This post comes as a result of my reflection on the subject of Integrity- something we discussed recently on my facebook group, Jewish explorer. Integrity is an important value for me personally (possibly, I would put it on top of the list- which in fact, I did during my recent coaching session). In fact, I believe, Integrity and honesty on all levels is an essential ingredient of any meaningful interaction- and most important factor in bridging the gap between different cultures, and different people. So, naturally, I was challenged to look for a Jewish answer to the question of Integrity.
And here's my understanding of one of the fundamental teachings of Rabbi Yehuda ha Nassi (the Prince-that's the usual translation-although Nassi was an equivalent of a President those days). The author of this teaching, as you know, was most prominent Torah scholar (so no one can tell me, we are dealing with some "marginal case" here) , and also the compiler and codifier of the Mishna- huge undertaking never to be repeated in Jewish history in the scope of what was done [up until that point, Oral Torah remained oral and was never recorded]
Here's the text-
Rabbi [Judah HaNassi]* would say: Which is the right [Yashar] path for man to choose for himself? Whatever is harmonious [Tiferet] for the one who does it, and harmonious for mankind.
I included Hebrew words here on purpose, as this translation, although very close to the original, still fails to express all the power of the Hebrew text
So, Rabbi (that's how they call him- simply Rabbi- rabbi 'by default' is R'Yehuda ha Nassi)- is asking an important question- I'd say, if there's one question we are to ask ourselves- it's probably this one! How to live your life, which path is right, which one to choose? Notice, however, in the original Hebrew, this RIGHT path is called YASHAR- so to speak, something we can visualize as STRAIGHT path, something that we can follow
Maybe YASHAR also implies that it's relatively straight-forward- so, the answer has to be simple and clear!
Simple and clear it is- very YASHAR- Whatever is TIFERET (harmonious) for the one who does it ( stress is on the word DOES), and TIFERET for mankind
First, notice how straight this answer is- here you have an equation, on both sides of which is TIFERET- usually translated as beauty, but more accurate translataion will be Harmony. Harmony is supposed to be beautiful, but it's much more- it also has depth! It's a 3D beauty, beauty with the sense of purpose and direction! Here we have all three dimensions of life, based on Kierkegaard- aesthetic (beauty), ethical, and religious [although at this point we can only recognize the first two, we'll get to that later]
This equation presents us with the real challenge though- how often do we find, that our Internal Truth, our Tiferet of the first part of equation, comes into conflict with the second part- what society expects us to do?
Notice, however, that the word does appears only in the first part- whatever is Tiferet for the one who does it! One would expect, that the first part, which speaks of man to himself and recognizes this as an important sphere of life, would be more focused on thoughts and emotions, rather than action- and in fact, should we read- Whatever is harmonious for the one who follows it would probably make more sense- after all, one follows the path, and is not doing it! This stress on action is imho, very precise here- it's NOT enough to have harmony in your mind and in your emotional world- the OUTCOME of that in the World of Actions is what counts in the final analysis!
With that in mind, let's move to the second part- here we have Tiferet for mankind- and if I'm not mistaken, this Tiferet for mankind is coming as a result of his actions- for that reason, no need to emphasize action again-it's been already accomplished in the first part! What counts now, is check and balance mechanism- and the word Tiferet, by the way, certainly is associated with balance- the challenge here is to see, how your actions, coming from your Inner Truth (there's a very deep connection between Truth-Emet- and Tiferet- harmony- which is well-known to all who are familiar with the Sfirot- Divine emanations- there Tiferet and Emet are interchangeable!)-how your Tiferet-based actions bring Tiferet to mankind? And we all understand, that this is not self-evident- what's good for me, and even right and straight in my eyes, may clash with the inner truth of others, thus bringing DISHARMONY- the very OPPOSITE of Tiferet!
So we have strong ethical considerations on both sides of the equation, i.e- Are my actions in tune with my Inner Truth (first part), but also- Are my actions in tune with the World? And this doesn't mean, of course, to simply become comformist- as this would compromise the first part! What it means, is to find the RIGHT BALANCE- not a compromise (again!)- but the TRUE TIFERET! We simply add an extra dimension to TIFERET- it has to be both Self and World- centered, in true harmony with the dual calling of Man- be true to yourself, and be true to your calling- and also, look at your mission AS PART of a GLOBAL WORLD evolution- thus, your calling will become even more noble, stripped of the layers of your Ego, that so often doesn't allow us to see, how all conflicts and all struggles in the world are but different colours of the rainbow, representing one True Colour of G-d! But of course, to get to this point of Transcending Unity, one needs the third dimension of Tiferet- Religious one!
This article is meant to be some sort of an 'appetizer', and I hope we will be enjoying the 'main course'soon!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Monday, July 4, 2011
Freedom and Holiness
These days I'm thinking how to bridge the gap between different groups within Israel- mainly, religious and secular. Very often, it seems, we are simply speaking different languages, and it becomes impossible to come on terms. We need to understand the difference of perspectives, and first, one has to be open minded and willing to accept the opinion and worldview of the other. This is far from obvious, when it comes to real life- all too often we choose to act self-righteously, and here in Israel, it's true on all levels- including politics as well. But my first interest here is to make some sort of a breakthrough in mutual understanding- and I do believe it's possible.
Taking into account the historical baggage we have on both sides, sticking to existing preconceived notions and stereotypes well too often stops any genuine search for Truth and Shalom- and in my humble opinion, we desperately need both!
So, here's my first observation- religious and secular world have different set of values- and this is what I call, different languages. In order to get engaged into any sort of meaningful discussion with the opponent, one needs to understand and respect his set of values- which of course, doesn't mean, to agree with everything he has to say. To the contrary, I strongly believe that such meaningful dialogue, with both sides truly interested in each other's perspective on tings, can enrich Jewish world tremendously, and in many ways I would compare such dialogue with the famous Talmudic dispute between the two schools- Hillel and Shammai. Talmud brings this argument between the two schools as an example of the argument for Heaven's sake (or, in simple English, for the sake of Truth). But to get there, huge effort is required on both sides-
Religious world would need to come to terms with the simple fact of life- secular world is here, and is not going to disappear. If we understand that G-d is playing in history, and is behind all major historical changes, we cannot simply treat this as some sort of an aberration or mistake- or as very often implied, sin on a massive scale- Rebellion against G-d and his people. This was the traditional position of the Orthodoxy in the beginning of the 20th century, and little has changed since then. Rav Kook was possibly the only great Rabbi of the generation who had enough courage to face the challenge of Atheism and Secularism-and truthful to his belief that any such change cannot be viewed as misguided rebellion, and even explained how Judaism and Jews are benefiting from it- Atheism raises very important questions, and collides with those aspects of religion that became resistant to any change, and thus not ready to accept the Light of G-d appearing in a new form and shape of Modernity .
Current approach to the secular world in Ultra-religious circles is usually two-fold-
First, you have those who would plainly state- "Hilonim (secular) are sinners, and we have nothing in common with them!"
Then you have something called Kiruv- we need to encourage these "misguided'people to come back to their roots. Usually this is done with some tact and understanding (people are not going to change in one day)- but the ideology behind this approach is still the same- secularism is wrong and needs to be uprooted!
So, essentially, Ultra-religious are still holding the same ground, one can argue, out of inertia and lack of strong leadership, unwilling to acknowledge the New Reality- Secular Jew. This new character, child of the Modern Age, has his set of values,which we are yet to discover (later in this article), and if Religious world wishes to deal with him, it needs to be brave enough to look into his face and see there the Image of G-d!
On the other hand, Secular Jewish world has plenty of stereotypes regarding religious Jews- and most importantly, is still unwilling to recognise his very own Brother there- albeit wearing different clothes, and thinking differently.
So here comes the question- once we established (at least hypothetically), that we have different expressions of G-d's Will on both sides of the argument, and are willing to look into each other's face, as equals and as brothers and sisters- what's next?
I believe, as stated above, we must establish and understand each other's fundamental values (don't ask me how to do it- I'm not there yet!)
In my opinion, if we are to define most fundamental values of religious and secular world, and are to pick just one on each side, we will have Freedom and Holiness. My strong belief is, that if we become aware of both, we WILL EVOLVE GREATLY AS HUMANITY!
Freedom is essential for the secular definition of Man- just take a look at all the great accomplishments our modern world is so proud of- freedom of speech, religion, freedom of thought, academic and political freedom, economic freedom, individual freedoms (such as freedom of privacy, freedom of movement, etc)- one can clearly see, that freedom defines the very core of our society, since the Enlightenment.
What is religious perspective on Freedom?
On one hand, Judaism postulates free Will of Man as the greatest gift given to him by G-d- and thus, making him G-dlike! On the other, Judaism puts on us various demands, that would largely restrict our freedom- mitzvot are obligations, and if you fail to follow them, your behavior is considered wrong/sinful.
To understand this apparent paradox, we may recall two expressions of freedom in Hebrew- Hofesh and Herut. Hofesh is largely similar to the secular definition of freedom- it's acting with no external restrictions, and is essential in freeing man from external slavery. Herut, as explained by Sages, is accomplished by submitting your personal will and desires to the will of G-d- in Jewish context, as expressed in the Torah.
Very often, Herut and Hofesh are viewed as opposites- but I suppose, we should rather view them as COMPLIMENTARY! Herut MUST be based on our clear expression of GENUINE INTERNAL DESIRE TO SEEK G-D- and if this doesn't happen (in other words, we only have Herut with no real Hofesh)- we have a robotic caricature on man, so often seen in our contemporary religious society!
On the other hand, Hofesh has to be elevated with the new sense of purpose, which Herut may provide. Hofesh as liberation of man from all external chains is not completed, unless it's imbued with high idealism and true desire to elevate mankind to the great summit of "Kingdom of Priests". Many secular thinkers would recognize how Hofesh without Herut is incomplete- but in order to understand where to take this energy from, we must now turn to the other side of equation- the religious one.
Religious world proclaims the value of Holiness- Kdusha- as the most essential value in life. There's absolutely no way to understand this on secular terms, we must add an extra dimension to Life- to see it's all elements in constant process of growth and evolution, imbued with direction and purpose- and I'm consciously not using the word G-d- as this word is very often taken to mean certain antropomorphisms and other ideas, we as society had outgrown. One does NOT need to be religious to recognize such value- and I just bring you one example of a contemporary mystic Etkhart Tolle, who influenced millions in the world by his groundbreaking teaching in The New Earth. He calls himself spiritual, but not religious (not associated with any particular religion- and in fact, often very critical of institutionalized religion). What is he coming to teach? His message is simple- living in the NOW. Go beyond your Ego, and embrace the mystery of Life- something religious person would call Holiness of life! If we can judge by the huge reaction of millions in the world to this message, it seems, Tolle found the right language to communicate to humanity the most important tool it requires today to grow and evolve- we, on Jewish terms, can relate to it as Kdusha!
In conclusion, we live at a very special time of which our prophets spoke-
"For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth- and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind...and it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer, and while they yet speaking,I will hear...
they shall not hurt nor destroy in my holy mountain, said G-d" (Isiah, 65:17-25)
..
Taking into account the historical baggage we have on both sides, sticking to existing preconceived notions and stereotypes well too often stops any genuine search for Truth and Shalom- and in my humble opinion, we desperately need both!
So, here's my first observation- religious and secular world have different set of values- and this is what I call, different languages. In order to get engaged into any sort of meaningful discussion with the opponent, one needs to understand and respect his set of values- which of course, doesn't mean, to agree with everything he has to say. To the contrary, I strongly believe that such meaningful dialogue, with both sides truly interested in each other's perspective on tings, can enrich Jewish world tremendously, and in many ways I would compare such dialogue with the famous Talmudic dispute between the two schools- Hillel and Shammai. Talmud brings this argument between the two schools as an example of the argument for Heaven's sake (or, in simple English, for the sake of Truth). But to get there, huge effort is required on both sides-
Religious world would need to come to terms with the simple fact of life- secular world is here, and is not going to disappear. If we understand that G-d is playing in history, and is behind all major historical changes, we cannot simply treat this as some sort of an aberration or mistake- or as very often implied, sin on a massive scale- Rebellion against G-d and his people. This was the traditional position of the Orthodoxy in the beginning of the 20th century, and little has changed since then. Rav Kook was possibly the only great Rabbi of the generation who had enough courage to face the challenge of Atheism and Secularism-and truthful to his belief that any such change cannot be viewed as misguided rebellion, and even explained how Judaism and Jews are benefiting from it- Atheism raises very important questions, and collides with those aspects of religion that became resistant to any change, and thus not ready to accept the Light of G-d appearing in a new form and shape of Modernity .
Current approach to the secular world in Ultra-religious circles is usually two-fold-
First, you have those who would plainly state- "Hilonim (secular) are sinners, and we have nothing in common with them!"
Then you have something called Kiruv- we need to encourage these "misguided'people to come back to their roots. Usually this is done with some tact and understanding (people are not going to change in one day)- but the ideology behind this approach is still the same- secularism is wrong and needs to be uprooted!
So, essentially, Ultra-religious are still holding the same ground, one can argue, out of inertia and lack of strong leadership, unwilling to acknowledge the New Reality- Secular Jew. This new character, child of the Modern Age, has his set of values,which we are yet to discover (later in this article), and if Religious world wishes to deal with him, it needs to be brave enough to look into his face and see there the Image of G-d!
On the other hand, Secular Jewish world has plenty of stereotypes regarding religious Jews- and most importantly, is still unwilling to recognise his very own Brother there- albeit wearing different clothes, and thinking differently.
So here comes the question- once we established (at least hypothetically), that we have different expressions of G-d's Will on both sides of the argument, and are willing to look into each other's face, as equals and as brothers and sisters- what's next?
I believe, as stated above, we must establish and understand each other's fundamental values (don't ask me how to do it- I'm not there yet!)
In my opinion, if we are to define most fundamental values of religious and secular world, and are to pick just one on each side, we will have Freedom and Holiness. My strong belief is, that if we become aware of both, we WILL EVOLVE GREATLY AS HUMANITY!
Freedom is essential for the secular definition of Man- just take a look at all the great accomplishments our modern world is so proud of- freedom of speech, religion, freedom of thought, academic and political freedom, economic freedom, individual freedoms (such as freedom of privacy, freedom of movement, etc)- one can clearly see, that freedom defines the very core of our society, since the Enlightenment.
What is religious perspective on Freedom?
On one hand, Judaism postulates free Will of Man as the greatest gift given to him by G-d- and thus, making him G-dlike! On the other, Judaism puts on us various demands, that would largely restrict our freedom- mitzvot are obligations, and if you fail to follow them, your behavior is considered wrong/sinful.
To understand this apparent paradox, we may recall two expressions of freedom in Hebrew- Hofesh and Herut. Hofesh is largely similar to the secular definition of freedom- it's acting with no external restrictions, and is essential in freeing man from external slavery. Herut, as explained by Sages, is accomplished by submitting your personal will and desires to the will of G-d- in Jewish context, as expressed in the Torah.
Very often, Herut and Hofesh are viewed as opposites- but I suppose, we should rather view them as COMPLIMENTARY! Herut MUST be based on our clear expression of GENUINE INTERNAL DESIRE TO SEEK G-D- and if this doesn't happen (in other words, we only have Herut with no real Hofesh)- we have a robotic caricature on man, so often seen in our contemporary religious society!
On the other hand, Hofesh has to be elevated with the new sense of purpose, which Herut may provide. Hofesh as liberation of man from all external chains is not completed, unless it's imbued with high idealism and true desire to elevate mankind to the great summit of "Kingdom of Priests". Many secular thinkers would recognize how Hofesh without Herut is incomplete- but in order to understand where to take this energy from, we must now turn to the other side of equation- the religious one.
Religious world proclaims the value of Holiness- Kdusha- as the most essential value in life. There's absolutely no way to understand this on secular terms, we must add an extra dimension to Life- to see it's all elements in constant process of growth and evolution, imbued with direction and purpose- and I'm consciously not using the word G-d- as this word is very often taken to mean certain antropomorphisms and other ideas, we as society had outgrown. One does NOT need to be religious to recognize such value- and I just bring you one example of a contemporary mystic Etkhart Tolle, who influenced millions in the world by his groundbreaking teaching in The New Earth. He calls himself spiritual, but not religious (not associated with any particular religion- and in fact, often very critical of institutionalized religion). What is he coming to teach? His message is simple- living in the NOW. Go beyond your Ego, and embrace the mystery of Life- something religious person would call Holiness of life! If we can judge by the huge reaction of millions in the world to this message, it seems, Tolle found the right language to communicate to humanity the most important tool it requires today to grow and evolve- we, on Jewish terms, can relate to it as Kdusha!
In conclusion, we live at a very special time of which our prophets spoke-
"For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth- and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind...and it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer, and while they yet speaking,I will hear...
they shall not hurt nor destroy in my holy mountain, said G-d" (Isiah, 65:17-25)
..
Monday, February 21, 2011
Freedom of thought in religious world
Some of our recent discussions on facebook (Jewish Explorer group) brought my attention to the following comment, made by some blogger (certainly an informed one) regarding the influence of Chassidic lifestyle on the Litvishe world. Here's what he is saying-
As noted the classic Litvisher Yeshivisher type is a rare bred today. For example no one at Ner Israel in the 1950's wore their tzitzis out. It simply was not done. No bachur sported a beard
Also, the burgeoning personality cults of Roshei Yeshiva has been adopted by the Litvisher world from the Chasidsher World. In the "old" days, no Poseik {Litvisher or otherwise} was treated as infallible by the Litvisher world. That has changed. The Mishnah Brurah has been canonized by the Litvisher world into something beyond the authority of any predecessor I can think of. Certainly the Chayei Adam or Shach, or Aruch Hashulchan were never treated as complete final authorities.
The old Litvishe world was more skeptical and talmidim challenged Roshei Yeshiva with difficult blistering questions. It used to be the role of the Yeshivisher Talmid to take his rebbe to task. Now it seems the role is to just to answer "amein gut gezukt" w/o any challenge lest one be considered disloyal.
As one of my Litvsiher rebbes admonised us - ich vill nisht keinfrum teira! {I don't want any pious learning - ie- think for yourself before you acquiesce to what I say!}
I am leaving this thoughtful post without any comments- as I think, it is quite self-explanatory, and very much thought-provoking- as to where are we going, and what should be our priorities
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Prayer
God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.
- Reinhold Niebuhr
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.
- Reinhold Niebuhr
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Uncomfortable questions for comfortable Jews
Although the title (as some of you know), is taken from the famous book by R. Kahane, our topic is quite different- it's just a little insight on this week Torah portion.
Jews are taken out of Egypt (E.), and slavery's left behind- or so it seems- until they are to face their masters in hot pursuit, driven all the way to the sea, helpless, and miserable- WHY?
Why G-d is doing this to me/us- we all ask in such dreadful situation.
And here's the point- this question ASSUMES something- namely- that life is supposed to be COMFORTABLE - but the bitter truth is- IT IS NOT!!! Some of us are going to learn this lesson a hard way, as these days we are enjoying great level of comfort (possibly, unmatched in any given generation!)- and yet, when the world hits you back, you HAVE to face this UNCOMFORTABLE realisation- which eventually may become your stepping stone to greatness!
As R. Noach Weinberg puts it, this is the CHOICE Torah gives us- Life or ..Death.!
Really? I never understood that literally, but R. Noach is making a simple point- We choose between Comfort (staying where we are) and Action (ALWAYS uncomfortable, even painful- but certainly with a reward- no pain, no gain, as they say!). Now, what is the ESSENCE of this choice- what is the ULTIMATE COMFORT? Death! And Life is about Action! (This world is called Olam ha Asiya- the World of action- precisely for that reason!)
And yes, life is UNCOMFORTABLE- as our sages put it, both Bet Shammai and Bet Hillel came to that realisation. But from spiritual perspective, we can grow ONLY by making right choices- stepping out of our comfort zone- getting out of Egypt!
"Никто не обещал, что будет легко"- life is not meant to be easy- it's meant for GROWTH!
Greatness of Nahshon ben Aminadav, who stepped into the sea, became possible under the huge pressure of the dreadful situation Jews found themselves in- in other words, HUGE problem became a HUGE opportunity for greatness!
Our sages tell us, we should be doing what we are good at, and at the same time, should life present us with a challenge- let's remember- WE NEED TO BE WILLING TO DO WHAT IS UNCOMFORTABLE!
2 questions we can ask ourselves (to wake up!)
1. When was the last time I did something that was UNCOMFORTABLE- because it was the RIGHT thing to do ?
2. Is there something I'm AVOIDING that is the right thing to do- simply because it's uncomfortable ?
Let's cross the sea of our fears- to see it split!
Jews are taken out of Egypt (E.), and slavery's left behind- or so it seems- until they are to face their masters in hot pursuit, driven all the way to the sea, helpless, and miserable- WHY?
Why G-d is doing this to me/us- we all ask in such dreadful situation.
And here's the point- this question ASSUMES something- namely- that life is supposed to be COMFORTABLE - but the bitter truth is- IT IS NOT!!! Some of us are going to learn this lesson a hard way, as these days we are enjoying great level of comfort (possibly, unmatched in any given generation!)- and yet, when the world hits you back, you HAVE to face this UNCOMFORTABLE realisation- which eventually may become your stepping stone to greatness!
As R. Noach Weinberg puts it, this is the CHOICE Torah gives us- Life or ..Death.!
Really? I never understood that literally, but R. Noach is making a simple point- We choose between Comfort (staying where we are) and Action (ALWAYS uncomfortable, even painful- but certainly with a reward- no pain, no gain, as they say!). Now, what is the ESSENCE of this choice- what is the ULTIMATE COMFORT? Death! And Life is about Action! (This world is called Olam ha Asiya- the World of action- precisely for that reason!)
And yes, life is UNCOMFORTABLE- as our sages put it, both Bet Shammai and Bet Hillel came to that realisation. But from spiritual perspective, we can grow ONLY by making right choices- stepping out of our comfort zone- getting out of Egypt!
"Никто не обещал, что будет легко"- life is not meant to be easy- it's meant for GROWTH!
Greatness of Nahshon ben Aminadav, who stepped into the sea, became possible under the huge pressure of the dreadful situation Jews found themselves in- in other words, HUGE problem became a HUGE opportunity for greatness!
Our sages tell us, we should be doing what we are good at, and at the same time, should life present us with a challenge- let's remember- WE NEED TO BE WILLING TO DO WHAT IS UNCOMFORTABLE!
2 questions we can ask ourselves (to wake up!)
1. When was the last time I did something that was UNCOMFORTABLE- because it was the RIGHT thing to do ?
2. Is there something I'm AVOIDING that is the right thing to do- simply because it's uncomfortable ?
Let's cross the sea of our fears- to see it split!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
The beauty of Simple Goodness
Yesterday at the bus stop, something truly beautiful happened in my life
I was totally in my own thoughts, and hardly noticed as someone approached me with a question.
"Must be, he needs some money, or simply asking for directions"- registered quickly in my mind-
But to my utter surprise, the stranger gave me his unused bus ticket (what they call here "kartis maavar"- they give you a transfer for the same price, which you can use only within a certain time limit).
"I'm not going to use it"- he smiled to me, noticing my astonishment. "That's what I always do"- he continued. It turned out, this simple act of kindness and attention from a total stranger totally changed my mood, and a cold winter day became so much warmer.
It doesn't take much to live your life in such a great way- I thought- all it takes is a little attention and good will
May we all become messengers of kindness and good will!
What a lovely day!
I was totally in my own thoughts, and hardly noticed as someone approached me with a question.
"Must be, he needs some money, or simply asking for directions"- registered quickly in my mind-
But to my utter surprise, the stranger gave me his unused bus ticket (what they call here "kartis maavar"- they give you a transfer for the same price, which you can use only within a certain time limit).
"I'm not going to use it"- he smiled to me, noticing my astonishment. "That's what I always do"- he continued. It turned out, this simple act of kindness and attention from a total stranger totally changed my mood, and a cold winter day became so much warmer.
It doesn't take much to live your life in such a great way- I thought- all it takes is a little attention and good will
May we all become messengers of kindness and good will!
What a lovely day!
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