A Simple Jew asks:
Of all the seforim that make up your daily learning seder, what do you have the most difficult time learning?
My anwser is posted on his blog, here.
A Simple Jews asks me a question
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Category Archives: seforim
A defining moment
Recently, in what started out as a casual (not that I really believe in these things) conversation with the head of local adult education program, I was asked what I’m my interests are in regard to learning. I mentioned that I ‘enjoy’ mussar and had for many years. I was then asked how I got “into Mussar”? I smiled and responded that it was more like mussar got into me.
This conversation brought me back to what I might loosely call a “defining moment” in my Yiddishkeit, while learning in Israel in 1990. I had spent my freshman year at YU and now I had an opportunity to actually learn Torah “all day” for the upcoming year. It was the end of my first day in a yeshiva in Israel, and our Rabbeim had left for evening, thus leaving about 40 fresh off the plane guys in the beis medresh with several of our madrichim and a few kollel-types. On the schedule was something called “Night Seder”.
I’ll be honest, I had no clue what this was. A nice amount of guys left our yeshiva (which back then was in Gilo) and took a bus into town. The dozen or so left sort of just hung out. I looked around and saw that a few people were learning b’chavrusah and some were just “reading”. I decided to start checking out the books in the yeshiva’s small library. I happened upon a small book called “The Path of the Just” . I had never heard of it (not that I really had heard of much aside from Rashi, Rav Hirsch, and R Aryeh Kaplan) and decide to pick it up.
As most people, the first sentence hit me with its’ humility and deep insight into how to open up to someone:
“I have written this work not to teach men what they do not know, but to remind them of what they already know and is very evident to them, for you will find in most of my words only things which most people know, and concerning which they entertain no doubts.”
Wow. I kept reading and reading and reading. I quickly realized that I wasn’t one of those people who didn’t really know all the things the RAMCHAL expected me to know. That was fine with me, I was willing to learn.
I had always been interested in psychology and why we do what we do. That aspect of insight in the life of a Torah Jew was, as a 19 year old, something that I hadn’t formally come accross during my development in Torah observance. The whole idea of becoming a better person was an area of Judaism that I had thought about but never really read anything about, until now. I felt my world sort of opening up and I quickly began to see the “bigger picture” of a whole different aspect of Avodah. It was a classic Peak Experience, as Abraham Maslow would have put it.
Eventually when I reach the end of this sefer I was again, amazed. It ends with this pasuk from Tehillim:
“Let Israel be happy in its Maker, the sons of Zion rejoice in their King” (Psalms 149:2)
The end result of growth should be that we have a relationship of simcha with Hashem. Simple, yet deep. That evening and the subsequent ones spent reading and learning Mesillas Yesharim with several different people helped give me an anchor and a direction that I hadn’t thought possible. As I look back, it may have been a defining moment for me.
Rav Hirsch on "What the World Stands On…"
Like most people, I learn Pirkei Avos on Shabbos starting after Pesach and finishing six weeks later. The following is part of Rav Hirsch’s commentary on this Pirkei Avos: Shimon the Righteous was among the last surviving members of the Great assembly. He would say: The world stands on three things: Torah, the service of G-d, and deeds of kindness. (Chap 1, Mishna 2)
Torah implies the knowledge of the truth and the will of God with regard to every aspect of our lives, personal and public, individual and social. Avodah denotes dutiful obedience, service God by fulfilling His will in every phase of our lives, personal and pubic, individual and social. Gemiluth Chasidim signifies selfless, active loving-kindness to promote the welfare of our fellow-man. These are the three things which shape and perfect the world of man and all that pertains to it in accordance with the measure and way of its destiny. Whenever and wherever any of these three are inadequate or altogether lacking there is a gap which cannot be filled and there is no manifest destiny. Without Torah the human spirit lacks the wellsprings of true knowledge; it will be blind to the basic, indispensable element which makes man a human being and it will be receptive to everything except truth and light. Without Avodah man cannot have the proper attitude towards God, his Master and Creator, and toward the world into which God put him in order to develop and protect it in accordance with God’s will. Instead of serving God he will think he is a master when, as a matter of fact, he will be the slave of his passions and his lust. He will pander to anything that he feels can serve or prejudice his interests, instead of being exalted and ennobled by him in accordance with God’s purpose, everything he touches will receive the impress of his depravity and error. If he omits Gemiluth Chasadim he will be without that characteristic which is the very first trait of godliness. Instead of being God-like in acting as a creator of happiness and prosperity for his fellow-man, he will harden his heart in callous selfishness, and mankind will lack that bond of brotherhood and loving-kindness within which alone all happiness and joy of life can prosper.
Yeah, I know, it’s a long quote. But, in these words, Rav Hirsch (as rendered into English by Gertrude Hirschler in 1967) really sums up Torah Judaism and our place in the world. He not only shows us how Torah, Avodah, and Gemilus Chassadim must enhance our world, but Rav Hirsch skillfully draws a picture of what a person is like who doesn’t engage in these three things. He willl: “be receptive to everything except truth and light”, “be the slave of his passions and his lust”, and “harden his heart in callous selfishness, and mankind will lack that bond of brotherhood and loving-kindness within which alone all happiness and joy of life can prosper”.
The image of a three-legged table isn’t just a random picture. If one doesn’t exercise a balance of Torah, Avodah, and Gemilus Chassadim then it’s as if the table is either missing a leg or the table is slanted. Either way, it isn’t stable. We see that all three elements must exist in order to achieve a “balanced” Torah observant Jew.
B’nai Machshava Tovah transalated online
I had posted briefly before about this project by Yaacov Dovid Shulman. Recently I’ve had an urge to reread his transation of B’nai Machshava Tovah by Rav Kalonymus Kalman Shapira z’tl. Reb Yaacov Dovid’s translation, titled, “Experiencing the Divine: A Practical Jewish Guide” is a very welcome change from the original translation.
What I am fascinated by is that the Guidance and Principles and the Rules of the Group are very similar to the concepts and goals of the ‘traditional’ mussar va’adim of the Mussar Movement.
The entire translation is available here. Comments are welcome.
Never Lose Your Head
The following, found in the Artscroll Pirkei Avos: Sfas Emes and other Chassidic Masters, has been on my mind recently:
R’ Chanoch Henach of Alexander relates the following story…
A hoplessly diorganized fool determined to organize his life by recording the whereabouts of all his belongings. Before going to sleep, he dutifully wrote: “My clothing is hanging in the closet, my shoes are beside my bed and my head is in my bed (under the covers).” Upon arising, he found his clothing and shoes exactly where he had specified but his head was nowhere to be found-not even in his bed! The mussar haskil of the story: It is not sufficient for peripheral matters to be in place, unless my head, the core of my all my thoughts and actions, is also in place (Maggidei HaEmes).
I know, for myself, that when I’m busy I tend to focus on the details of what I’m doing. At times, those details tend to overshadow the real goals that I’m aiming for. It’s the story above that I think about when I find myself spending more time than needed on any given task. Rav Simcha Zissel Ziv, the Alter of Kelm, taught that when getting ready to perform a mitzvah one needs to “take time, be exact, and unclutter the mind”. In order to clear one’s head, you first need to know where your head is!
Opening my heart
Towards the end of the Amidah we say:
פְּתַח לִבִּי בְּתורָתֶךָ. וּבְמִצְותֶיךָ תִּרְדּף נַפְשִׁי
May my heart be open to your Torah. May my soul pursue your Mitzvos.
I’m on round two of going through the second volume of the Bilvavi Mishkan Evneh. A few nights ago I came across this:
If the Torah he has learned and the prayers he has prayed until today have not brought him to the state of feeling in his heart that Hashem is a real perceptible entity Whom it is pleasant to live with and cleave to, his Torah and mitzvos were only in the mind, but the heart was not functioning properly. (chapter three)
Yeah, this one brought me to a screeching halt. This is the real deal. If I’m don’t feel like davening, washing negel vasser, making a bracha, lighting neiros, learning, dressing tzenuah or doing chessed, it’s a problem. What if I do those things and still feel nothing? It must be that my heart isn’t open.
Each generation has their own specific Yetzer Hara. Not putting enough heart into Yiddishkeit just might be ours. There’s a cure, though. It might not be for everyone, but it’s worth a try and has helped me over the past year and a half.
The gemara in Kiddushin 30b says: Hashem has told Yisrael, “My children, I have created the Evil Inclination, and I have created the Torah as an antidote against it.” Again, each generation has their own specific Yetzer Hara. With that in mind, I think it’s safe to type that each generation is given specific seforim and teachers that are vessels of Torah containing the antidote we need against the Evil Inclination of our times.
Much as been written about the gadlus of the Bilvavi Mishkan Evneh seforim and their author, Rav Itamar Schwartz. I am, by no means, a talmud of his or his seforim. I’m simply more of an armchair or between-aliyos reader. I’m constantly amazed, even in the English, how clearly he gives over important concepts that I have seemed to have forgotten over the years and brings to light new mind-blowing ideas with such tangible everyday life examples. Even more importantly that opening my mind, my heart has begun be be opened again, as well. It’s been a slow process, but when I put in the effort, I’m a better Jew.
Building A Sancuary in the Heart isn’t overly intellectual, hippy-trippy, or feel-good-and-feel-frummer writing. Its’ success is due to the fact that the seforim speak to each person differently. In fact, the whole approach to Rav Schwartz’s teaching is very different that that of other Rabbeim. His Torah has been made available to everyone via the web. The seforim, mp3s and videos are all there, just waiting for you. If you don’t feel like the Jew you were several years ago, when Mitzvos and the idea of being close to Hashem seemed to be something you yearned for, then this might be the antidote you need.
Feeling burned out…
Burn-out, Off the derech, Timtum HaLev, observabots, general lack of feeling while performing mitzvos. Call it what you will, but recently it’s been a topic among many bloggers. Why? I’d venture to say that it is because most people are worried about someone they know or even themselves. To be on fire, excited, and passionate about anything all the time isn’t easy.
If inclined, I’m listing a few links for online reading as well as two mp3 shiurim that might help anyone. I’ve, personally, found them useful.
Reading
Adults at Risk: by R Mordechai Becher and Rabbi Chanan (Antony) Gordon- A well written article that address this issues and offers suggestions
Burn-Out: by The Ner LeElef Institute- This document was written for the “kiruv profession”, but don’t let that stop you from reading…with an open mind and heart
Inspiration and Disappointment: from LIVING INSPIRED by Rabbi Akiva Tatz- If you haven’t read this, he explains why we need to go through a period of excitement and then hit the bumpy roadListening
Listening
Getting High, Staying High: Rabbi Akiva Tatz (fourth shiur on the list)- This is the mp3 shiur of the same concepts found in the above link
Loving Yiddishkeit: by Rabbi Shaya Cohen (third shiur on the list)- While geared toward parents, the information, insights, and advice are hands-on and can be applied for anyone
To be continued…
Thoughts on the "off the derech" crisis from 1932
The sefer, Chovos HaTalmidim, A Student’s Obligation, was published in 1932 and written by the Rebbe of Piazeczna, Rav Kalonymous Kalman Shapiro, zt”l. The sefer, itself, is powerful. However, the introduction sheds light on students and children leaving the path of Torah Judaism. I have posted a few pages of the introduction to this sefer here.
The Piazeczna’s description and advice for those “at-risk” speaks to both the young and old, the BT and the FFB, those burned out and those go through the daily motions of Yiddishkeit. It is almost hard to believe that it was first published over 76 years ago.
In light of several posting recently (Rabbi Maryles, Dixie Yid, and two from Little Frumhouse on the Prairie) I had been think about posting something myself, but that will have to wait. If you are in chinuch or a parent or find yourself thinking “do I really need to make a bracha after I eat?” or notice you speed through bentching Shabbos night so that you can get to sleep really early then you really need to read what the Rebbe writes.
In the few pages that I’ve made available as a pdf, the Aish Kodesh brings up things as:
- Children being rebellious or stuborn students (top of page 7)
- Parents role in educating the next generation (top of page 10)
- Children thinking that they are more grown up than they really are (middle of page 11)
- The slow, small steps that lead us away from Hashem (bottom of page 12)
- The main thing someone needs to know is that he or she is connected to Hashem (page 15)
These pages are not meant to be read while stopped at a traffic light on the way to work or while waiting in line to pick up your kids from school. This is the real deal! I would suggest printing them out and setting aside a few minutes Shabbos night in a comfortable chair with a cup of mint tea and absorbing Rav Shapiro’s persepctive. Please click here to view and download these few pages read the words of this Tzaddik.
Comments are always welcome.
What I gained from jury duty
I had jury duty a few weeks ago. While I’m all for doing my part to help our country’s legal system, I also figured it would be a good time to make some progress in a few things that I have been learning. As I was trying to decide what reading material to take with me I ended up with really two choices: Rambam’s Hilchos Teshuva or the second volume of Bilvavi Mishkan Evneh. I was already on the 6th chapter of Hilchos Teshuva (I usually start learning it a few days before Elul, and sadly, in 12 years I have only finished it 3 times) and was on the 3rd chapter of the Bilvavi.
As I was past the half-way mark with Hilchos Teshuva I opted to bring that sefer. Arriving in the jury room and 9:30 am and remaining there until past 4:00pm (no, I wasn’t picked to be a juror) gave me ample time to really jump into the Rambam in a way that was much more fullfilling than my past attempts. The time also allowed me to look around at my fellow civic-minded citizens of Chicago and see what they were doing.
Many were reading, watching movies on laptops or their smartphones, listening to music, taking naps, and taking naps. One “youth minister” seated close to me was working Sunday school lesson plans. He actually asked me about “Joseph’s relationship with his brothers”. All the while, the words of a very wise and close friend of mine, echoed in my mind, “How we use our free time really defines the type of person that we are”.
I was very glad that I had chosen to attempt to learn. That gladness was supercharged when I read the following from the 10th chapter (halacha 2) of Hilchos Teshuva:
Anyone who serves out of love and occupies himself with Torah and mitzvot and follows the ways of wisdom should not do so for any earthly reason[s] or out of fear of the curses or to receive the blessings, but should fulfil the truth because it is the truth. Out of this he will receive goodness. This level is a very high one, and not every wise person attains it. This is the level of Abraham the Patriarch, whom God called His `friend’, for the reason that he served God solely out of love. This is a level which God commanded, via Moses, us [to attain], as it is written, “And you shall love the Lord your God”. Once a person loves God appropriately, he will fulfil the commandments out of love.
While probably obvious to most, I was amazingly joyful to read the words of the Rambam. As I had almost reached the intersection between Cheshbon HaNefesh and “will my Teshuva be enough this year”, I found was reminded by the words of the Rambam something that I had forgotten along the way. Advodas Hashem m’Ahava is really the best path to take. As I reflect on this, it makes perfect sense. I know that I’m more touched when my own children listen and do what is expected of them because they love me, instead of because they fear what might happen to them if they don’t. Again, it’s a simple thought, but one that I needed to be reminded of.
As I go into the Yom HaDin, I’ll attempt to put a lot more Ahava into my Avodah!
Kesiva v’chasima tova!
Rav Hirsh on the prerequisite to peace
“וְהָאֱמֶת וְהַשָּׁלוֹם, אֱהָבוּ” – You shall love truth and peace
These words from the end of Zechariah 8:19 are quoted thoughout Rav Hirsch’s writings. R Eliyahu Meir Klugman eloquently write is his biography of Rav Hirsch that:
He explained that the concepts of truth and peace invariably occur in that order in Tanach, truth first and only afterwards peace, “For peace is not a father of truth; peach is the child of truth. Win the people for truth, inalienable truth that can never be sold, nor even for the price of peace, when sacred causes are involved, and then true, everlasting peace will follow of itself.” (page 314)
During the Three Weeks we all try to be a bit nicer. There are time that I succeed and there are times when I seem to not be able to get past certain things. It’s a nesoyon (test) for me. I accept that. But, it seems that from the words of Rav Hirsch, making peace should not come at the expense of Emes. In some cases, it’s not the other party that need to see the truth, but ourselves. We must only be willing to really see what the Emes is, despite any difficulties that may result.
