are allowed to ferment before being packed in a brine solution. American black ("California") olives are not fermented, which is why they taste milder than green olives.

Freshly picked olive fruit is not palatable because it contains phenolic compounds and oleuropein, a glycoside which makes the fruit too bitter, although not unhealthy.^[35] (One exception is the throubes olive, which can be eaten fresh.)^{[37][citation needed]} There are many ways of processing olives for eating. Traditional methods use the natural microflora on the fruit and procedures which select for those flora that ferment the fruit. This fermentation leads to three important outcomes: the leaching out and breakdown of oleuropein and phenolic compounds; the creation of lactic acid, which is a natural preservative; and a complex of flavoursome fermentation products. The result is a product which will store with or without refrigeration.

religious humility

{enclose 2011-11-04-religious-humility.mp3}

Avraham and Sarah possessed a true gift in their interaction with others: humility.  Without an agenda, they welcomed all into their tent.  And when Avraham and Sarah mixed with the world as they traveled, they did not hold themselves in high esteem; rather, as true lights of Hashem, they recognized the spark of Hashem in others and gave honor, despite their difference in faith.

questions to ask yourself

Use these questions to evaluate your day:

1. What were the seeds that affected your responsibility in various arenas today?

2. Did a you shirk away from a responsibility today and if so why?

3. Do you have too many responsibilities? Do you need to spread out your load?

4. Do you feel resentful, burdened, overwhelmed or content with your current responsibilities?

5. Do you have more responsibility than you can handle simply because you feel you can do the job better?

6. Do responsibilities bring stress or purpose to you?

7. How can you be more responsible tomorrow?

quotes

Rabbi Tarfon said: "The day is short, the task is great, the laborers are lazy, the wage is abundant and the master is urgent." -- Avot 2:20

He [Rabbi Tarfon]used to say: "It is not incumbent upon you to finish the task. Yet, you are not free to desist from it." -- Avot 2:21

Rabbi Akiva said: "All is foreseen, but freedom of choice is given. The world is judged in goodness, yet all is proportioned to one's work." --  Avot 3:19

Rabbi Elazar of Bartota said: "Render to Him that which is his, for you and all that you have are His, as David said (I Chronicles 29:14): 'For all things come from You, and of Your own have we given you.' " -- Avot 3:8

He [Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa] used to say: "He whose works exceed his wisdom, his wisdom endures; but he whose wisdom exceeds his works, his wisdom will not endure." -- Avot 3:12

Ben Azzai said: "Be eager to fulfill the smallest duty and flee from transgression; for one duty induces another and one transgression induces another transgression." -- Avot 4:2

"Hashem praises a poor person who triumphs over his Evil Nature and returns an object." -- Pesachim 113a

"It's a question of discipline," the little prince told me later on. "When you've finished washing and dressing each morning, you must tend your planet." -- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince, 1943, translated from French by Richard Howard

"It is impossible for obstacles not to come, but how terrible for the man through whom they come! He would be better to have a millstone hung around his neck and be cast into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to stumble." -- Mashiach Yeshua, Luke 17:2, DHE

"If you falter in a time of trouble, how small is your strength!" -- Mishlei 24:10

What you hate, do not do to your friend. ~ Shabbos 31a

Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself.  I am the LORD. ~ Vayikra 19:18

Hillel and Shammai received the Torah from them. Hillel said: Be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving your fellow creatures and bringing them close to the Torah. ~ Avot 1:12

If you have done your neighbor a little wrong, let it be in your eyes great; if you have done him much good, let it be in your eyes little; if he has done you a little good, let it be in your eyes great; if he has done you a great wrong, let it be in your eyes little.  ~ Avot 1:6, Avot de Rabbi Nathan ch 41

He who says, 'What is mine is yours and what is yours is thine own'—he is a saintly man. ~ Avot 5:13

A love without rebuke is no real love. ~ Bereishit Rabbah, ch 54, section 3

The highest form of wisdom is kindness. ~ Berachot 17a

Shimon the Righteous was one of the last survivors of the Great Assembly.  He used to say: 'On three things the world is sustained: on the Torah, on the (Temple) service, and on deeds of loving kindness.'  ~ Avot 1:2

The world is built with chesed (loving-kindness).  ~Tehillim 89:3

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. ~ Galatians 6:9

questions to ask yourself

Use these questions to evaluate your day:

1. What were the seeds that hindered your ability to manifest loving-kindness today?

2. Did a good deed you perfomed today lift up someone while lowering someone else, or was this good deed mutually beneficial for all involved?

3. Were your deeds done merely for the sake of Heaven, or for some personal gain?

4. Did you receive honor for doing a deed today? If so, would you have done the deed had it been in private and no honor was attached?

5. Were you able to use prayer or meditation to help you in making the more noble choices you were confronted with today?

6. Do you spend some time during the day thinking about how to help others?

7. Does helping others or doing acts of kindness come naturally? If not, what could you do to make it a more natural practice?

quotes

"What you hate, do not do to your friend." -- Shabbos 31a

"Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD." -- Vayikra 19:18

"Hillel and Shammai received the Torah from them. Hillel said: 'Be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving your fellow creatures and bringing them close to the Torah.' " -- Avot 1:12

"If you have done your neighbor a little wrong, let it be in your eyes great; if you have done him much good, let it be in your eyes little; if he has done you a little good, let it be in your eyes great; if he has done you a great wrong, let it be in your eyes little." -- Avot 1:6, Avot de Rabbi Nathan ch 41

"He who says, 'What is mine is yours and what is yours is thine own'—he is a saintly man." -- Avot 5:13

"A love without rebuke is no real love." -- Bereishit Rabbah, ch 54, section 3

"The highest form of wisdom is kindness." -- Berachot 17a

Shimon the Righteous was one of the last survivors of the Great Assembly. He used to say: "On three things the world is sustained: on the Torah, on the (Temple) service, and on deeds of loving kindness." -- Avot 1:2

"The world is built with chesed (loving-kindness)." -- Tehillim 89:3

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." -- Galatians 6:9

What you hate, do not do to your friend. ~ Shabbos 31a

Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself.  I am the LORD. ~ Vayikra 19:18

Hillel and Shammai received the Torah from them. Hillel said: Be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving your fellow creatures and bringing them close to the Torah. ~ Avot 1:12

If you have done your neighbor a little wrong, let it be in your eyes great; if you have done him much good, let it be in your eyes little; if he has done you a little good, let it be in your eyes great; if he has done you a great wrong, let it be in your eyes little.  ~ Avot 1:6, Avot de Rabbi Nathan ch 41

He who says, 'What is mine is yours and what is yours is thine own'—he is a saintly man. ~ Avot 5:13

A love without rebuke is no real love. ~ Bereishit Rabbah, ch 54, section 3

The highest form of wisdom is kindness. ~ Berachot 17a

Shimon the Righteous was one of the last survivors of the Great Assembly.  He used to say: 'On three things the world is sustained: on the Torah, on the (Temple) service, and on deeds of loving kindness.'  ~ Avot 1:2

The world is built with chesed (loving-kindness).  ~Tehillim 89:3

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. ~ Galatians 6:9

questions to ask yourself

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)?

quotes

"When one engages in business or in an occupation to earn money, one should not be motivated by desire for gain alone, but by the necessity of supplying his basic requirements, such as food, drink, habitation, and marriage." -- The Ways of the Tzadikkim, The Gate of Love, pg 119

"One should not eat and drink as much as he wishes, but only as much as is necessary to insure the well-being of his body and no more." -- The Ways of the Tzadikkim, The Gate of Love, pg 121

"The righteous eat to their hearts' content, but the stomach of the wicked goes hungry." -- Mishlei 13:25

"Who is mighty? He who subdues his passions, as it is written (Mishlei 16:32) 'One who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and one whose temper is controlled than one who captures a city.' " -- Avot 4:1

Rabbi Eleazar ha-Kappar used to say: "Jealousy, lust, and ambition remove man from the world." -- Avot 4:28

"If a person who withholds himself from wine is called a sinner, how much more so is one a sinner who withdraws from all of life's enjoyments." -- Taanit 11a, 11b

"Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city." -- Mishlei 16:32

"If one oversteps the bounds of moderation, the greatest pleasures cease to please." -- Epictetus

"It is not good to eat too much honey, nor is it honorable to search out matters that are too deep." -- Mishlei 25:27

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." -- Galatians 5:22-23

questions to ask yourself

Use these questions to evaluate your day:

1. What were the seeds that started to erode your adaptibility today?
2. Were there circumstances where you struggled with adapting? What was your response? Did you become irritable, angry, quiet or difficult to be around?
3. Did situations arise where you had no control today? Did you adapt or react negatively?
4. Was there a situation in which something new was introduced to you? Did you seek to learn more about it or reject it because it was unfamiliar and required effort on your part?
5. Were you able to use prayer or meditation to help you through a new and possibly unsettling situation?
6. Did something unexpected happen today? What was your reaction?
7. What types of situations put you on edge? Out of stock menu item, late bus, bad internet connection….discuss.

quotes

The LORD had said to Abram, "Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." -- Bereishit 12:1-3

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will." -- Romans 12:2

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace." -- Kohelet 3:1-8

"It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory." -- W. Edwards Deming

"The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out." -- Mishlei 18:15

"If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it." -- Mary Engelbreit

"And no one puts new wine into used wineskins. For if he did so, the new wine would split open the wineskins, it would be poured out, and the wineskins would be destroyed." -- Mashiach Yeshua, Luke 5:37, DHE

"Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get." -- Forrest Gump

"He said to them, 'Follow me, and I will make you into fishers of people.' " -- Mashiach Yeshua, Matthew 4:19, DHE

"The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises."   -- Kohelet 1:5

questions to ask yourself

Use these questions to evaluate your day:

1. What were the seeds that started to erode your generosity today?

2. Think of how you used the resources around you today (money, natural, etc..). Did you see a need and respond generously? Why or why not?

3. Were you generous in your speech today? Did you take a moment to say something positive to someone to lift him/her up?

4. Is there a plan today or one day this week to distribute charity?

5. Did you look at someone today and judge their neediness or did you help them? Is this a different response than you usually give?

6. Does giving make you feel superior or haughty?

7. Is it difficult for you to give of your possessions to help others?