To complete nearly any task necessitates a fair amount of awareness. To play a game one needs to be aware of its rules. To walk across the street unharmed one must be aware of the traffic conditions. These things also require focus.
merging keva and kavana
The act of giving is a relatively simple thing. When you give you are simply transferring something that was once yours to someone else. It is entirely possible to give angrily, happily, begrudgingly, indifferently, or thoughtfully. Generosity, on the other hand is a different matter. Generosity has a component of mindfulness and “heartfulness” that goes beyond the physical act of giving.
why this waste?
“Enthusiasm,” for most of its history as an English word, has had a mixed connotation. The word literally means “being possessed by a god” and by the 18th century had come to mean “ill-regulated religious emotion or speculation.” The Oxford Universal Dictionary gives a 19th century example: “Everywhere the history of religion betrays a tendency to enthusiasm.”
good morning enthusiasm
being hidden in God
During the month of Elul and throughout the Days of Awe, our tradition recommends reading Psalm 27 twice each day. In this Psalm, David stirs us up to hope, courage, bold confidence in HaShem, and one other trait that is especially relevant for the High Holy Days, and for the middah of simplicity as well.
a "key" to success
some uncomplicated time
order up
universal to personal
compassion through forgiveness
enough already
foundation of all relationships
When I was a kid, I joined the Boy Scouts. One of the first things you learn in the Boy Scout Creed, is that a scout is Trustworthy. Like most kids, it was just something we had to memorize to be a scout. As I have gotten older and somewhat wiser, I’ve come to appreciate the values scouting tried to impart to us.
in whom do you trust?
for all time
quotes
"Merciful God, merciful God, powerful God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in kindness and truth. Preserver of kindness for thousands of generations, forgiver of iniquity, willful sin and error, and Who cleanses." — Exodus 34:6-7
Rabbi Shimon taught: There are three crowns: The crown of Torah, the crown of Priesthood, and the crown of Royalty. The crown of a good name surpasses them all." — Avot 4:17
Shammai taught: "Say little and do much." — Avot 1:15 Rabbi Natan said, “What does this mean? It teaches that the righteous say little and do much, whereas the wicked say much and do not even a little.” — Avot 13:3
"Like clouds and wind without rain is a man who boasts of gifts he does not give." —Proverbs 25:14
Nittai, of Arbel, taught: "Keep far from an evil neighbor, be not a partner with an evil person..." — Avot 1:7
"The key is to get to know people and trust them to be who they are. Instead, we trust people to be who we want them to be—and when they’re not, we cry." — Jewish proverb
"Trust, but verify." — Russian proverb
"It is easy to say you believe a rope to be strong and sound as long as you are merely using it to cord a box. But suppose you had to hang by that rope over a precipice. Wouldn’t you then first discover how much you really trusted it?" — C.S. Lewis
"The wild things of this earth are not ours to do with as we please. They have been given to us in trust, and we must account for them to the generation which will come after us and audit our accounts." — William T. Hornaday
"Trust is the feeling that makes one man believe in another." — Henry Louis Menchen
taking it to the street
In Judaism, it isn't so much about what you know, but what you do. Judaism is a doing religion, not bound up in the recesses of your mind in theology. True, we need some truths to operate by, but we don't spend our time crowning ourself with laurels because we have these truths. We are expected to act.
God’s trust in us
One of God’s greatest gifts to humanity is free will. That gift produces the opportunity to be creative, thoughtful, decisive, curious, and more. With free will we are given the privilege to partner with God. Any partnership requires mutual trust for it to be positive. Our human partnership with God is no exception.
loving-kindness in action
My maternal grandfather is often one of the least effusive people I know. He has a big white beard and it is rare that one can get a sense of what’s going on under there at any given moment. Affectionate would not be the first word that comes to mind when I think of him. At the same time I can safely say he is the kindest man it has ever been my privilege to know.
making the mark
creativity and concentration
I can’t tell you how many times someone has said that to me when they’ve asked me to get involved in another project. I’m a husband and father of 3 teenagers, work a full-time job, lead a synagogue community, and am involved in a dozen or so other small projects on the side (including Riverton Mussar). This keeps me busy and out of trouble.