Blog Posts

From Wise-Cracking Businessman to Soul-Stirring Holy Man

10/7/2018

In Rav Levi Yitzchak Bender's Words of Faith, we meet Reb Sander of Terevitz, who started out life as a pampered child accustomed to an affluent lifestyle.

As a successful merchant in adulthood, he kept up his affluent lifestyle while his natural gregariousness led to a jovial wheeling 'n' dealing attitude. Known as the wittiest leitzan among all the other leitzanim, Reb Sander once confronted a base character who came into Reb Sander's fabric factory looking to buy salt.

(Salt...in a fabric factory.)

"If you want salt," quipped Reb Sander, "then stand on the table and dance, and the salt will come out..."

[Note: I don't understand why Rav Bender brought this as an example of Reb Sander's previous low level because it doesn't seem that bad to me. Likely, there are nuances in the original Yiddish that go over my head, but this is the example used in the book, this is the example used in this post.]

Anyway, the others described Reb Sander as a flippant comedian (a leitzan, a vertlich zuger) focused on making profitable deals.

Though shomer Shabbos himself, Friday afternoons proved to be the best time for business as Reb Sander engaged in wheeling and dealing at this time, rather than preparing for the holy day -- and encouraged the other merchants to do the same.

But then what happened?

Rav Nachman Chazan* of Tultchin showed up in Reb Sander's town. (Okay, he didn't just show up; he was sent there by Rav Naftali, one of the original intimate chassidim of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov.)

Anyway, Rav Nachman Chazan started speaking compelling words of Torah that captivated the hearts of the people, including Reb Sander. Though initially scheduled to stay for one week, the people there kept insisting that Rav Nachman Chazan extend his visit until he ended up speaking there for 3 weeks straight.

The people finally asked Rav Nachman Chazan, "From where do you draw all of these treasures?"

And he answered, "All of this wealth is from my great teacher Rebbe Nosson, whose holy writings are resting on the shelf, collecting dust because we don't have the funds to take them out of burial, to print and spread them among Yisrael."

At that point, Reb Sander whipped out 100 rubles and said to Rav Nachman Chazan, "Take a down payment of 100 rubles. When you begin to print, another 100 rubles will follow. When you finish, another 100 rubles will be added."

Then finally, the people allowed Rav Nachman Chazan to return home.

And this was the beginning of an awe-inspiring change in Reb Sander.

Na'afochu -- A Spiritual Somersault

Reb Sander stopped playing the comedian and upended his previous priorities: Avodat Hashem became his main occupation while his fabric business turned into a side-job.

He was able to maintain his new priorities even when his business associates spoke of him behind his back: "What happened to Reb Sander? Where did he go? He was our buddy, just like one of us. What happened to him...?"

When they saw Reb Sander Erev Shabbat afternoon, already dressed for Shabbat and fervently reciting Shir Hashirim in the beis hamidrash, they exclaimed to each other, "Behold, this is the best time for business! He used to be the invigorating spirit by us at this time. What happened to him...?!"

With Hashem still enabling Reb Sander to make money hand over fist, Reb Sander upended his wealth distribution in accordance with his new priorities. Impoverished Jews now received clothes and food and didn't need to worry any longer about lacking their basic necessities. He funded the building of Rebbe Nosson's new Kloiz in 5626/1866.

Despite all his physical exertions (toiveling in freezing mikveh waters & 12 hours of passionate prayer at Rebbe Nachman's graveside) and his formerly sensitive constitution, this same man now made do with just a bit of bread and a cheap Russian beverage called kavus: water flavored with beet juice.

Reb Sander started coming to Uman twice a month to pour out his soul at the kever of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, even spending 12 hours in outpouring at Rebbe Nachman's kever.

The same mouth that used to shoot out barbs and witticisms turned into the source of some of today's classic Breslov melodies, including Breslov's Yedid Nefesh and the prayer for dew.

Renewed spiritual longing so filled Reb Sander that when Rav Avraham Chazan (the son of Rav Nachman Chazan) once walked along Pushkina Street, Rav Avraham heard strange and terrible screams. Thinking that perhaps someone had fallen into the hands of a murderer, Rav Avraham tentatively hurried toward the kever to see if he could help.

But it was only Reb Sander, begging Hashem with all his might for the merit to come even closer to Him.

From Rich Man to Rich Soul

Yes, Reb Sander remained a successful businessman, but he conducted his business in a completely different manner after his 3-week encounter with Rav Nachman Chazan.

He applied his business acumen toward the poor Jews of that time, as attentive to their needs as he used to be of his own.

The barbs Reb Sander once aimed at others were now re-directed to spur himself into the spiritual activities he found particularly challenging: "Clump of dust -- throw yourself in and immerse!" he yelled at himself several times before he managed to dunk himself in the icy waters of the mikveh.

Reb Sander didn't just transfer himself from one world to another.

Using the same keilim he had inside him all along, Reb Sander revolutionized himself from within.

May we all merit a similar transformation l'tovah.

*Rav Nachman Chazan of Tultchin (1813-1884) was a grandson of a devoted follower of the original Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, he first met Rebbe Nosson (the most devoted follower of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov and the main transcriber of Rebbe Nachman's words into Likutei Moharan, Chayai Moharan, and more) around the age of 9 and became Rebbe Nosson's closest disciple. Renowned for his heartfelt chazzanut (hence his family name "Chazan") and his great humility (after davening, he used to go himself to draw water into the water buckets for the shul). He published and edited Rebbe Nosson's Likutei Halachot. Later, Rav Nachman Chazan moved from Tultchin to the city of Breslov, and then to Uman, which shifted the focus of Breslov Chassidus away from the city of Breslov to the city of Uman. Despite being considered a tzaddik and one of the great leaders of Breslov Chassidut, Rav Nachman Chazan's profound humility and modesty lead him to serve as the shamash of Uman's Breslover shul rather than as it's rav.

Related Post:
2 Examples of Unforeseeable Personality Transformation

Pushkina Street near the kever of Rebbe Nachman today

By Nahoumsabban - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

0 Comments

2 Examples of Unforeseeable Personality Transformation

9/7/2018

2 Comments

A very special aspect of Words of Faith (a translation of the talks given by Rav Levi Yitzchak Bender, a tzaddik from the previous generation) is the way he uses examples of Jews who weren't very refined before they did teshuvah.

If you look over the stories of Jews returning to their roots today, you see people who were stunningly successful in the secular world, then transferred all those skills and much of their success, and that same personality to their newly adapted frum lifestyle.

Sure, there were road bumps along the way as they struggled to fit everything together. And these female BTs often describe their anger issues, in addition. So they're not perfect, but while their success is something I admire and enjoy reading about, it's not something that my personality can necessarily relate to.

Now don't get me wrong; I like hearing about these people. Their stories are interesting and their journeys are inspiring. I buy their books and I think everyone should.

But speaking for myself, I didn't have my act together before keeping Shabbos, and neither was I particularly cool or special or successful, so a part of me longed to read about someone who made the leap of middot instead of the leap of switching careers (which again, IS inspiring, but just doesn't relate to my personal journey.)

For example, a young woman once told me that her husband had been voted "Most Obnoxious" by his 12th-grade high school class. "But I don't find him obnoxious at all!" she said as testimony that middot-teshuvah is actually possible.

But we don't really hear about middot-teshuvah so much.

Understandably, people can't really talk about teshuvah of the personality (rather than teshuvah of action, i.e. "Before I didn't keep Shabbat, but now I do" or "Before I was the top CEO of a successful cheeseburger chain, but now I am the head of a successful kiruv organization") because discussing how bad you were before is so much more negative and invasive.

After all, do you really want people to know about the inane couch potato or the vulgar gamer or the wild crass party girl you were prior to connecting to Torah and mitzvot? And should you reveal that part of your past? (Usually not.)

Yet along comes Rav Bender with his special way of seeing people and his unique way of talking about people and events.

Yes, even people who are initially brazen, crass, insensitive, low-class, and even cold-blooded murderers can do real deep-down teshuvah.

(You'll also see Breslov's method of not pushing people away and allowing spiritual progress to take its course -- even if it's a very slow course. While the original Breslovers didn't go out of their way to interact with or welcome particularly dysfunctional people, neither did they reject them regardless of how distasteful and disturbing their behavior may be.)
___________
Just a quick description of the rabbis mentioned in the following stories:
Rebbe Nosson (Natan) Sternhartz (1780-1844) was the prime disciple of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov and the main transcriber of Rebbe Nachman's words. A very big tzaddik in his own right, Rebbe Nosson succeeded in shaping Breslov into the irrepressible & inspiring force it is today, despite the severe poverty and opposition he suffered in his time.

Rav Avraham ben Rav Nachman Chazan (1849-1917), the son of the humble tzaddik Rav Nachman Chazan of Tultchin, was always known for his devotions, like departing to the woods immediately after Shabbat with a stack of books and a sack of bread to spend the week learning Torah and talking to Hashem. He later became one of the Breslov leaders in Uman and made aliyah to Yerushalayim in 1894. He authored Biur Halikutim, a detailed analysis of the lessons of the original Rebbe Nachman of Breslov. His transcription of his father's stories and divrei Torah form the foundation for Breslov classics like Kochavei Ohr and Sichot V'Sipurim.
______________

From Shabbos Transgressor to Shabbos Lover

In Rebbe Nosson's time, there was a Jew (known as "the Deitchel -- the German") who worked as city clerk all throughout the week, including Shabbos. Because the religious Ukrainian Jews of that time refused to tolerate the public desecration of Shabbos, they all blocked this the Deitchel from entered their shul.

In Rebbe Nosson's shul, the congregants also tried to throw out the Deitchel, but Rebbe Nosson refused to allow it by saying:

"Please do not disturb him. Pay attention and listen: Even though he is a dreadful Jewish sinner, why did he nonetheless come to us? He did not come for nothing...it appears that something draws him specifically to our shul...please, leave him alone..."
[Vol. II, pg. 306]

The Deitchel was even brazen and callous enough to come to daven Mussaf on Shabbos with his hands still covered in ink from work. At one point, it's the custom for everyone to raise their hands during a particular prayer, and he raised his inky hands with everyone else's clean hands.

Though appalled at raising the symbol of Shabbos-transgression during Shabbos Mussaf itself, the congregants obeyed Rebbe Nosson and did not push the Deitchel away.

Eventually, the Deitchel did astounding teshuvah. He became a devoted Bresolver chassid to the point that Rebbe Nosson commented that they will boast of him before the Kisei Hakavod -- the Throne of Glory.

What would have been with the Deitchel had Rebbe Nosson allowed him to be thrown out?

From Rough to Refined

In Rav Bender's time, there lived a seller who sold meat by the weight. A vulgar and idle fellow, he came to the Breslov shul and usually hung out in the corner.

But during the winter, he set his fixed place right next to the only heater.

Next to this heater, the meat seller indulged in such offensive, vulgar chatter that it prevented decent people like Rav Bender from being anywhere near the heater.

And seeing as the impoverished people of that time didn't always have enough coal to heat their homes (Rav Bender recalls needing to buy hot water for grushim due to such poverty) and seeing as tzaddikim like Rav Bender were immersing themselves in icy mikvehs and talking to Hashem outside in the snow, the shul heater was vital for their physical well-being.

Yet did the callous fellow notice or care? Nope!

Some of the congregants wanted this boor forcibly removed from the shul.

But Rav Avraham (ben Rav Nachman) Chazan pleaded with his well-meaning fellows:

"He came to us -- do not disturb him... In spite of everything, he feels obliged to come to us. Don't do anything to harm him..."

[Vol II, pg 308]

Begrudgingly, the good Jews suffered the callous presence of this meat-seller.

Yet eventually, this meat seller immigrated to America and his children there wrote the following letter to the Breslov community back in Uman:

What has happened to our father in America?
He has turned into a chassid in the full meaning of the word ... He used to challenge the chassidim at his shul:
"This is how you pray? I knew people who REALLY prayed!"
"This is how you behave? I saw how the avdei Hashem in Uman behaved..."

[Vol II, pg 308]

Interestingly, the boorish Jew remained unaffected while among tzaddikim of the stature of Rav Avraham Chazan and Rav Levi Yitzchak Bender.

But when he found himself in a place with chassidim whom he felt weren't up to the standards of the chassidim he knew in the Breslov shul in Uman, he couldn't tolerate it.

And that spurred him to create within himself that which he could no longer find outside himself.

This formerly crass Jew transformed himself so thoroughly that he earned a good reputation among the God-fearing Jews in America.

Holding Back with Your Left & Drawing in with Your Right

Probably you noticed in the above examples that the Breslov greats did not interact much with the problematic people as long as the problematic people remained, well, problematic.

But neither did the Breslovers push them away.

You're not supposed to associate with people who consistently engage in forbidden behavior -- but if something in their neshamah is pulling them toward aspects of kedushah, then who are you to push them away?

These rabbis displayed profound wisdom.

They saw where these people were holding in the here and now -- yet they also understood who these people actually were and could be: Jews with pure holy souls yearning for expression.

So we learn from this that you can see the reality of the situation, but also see the potential.

There is Truly Always Hope

Chazal says, "Derech eretz kadmah l'Torah" -- which basically means that you need to be a decent person in order to keep the Torah and understand how to keep the Torah.

For example, you can be a jerk and keep the mitzvot, but if you're a jerk, you're still going to really mess up with prohibitions like not taking revenge, not answering an insult with an insult, not engaging in leitzanut (mocking & jeering), not speaking lashon hara, not holding a grudge, not giving way to anger, and many other such fundamental commandments.

If you're a jerk, you may not even be able to properly identify forbidden behavior; you might think it's justifiable or even necessary. For example, you may not be able to identify leitznut for what it is or lashon hara for what it is.

So it's inspiring to see the above examples of people who really lacked deretz eretz, who suffered from serious brazenness, coarseness, narcissism, and callousness -- yet still managed to do real teshuvah anyway.

May we all merit to do complete teshuvah from a place of love.
______
Related Stories of Middot-Teshuvah:
The True Story of How a Murderer Did Teshuvah
From Wise-Cracking Businessman to Soul-Stirring Holy Man

2 Comments

3 Types of Heavenly Decrees & How to Change Your Destiny

8/7/2018

2 Comments

In the chapter Zivug in Pele Yoetz, Rav Eliezer Papo humbly offers his delineation of 3 different types of decrees and how one should relate to the third type of decree:

1) A good beneficial decree that will come upon a person, even against his will, and no bad will come from it. On the contrary, the Sages explain that such a decree will even uplift a person.

2) A bad decree that has been written and sealed in Heaven; there is no rescuer.

3) A decree that comes according to a person's requests and efforts.

Regarding the above, the Pele Yoetz advises:

"In light of this, a person must take into account that he is from the third category. And everything that is in his power to do, he shall do."

Asking of and praying to Hashem -- inundating him with your requests -- affects decrees from the third category.

And "efforts" include so much. When you express gratitude for 100 different things (or even just 20 different things), you are changing yourself from within and re-making yourself into a vessel for blessing and good decrees.

When you give tzedakah, your are changing your spiritual form.

When you decide to do any good deed, you are changing your destiny.

You can go from being a treif-eater to a Jew who only eats kosher. You become a different person inside, and that affects the Heavenly decrees pertaining to you.

When you remain silent in the face of an insult, when you hold back the lashon hara exploding in your mouth and heart, when you say "thank you!" instead of "how dare you!" -- you are making yourself a receptacle for blessing and sweet decrees.

In the above, the Pele Yoetz placed his delineation of decrees in the section on meriting one's soulmate.

But really, the concept applies to so much more.

May we all merit to become vessels of sweet decrees and blessings.

2 Comments

Understanding Torah Sages: Overcoming Black-&-White Thinking

6/7/2018

0 Comments

Another issue I think holds some people back from learning original texts by tzaddikim is the cult-indoctrinated effect of black-and-white thinking.

Black-and-white thinking leads to "either-or" conclusions.

For example, someone hears that she should light Shabbat candles 10 minutes early to facilitate powerful and additional blessing in her life. So let's say she tries and lights only 5 minutes early. Or she lights exactly on time (10 minutes late, in her mind). Or she even lights 7 minutes after the designated time.

"Because I didn't manage the extra 10 minutes," she might say, "then I failed."

Black-and-white thinking: "Either I manage to light 10 minutes early and receive reward, or I don't and so it means nothing."

"Either I succeeded or I failed."

"Either I receive reward or I receive nothing/or I receive punishment."

This prevents the kind of complex, mind-expanding thought necessary to deal with real spirituality and paradox. And paradox is exactly what Judaism addresses all the time. For example, the paradox of the free will to do anything, yet Hashem controls everything and knows everything in advance. Or the paradox of Hashem being All Compassionate yet there is the Holocaust.

In the above candle-lighting example, a black-and-white thinker denies the fact of spiritual physics: Just the bare truth that she MADE A SINCERE EFFORT to light candles 10 minutes early, then that etched a positive imprint on her soul and also enhances her into a vessel for blessing.

Children think in black-and-white, but adults are supposed to be more advanced than that. Yet because Western society has turned into a cult, and many of us have been raised in this cult-like environment, we can find ourselves affected by black-and-white thinking without even realizing it.

(And because black-and-white thinking leads to despair and hopelessness, this is a major reason why so many people in modern society are depressed or snarky or negative or escapist.)

Also, even an Orthodox environment can unintentionally use cult tactics to teach Torah, which can also affect people negatively, despite the genuine Torah encased within the cult tactics.

Anyway, a lot of Chazal's writings assume that you're in a Jewish community with access to normal non-cultish thinking.

Contradictions or Directions?

So for example, in his chapter on Zivug/A Spouse, the Pele Yoetz brings forth all the familiar stuff, like how your zivug is determined in Shamayim before conception, yet also encourages practical efforts and offers advice, like to ignore material assets in favor of character assets.

But he offers seemingly contradictory advice within. This is because if follow one directive and you're not successful, then you have the contrasting directive as Plan B.

This is Hashem's way of getting you where He wants you to go. You start off one path, but then Hashem nudges you to veer off to another path.

This is sort of like how a Jew does his or her best to keep Shabbat and avoid transgressions, but if Hashem wants a child born on Shabbat, then He sends the signals loud and clear, which cause the parents to transgress Shabbat (calling an ambulance, etc.) -- and such a transgression is actually a mitzvah in this case and ratzon Hashem. So there is no contradiction between keeping the laws of Shabbat and calling an ambulance on Shabbat.

Likewise, the Pele Yoetz refers to earlier Sages who advised a man against marrying a widow because she is likely to recall him fondly, even as she never mentions this to her second husband. "And what if the first was pleasant and the second is a difficult person?" the Pele Yoetz posits. "Then she will despise the second one in her heart." (This seems an obvious hint of advice to the second husband to behave well. See? Rav Papo sprinkles important messages throughout the whole book.)

Then he introduces scarier information, like how the Zohar says that marrying a widow is placing oneself in danger similar to casting oneself to sail in the great ocean.

And then he strongly recommends that avoid marrying a divorcee or widow, and only marry a woman who has never been with a man before.

But then he says:

The exception is if he's gotten along in years and cannot find a betulah to marry; he shall not exempt himself from being fruitful and multiplying. Instead, he should take whoever he can find. And these are the wonders that come from the Perfect Knowing One. And Hashem will not withhold good from those who walk with sincere intentions.

So the above will confuse a black-and-white thinker because the Pele Yoetz so strongly opposes marrying a divorcee or widow, yet seems to capitulate when there's no other choice.

So a black-and-white thinker will say, "Oh, there's no point because look at how bad it is to marry a widow or divorcee." ("Either I need to marry a never-married woman or it's not worth getting married at all!")

And what about the words of the Pele Yoetz, insisting that at the end of the day, a man needs to marry whoever he can?

"Oh, he's just saying that," says the black-and-white thinker. "But we know what he REALLY means -- you're not supposed to marry a widow or divorcee." (See? The black-and-white thinker starts engaging in all sorts of discouraging chachamahs, which lead to despair and inertia.)

And what about the Pele Yoetz's final words on the matter, words which clearly imply that if you can't find a never-married woman, then that's Hashem's way of telling you that the willing divorcee or widow is your real zivug?

"Oh, he's just saying that," dismisses the black-and-white thinker. Or, "Rav Papo was on such a high level, we can't understand what he really meant by that."

And if you try to point out (in the spirit of his words: "And these are the wonders that come from the Perfect Knowing One. And Hashem will not withhold good from those who walk with sincere intentions") that Yehoshua bin Nun married Rachav and things worked out excellently for them (8 prophets descended from them, including Chuldah), or you point out couples you know personally, like say a formerly never-married guy in a very happy marriage with a divorcee and so on, then the black-and-white thinker will wave you off and act like YOU are the one who just doesn't understand.

Hope for the Black-and-White Thinker!

Now, if you feel like you engage in black-and-white thinking like the above, then don't worry. I used to do it too, but baruch Hashem, when you read the words of tzaddikim and make an effort on whatever level you're at to understand what they could possibly mean, then that's exactly what helps you out of your black-and-white tendency.

It doesn't happen overnight, but slowly, your mind starts to heal from all the brainwashing and it opens up like a flower awakening after a long winter.

Side Point: I do think the above chapter is one of the things that relates to Rav Papo's times to a certain extent.

Today, you unfortunately have many people with previous -- even many previous -- relationships prior to marriage. Some of these relationships still linger in the person's mind, yet some are completely forgettable, and the reality of the person's true feelings depends.

And because of the Pele Yoetz's concern for the zivug-seeker's mitzvah of being fruitful, he seems to be addressing a man who has never been married himself. So this is different now, but there are still aspects of this message that apply today.

Don't Judge until You've Read the Whole Book

Also -- and this is a big deal -- it seems to me that they assume that if you're reading their book, then you're reading the whole book (even if it takes you a long time), and not just a chapter or snippet without eventually imbibing the whole thing.

I noticed that whether it's the Kli Yakar commentary on Chumash or the Pele Yoetz mussar guide for life or anyone else, if you don't read the whole thing, then you aren't going to get the whole message or their real attitude about various issues.

For example, even though the Pele Yoetz has a chapter on Women/Nashim and another on Love between Husband & Wife/Ahavat Ish v'Ishah, you are not going to get his full views on women or marriage unless you read the entire work because he sprinkles different or repeated ideas throughout, and there are vital messages in other chapters that aren't where you think they'd be.

May Hashem imbue us all with the knowledge, wisdom, & insight to understand.
__________
Related link:
How to Avoid being a Victim of Mind Control

0 Comments

Pele Yoetz: Even the Smallest Acts Count beyond Measure!

5/7/2018

0 Comments

Another major lesson learned from the Pele Yoetz is to avoid pressuring people to bite off more than they can chew.

And many times, we don't know the limits or the capabilities of others.

Sometimes we have a good idea of another's limits or capabilities.

But other times, we just project ourselves onto the other person -- a form of arrogance for us and a discouragement to the other person.

So yeah, sometimes, we pressure others from from our own ego.

Other times, we're so enthused about a certain mitzvah and the way it's working for us, that we forget that the other person may not have the capability to do that mitzvah in the special way that we do.

(And if you find yourself faced with a high-octane enthusiast, I think it's usually best to just go along with them, tell them how great they're doing -- because you get reward for encouraging others & making them feel good about their mitzvot, mezakeh harabim, etc. -- and leave your own personal failings out of it. Just be happy for them as much as you can. Speaking from personal experience on both sides of this scenario... ;)

Anyway, we learn from the Pele Yoetz the importance of encouraging people that even the tiniest act counts for a lot.

For example, regarding Torah study, the Pele Yoetz repeatedly states the following throughout his book:

And they said (Tanna D'vei Eliyahu Zuta, Perek 20) that even if one learns all day the verse "...v'achot Lotan Timna - And sister of Lotan is Timna" -- his reward comes as if he's occupied with Negaim and Ohalot. [Two of the most complex tractates -- MR]

One increases his learning and decreases his learning -- regardless, he should just set his heart toward Shamayim.

The Pele Yoetz does not mean that you shouldn't learn more than that verse if you're able -- on the contrary, he exhorts men to learn as much as they can, including Zohar!

But when a guy finds himself with even the smallest amount of free time ("even the short time it takes for a swallow of saliva"), he should say "v'achot Lotan Timna" (Beresheit 36:22) and earn overwhelming reward.

(That's pretty positive and encouraging, isn't it?)

The Pele Yoetz also stresses this regarding men who aren't learned or who barely know how to read; he encourages them with the above.

(And just for knowing, the Pele Yoetz also felt very strongly about the need teach women and girls how to both read and write: "And how good it would be if women were to learn the skill of writing, for then they could easily learn everything!" He also exhorts the women of his time to go to the women's section of a synagogue in order to hear the Torah lectures given there, quoting Shir Hashirim 2:9 as proof.)
_________
So this is very important:

Don't overload or overwhelm people.

Don't make people feel like if they can't keep up the pace or perform grand gestures, then their efforts are meaningless or worthless.

Encourage people by reassuring them that even the smallest & briefest mitzvah they carry out can reap unimaginable reward and make a significant difference -- as long as they mean to do it for Hashem.

Start out small -- start out miniscule and weak, if that's where you're holding -- then keep on going throughout your failures and successes, sure in the fact that even the tiniest briefest mitzvah reaps great reward and holds mind-boggling significance.

This is straight from Rav Eliezer Papo, a tremendous self-sacrificing tzaddik.

0 Comments

Pele Yoetz: Always End on a Note of Hope

4/7/2018

8 Comments

A big lesson to learn from Rav Eliezer Papo's masterpiece, Pele Yoetz, is the way he ends every chapter.

While he interlaces encouragement and positive words within each chapter, some also contain dire warnings and stern rebuke. Nonetheless, he never leaves us without reassurance, encouragement, and hope.

Rav Papo maintained a firm belief in our power to rise above our addictions, bad habits, false beliefs, and our yetzer hara in any form.

Affirming Our Innate Goodness & Ability

For example, at the end of the chapter on Young Men/Bachur (you can imagine all the dire things he mentions in such a chapter), Rav Papo ends with:

"And behold, God stands over him [as a Protector]; He will be with him in assistance because one who comes to purify himself earns Heavenly assistance."

The chapter called Rebuke/Gaarah concludes as follows:

"The voice of fools in rebuke 'they are a vanity, an act of delusion' [Yirmiyahu 10:15] to those who hear them, confusing them and confounding them. But the words of the wise which are heard in pleasantness are sweet and accepted by their listeners."

He ends the chapter entitled Speech/Dibur, a chapter full of exhortations and prohibitions, with the following:

"To you, gentlemen, I call: Brothers and friends, I'm very pained on your behalf, on behalf of this sin that is to your detriment and the evil that stands before you, chas v'shalom. And even more than that, how great is my pain on behalf of the pain of our Father in Heaven who waits to bestow favor upon us...and please, exchange bad for good! Gather in the place of a Torah scholar or a learned person to hear learning...and acquire paths of life and lofty attributes."

Rav Papo ends the chapter Rising Early/Haskamah with characteristic optimism and holy cheerleading:

"With his heart, he will understand and with his ears, he will hear, and as he shall repent, Hashem will heal him."

Go, team Am Yisrael, go!

Rav Papo ends General Principles: Part I/Klalot Alef with:

"All that is in his power to accomplish, he should do and all that a man desires, he should do. Only the beginning will be difficult. And in doing so, a person will become desirable and Hashem will be for him as a shelter. And a vision of the Almighty he shall see.

And this is enough for whoever possesses a good heart."

The end of Afternoon Prayer/Mincha:

"...only the beginnings are difficult because afterwards, it will be sweet for him and it shall be as a delightful fragrance for him, and worthy of blessing and contentment is he in This World and it's good for him in the World to Come."

So we see that it's important to end on a positive, reassuring, and encouraging note:
Yes, sinning is terrible and Gehinnom is just awful -- but if you just try your best to do the right thing, then God will help you out, He'll stand by your side all the way, and things will ultimately end up wonderfully!

Judging Wonky Jews Favorably

Rav Papo also finds excuses for the errant, a way to judge them favorably and with understanding, even as he rebukes the wonky behavior, like in the chapter on Speech/Dibur:

"Come and see how the enemy [yetzer hara] has overpowered people so much so that when brothers sit together, and they have nothing new to say, one starts saying, 'The cold today is good, the heat today is good, the rain is good, the snow is good,' and such things that are obvious to all -- simply because their yetzer agitates within them and they're embarrassed to sit in silence."

See? Rav Papo blames the inane behavior on the yetzer hara, emphasizing the great strength of the yetzer hara, which implies that these people are good and want to do the right thing, but have simply collapsed under the weight of their yetzer hara. Also, he acknowledges the very real embarrassment people tend to struggle with in such situations.

(Then Rav Papo explains how to get up and fight the yetzer hara.)

You can just imagine what Rav Papo has to say in his chapter on Illicit Acts/Znut, but even after he mentions some pretty reprehensible acts, he never stops judging favorably:

"And this comes from a lack of awareness of the great severity of the act, or due to bad friends who trick them into it..."

In other instances, Rav Papo inserts a plea for Hashem to atone for their sins, as in the chapter entitled Judges & Officers/Shoftim v'Shotrim:

"Woe to it, to a generation that such a thing has risen in its days, that there are large cities in in the cities of Edom [Europe] that host hundreds of thousands of Jews and the Torah is forgotten from among them, and they only conduct cases in the jurisdiction of non-Jews and it's done as if permissible -- May God Who is Good atone for them."

Ken yehi ratzon!

Bringing It All Home

So I learned 2 important lessons from the entire Pele Yoetz:

It's essential it is to find merits and judge favorably even as you're discussing what's wrong with society or as you're attempting to correct someone's behavior.

It's important to always end on a note of hope and sincere belief in the person's innate goodness and ability to improve and do teshuvah.

I think it's also a guide for when hearing rebuke from others, to know what level the critic is really on and where their criticism is really coming from. If they can't see the good in you, if they can't see that you're not evil or stupid but just stuck or uninformed, if they don't believe that you have the ability to change for the better, well, then...you sure aren't hearing rebuke from a tzaddik.

Rav Eliezer Papo willing underwent a prolonged and agonizing death for his community, then left a legacy to assist and encourage us forevermore.

We can trust that his attitude and approach are the real deal.

8 Comments

A Quick Word on the Truth about Women & Daat Kalah

3/7/2018

8 Comments

One of the obstacles for women to reading original sources is their discussion of women. And at some point, the Sage will mention women's daat kalah.

I think a lot of women don't know quite how to respond in their own mind to this, and I think there is trepidation or a lack of skills in looking it up. So a lot of people (including men) fall back on apologetics or trying to pretend it's not there or trying to understand it superficially (with all the negativity that implies).

But first, here's an explanation of daat (or daas, if you prefer):
Daat is very hard to translate because it means different things in different contexts. In some contexts, daat means “knowledge” or “mind,” but neither of those definitions relate to daat in this context.

In Kiddushin 80b, Rashi explains daat kalah as being more "easily swayed/influenced/seduced” by subjective factors.

So there you go.

And yes, men are also swayed by subjective factors, like their physical needs (which is why some men can "forget" really important things or behave irresponsibly and selfishly when they are tired or hungry or worse), but an observant person will see that it's still different than the way in which women are swayed and influenced.

For example, it's easier to convince women to act against their own interests or values or integrity or knowledge than it is for men IF the women are not firmly anchored in emuna.

This is why history is replete with out-of-wedlock conceptions and women functioning as "ladies of the evening" and more recently, the feminist movement and the female pro-abortion stance and joining military combat units. It's immoral men and immoral women taking advantage of such women's daat kalah for their own evil agendas.

In contrast, Chazal heaps praises on women's steadfast emuna and loyalty to Hashem, praising women for keeping the halachot they know more faithfully than men.

So steadfast emuna counteracts any downside to daat kalah.

The prime daat source—Chazal—imbues every person with a center of spiritual gravity to hold him or her securely in place. The more one learns AND internalizes Torah, the more daat he or she has.

Women don't completely lack daat, we are just daat-lite. Men have both daat and binah, but women are lighter than men on daat and heavier than men on binah, baruch Hashem.

Dealing with Daat Kalah

And here is the truth with which many modern women understandably struggle when reading Chazal:
If you are female, you are innately light on daat.

Yes, you are.

But it doesn't mean that you can't achieve personal greatness.

Sara Imeinu was a higher-level prophet than her husband, yet she still had daat kalah.

Beruria was a screaming genius and a baalat emuna, yet she still had daat kalah.

Chana merited to birth Shmuel and is the prototype for tefillah, but she still had daat kalah.

Hashem set things up like this for everyone's benefit. Men are supposed to provide women with daat. It's part of the innate giver role with which Hashem imbued men.

A lot of men refuse to access their own daat, let alone let it overflow onto others, which is one of the major reasons why things have gotten so wonky in the frum world.

If women are lucky, they have fathers or husbands who are a healthy source of daat. This is a significant part of the male role in family and society. Unfortunately, many men don't know to fulfill this role properly and many women don't understand the importance of being receptive to this male contribution.

If you are a woman and you don't have the appropriate men in your life, or the men you do have are either amei haaretz or namby-pamby misers about providing you with your rightful quantities of daat, then you can turn to learning mussar on your own, learning a halacha a day, consulting with a rav (if he's right for you), or just turn straight to the Source Himself: Hashem (which is exactly what smart Jewish women have done for millennia, actually.)

What Daat Kalah is NOT

But it's vitally important to note what daat kalah is NOT.

Daat kalah is NOT synonymous with being:

stupid
pathetic
hysterical
unworthy
deserving of disrespect
blindly obedient
inconsequential
an excuse to denigrate women (including a self-denigrating woman)

It CAN be the root of or exacerbate the above negative qualities, but it doesn't NEED to.

And again, this can't be said enough:
Daat in this context has nothing to do with intellectual IQ.

You (ladies) can have skipped 2 grades in elementary school, achieve early entrance to Harvard medical school, and graduate at the top of your class...and still be controlled by your daat kalah. (Yep. I've seen it, and it ain't pretty.)

On the other hand, you can be a regular student and get married out of high school and balance keeping house while sitting pregnant at your part-time desk job...and be wise beyond your years, a fountain of good middot, wisdom, and brilliantly applied binah. (I've seen this too and believe me, it's something to aim for.)

The Wise Woman of Valor: You

Please remember that in the same breath (or quill) that Chazal mention a woman's daat kalah, they also mention her extra binah, an ishah chachamah (a wise woman), an ishah maskilah (an intelligent woman), female prophetesses, along with the great emuna, fidelity, mesirut nefesh possible in women.

The Torah itself is compared to a Woman of Valor (Eishet Chayil), and other exalted holy female characterizations are:

the holy Jewish neshamah
the Shechinah
Eretz Yisrael
the Jewish people
the Sabbath (Shabbat Kallah/Bride)

So in a nutshell, you can have daat kalah and still become:

a prophetess
a woman of great wisdom
a woman of profound intelligence
a holy woman
a tzadekes (a completely righteous woman)
the best adviser to your husband (so says Bava Metzia 59a)

On the other hand, a man has normal amounts of daat, but he can still be an evil pig.

So to sum it all up:

Women who allow their innate negatives to control them are a pain in the neck and damage society.

Men who allow their innate negatives to control them are a pain in the neck and damage society.

Women who use properly what Hashem gives them become a merit for the world (as the Kli Yakar says in Chayei Sara, that righteous women are as vital to the world as the rotation of the Sun).

Men who use properly what Hashem gives them become a merit for the world (like the 36 tzaddikim in whose merit Hashem allows the world to exist)

So everything depends on what you do with it.

Chazal doesn't denigrate women, it states a fact for the benefit of both men and women. (And really, since they mostly expected men to read their words, they mostly wanted men to understand this IN ORDER for men to take proper responsibility.)

Well, if this was your issue (as it was mine at one time), I hope this helped.
__________
Related post:
Halacha: The Best Boost for Daat Kalah

May we all complete our tikkun in this lifetime without trials or tribulations.

8 Comments

Getting Past the Excuses of Not Taking Mussar to Heart

3/7/2018

0 Comments

A favorite excuse nowadays is to dismiss the works of holy Sages as being applicable "back then, but not for our times." Or to ascribe the Sage as being "on such a high level," "normal people" are incapable of emulating his example or following his advice "especially in modern times." Even frum people can err in these utterances and unnecessarily lower their own standards.

In fact, the Pele Yoetz was well-aware of this tendency to dismiss Sagely directives as "too hard" or "not for our times." So in his chapter called "Hatred," he discusses the commandment to love one's fellow to himself and states:

But since our Creator commanded us so, we learn from this that it is something that a person has the ability to fulfill, for "the Torah was not given to angels and the Holy One Blessed Be He does not make excessive demands with His creations."

This concept is from the Gemara, actually, and Rav Papo is only one of many to repeat this point.

Yet how can we dismiss the words of a tzaddik on the level of Rav Eliezer Papo, who died for the sins of his people to save his city from the effects of a devastating plague?

Rav Papo was very close to Hashem and knew he exactly what he was talking about and who he was speaking to.

The "Times Have Changed" Excuse

The other way people like to dismiss Sagely words is by attributing attitudes and insights to "those times" and "that culture."

Certainly, times have changed, technologically speaking, and women's opportunities have changed. So if the Sage is speaking purely from the standpoint of primitive methods (i.e. needing to arise early to toil at lighting a coal stove rather than flipping an electric switch or assuming that the vast majority of women are completely illiterate, if they were in his time), then you can dismiss the literal intention of his words without dismissing the wisdom.

But it's not something to be done automatically, either. We still need to scrutinize what he says so we don't accidentally throw out the baby with the bathwater.

Another big difference between then and now is the concept of a "minyan factory" or "shteiblach."

In some communities today, you can find minyanim all day long. Do you need to daven neitz at 4:08 AM? Do you need the latest Shacharit or the earliest Mincha? Do you need to daven Maariv at 3:15 AM? You've got a minyan!

As far as I know, even big cities of yore with thriving Jewish communities didn't have minyanim 'round the clock. All the more so, smaller communities that davened together at set times.

So a Sage from a century ago understood that if you didn't get up or out at a certain time, you missed your chance of davening in a minyan at all, which may not be true today if you're living in Jerusalem or Lakewood.

Yet we can still take to heart their basic encouragement to develop passion and alacrity for davening on time.

The "Influenced by the Surrounding Culture" Dismissal

Dismissing the Sage due to cultural influence is also a mistake. Yes, Sages addressed the problems and issues of their times. But great people have the ability to rise above their times and be influenced by Torah values, not cultural values.

Case in point: Rav Papo lived in the Balkans under the Muslim rule of the Turkish Ottoman Empire. Yet his admonitions toward every husband to treat his wife with great love and sensitivity and his blanket opposition to any kind of verbal or physical abuse toward the wife (even if the wife herself was wicked or abusive) certainly flew in the face of Balkan and Muslim values. Even today, neither religious Muslim attitudes nor the modernized Bosnian and Bulgarian attitudes toward women are up to the stipulations of Rav Papo.

As he advises husbands:

If she goes against his opinion and angers him, he must guard his emotional state so that he does not become angry with her. And there is no need to say to not denigrate her, to curse her, or to strike her, Heaven forbid, because that is the custom of boors, and empty-headed people, and the reckless, and it's his own self he harms.

Only with soft speech and a sweet tone should he reprove her. And in any case, he should endure this yoke and be from the insulted who do not insult in return, and he should accept the Heavenly judgement with joy because from God is a wife for a man.

And regarding a really bad wife, he reminds the husband of what is written in Eruvin 41b:

...that he who has a bad wife does not see the face of Gehinnom. It would be fitting to request a bad wife if one could endure this tribulation because of the severity of the judgement of Gehinnom, and if he's able to endure this tribulation, he will not inherit two Gehinnoms [i.e., the Gehinnom in This World of living with a bad wife and the Gehinnom of the Next World for all the times he sinned by responding in kind -- MR].

Instead, he should accept with love and receive a good reward for his toil.

Oh, and then there's this:

And how good it would be if women were to learn the skill of writing, for then they could easily learn everything!

(He means that if women knew how to read and write, then they could learn everything they needed to know of halacha and mussar on their own.)

In 19th-Century Bulgaria & Bosnia under Muslim rule, where else could Rav Papo be getting such ideas...except from the Torah?

Clearly, there is no "cultural influence" happening here.

Just for knowing, Rav Papo also insists on very high standards for wives, but not as high as the standards he sets for husbands. Plus, he comes off as more sympathetic toward women with difficult or abusive husbands and offers them more practical advice than he does for men, including having a beit din stop the abusive husband with "a strong arm" and advises others to help the woman to get divorced if she wants, calling any divorce assistance "a great mitzvah" in such a situation.

As far as I could tell, the only advice he offers suffering men is to be really kind, sweet, loving, pleasant, and patient no matter how awful the wife is -- no strong-arming the wife or offering the husband divorce as an option.

(Perhaps men can insist on a "men's studies" curriculum in college where they can rant against this blatant double standard in Judaism, a clear result of this patriarchal religion dominated by dead white men.)

A Handwritten Copy in Bulgarian, Please

An example of the Pele Yoetz speaking to "the times" in which he lived is when he advises that one who doesn't understand Hebrew go to a sage to have the sage write out the entire work (I think it was the Pesach Haggadah) in Bulgarian so that the person can fulfill the mitzvah properly.

Needless to say, we don't need to pester our local rabbis to write out the entire Haggadah in Bulgarian. We have Artscroll English translations instead.

However, the spirit of the Pele Yoetz's instruction still stands: If you don't know Hebrew, you need to make sure you have a Haggadah in the language of your choice.

The Dreaded Women's Issues

There are many other examples of exhortations and teachings that seem time- or culture-bound or far beyond our abilities, but really aren't.

Women in particular may have a difficult time with certain assumptions expressed in Chazal. One of the biggest changes between the olden days and now is women's education. Women today are fully literate and in the USA, women even comprise a larger percentage of college graduates than men.

Yet scholastic achievement doesn't affect a woman's daat compared to a man's daat. (Daat and IQ/education are not synonymous; a woman can be a top-level genius in, say, mathematical physics and still have daat kalah.) And women still have not (and will not) achieved equal representation in left-brained fields until Mashiach comes.

Furthermore, whether a woman uses her extra binah in a positive constructive way or in a negative destructive way depends on her character and knowledge of halacha and mussar, and not her academic knowledge or IQ.

Female readers struggle with certain statements of Torah Sages, and rather than trying to understand them in context, they often either dismiss them as a result of the times when women were illiterate (and sometimes, this is an appropriate dismissal, but not always) or they sink into self-denigration (even women with feminist tendencies can do this, ironically) and castigate themselves and their gender as truly not being intelligent enough or good enough or rational enough or whatever.

Yet rather than being superficially dismissive or superficially presumptive, it's best to try to just delve into understanding what a Sage really meant when you come across something that rubs you wrong.

I mean, if the same Sage mentions women as being chalushat haseichel (of weak intellect) and remarks on the downfalls of daat kalah as per Chava and the Nachash, yet goes on to praise women copiously throughout the rest of his early 17th-century work (yes, I'm talking about the Kli Yakar), and in fact praises women's loyalty to God, their emuna, their modesty and marital fidelity, their generosity, and their love of Eretz Yisrael as far surpassing that of men, and even declares that righteous women (nashim tzidkaniyot) -- specifically righteous women even in the face of righteous men -- are as essential to the world as the Sun itself...well, it's disingenuous to dismiss him or condemn him with the usual feminist blather and ranting.
____________

Related Posts:
Why We Need to Let the Pele Yoetz (and Any Old-Time Mussar) Penetrate Our Modern Life & How to Do It (the great saintliness of Rav Eliezer Papo and why we need to take his words to heart even in our days)
Halacha: The Best Boost for Daat Kalah
Kli Yakar on Parshat Chayei Sara (righteous women as the Sun; scroll down to the end)
Kli Yakar on Parshat Pinchas (women's love for Eretz Yisrael and other positive attributes)
Kli Yakar on Parshat V'Zoht Habracha (real and welcome equality after Mashiach comes)
You can find more by the Kli Yakar by clicking on: WOMEN
(Then keep going back to the earlier posts.)

0 Comments

Why We Need to Let the Pele Yoetz (and Any Old-Time Mussar) Penetrate Our Modern Life & How to Do It

2/7/2018

2 Comments

Rav Papo's Saintly Life & Heroic Death

Rabbi Eliezer Papo, author of the Pele Yoetz (published in 1824), was a saintly sage born in Sarajevo, Bosnia in 1785 and passed away during Sukkot in Silistra, Bulgaria in 1827 (20 Tishrei 5588) after having served as their rabbi for around 14 years.

Both in his actions and his writings, Rav Papo invested all he could in helping the Jews of the Balkans achieve both their material and their spiritual needs.

Reading his book the Pele Yoetz or reading the prayers he composed (some of which are included in the Pele Yoetz and all of which appear in his book of prayers called Beit Tefillah), one gets the impression of a very wise and caring father, a father full of passion, concern, and hope for even his most errant child.

He yearned for his fellow Jews to fill themselves with Torah wisdom and in this way, achieve true happiness and contentment, both in This World and the Next.

The Pele Yoetz displays Rav Papo's passion to make the Jewish world a wiser, happier, kinder, and more serene world filled with emuna. To these means, he encouraged the education of both men and women, and encouraged everyone to learn Torah with whatever abilities they possessed.

Yet prior to the Sukkot of 1827, he received a devastating message from Heaven:
His community had been sentenced to suffer a horrible plague.

Many would fall ill and many would die.

Needless to say, as the plague would take its toll on the lives, finances, and well-being of the community, the initial suffering would extend on for years.

However, there was a way to cancel out this plague.

If Rav Papo would agree to take on the plague himself -- including the resulting death -- then the entire community would be spared.

Rav Papo agreed.

He suffered the plague for several weeks, knowing he'd never survive it. But Rav Papo never stopped praying to Hashem and expressing his yearning for Hashem that entire time. He kept up a stream of confessionals and supplications, although one wonders what sins could such a tzaddik possibly have to confess? (That right there is a tip for all of us.)

It was an incredible act.

Presumably, Heaven decreed the plague due to the sins of the people. And in Pele Yoetz, you discover the stumbling blocks of that generation at that time. Of course there were many good people (Sarajevo was a Torah center that produced many great Torah sages at that time) and many good deeds, but the encouragement, rebuke, and advice he gives in the Pele Yoetz also spotlights problems that are still familiar.

Some people were envious, contentious, indolent, pompous, bad-tempered, miserly, gossipy, indulged their taavot as much as their situation allowed, wasted their time in eating & drinking & hanging out, and all the rest.

Yet Rav Papo still felt they were worth dying for.

And not only did Rav Papo literally die for the sins of the people (yet no one made a god out of him), but he even sought to provide for us forevermore after his death with the promise that whoever would immerse in a mikveh and pray at his grave with a broken heart, then their prayers would be accepted before the Creator of the Universe.

Even today, Jews still make their way to the place near the Danube where Rav Papo is buried and have apparently seen miracles as a result.

Expanding the Real You

I'm writing this because Rav Papo left us a book of advice.

And unfortunately, many people today prefer to dismiss Sagely advice that doesn't suit their emotional level or doesn't make sense to them with ideas like "this doesn't apply to our generation" or "that's for the people who follow him, not my group" or "that's only for tzaddikim" or "you have to be on a very high level to really understand what he's saying" or "but it doesn't tell you HOW to do what it advises" and so on.

And though I'm not proud to admit it, I used to say this stuff too.

But it's mostly not true.

Rav Papo was clearly writing for everybody. He was clearly aware of the different levels on which people stood (whether a tzaddik or a Jew at the 49th gate of tumah) and he also knew what he was talking about.

Yes, it's true that some of the specifics of his advice applied only to his time, a time without electricity or indoor plumbing, a time in which some homes possessed a dirt floor. And some are culturally specific (i.e., Jews living in the 19th-Century Balkans under Muslim rule).

But the general lessons are still valid.

And yes, it's true that this generation needs to grind its mental gears to understand what he means. Even in the English translation (which I recommend), Rav Papo does not use the language or nuance we're used to. So yes, you do need to work harder to understand what he's saying, especially if you hit something that rubs you the wrong way.

(And yes, I'm speaking from personal experience.)

But who says that's bad? Why should that be an insurmountable obstacle?

If you need to ruminate over the advice of a tzaddik, if you need to turn it over in your head a million times, if you need to wrangle with it, then what's wrong with that?

On the contrary, that's exactly what both sharpens your mind and leads to increased emotional maturity.

Furthermore, the very idea that rubs you wrong or seems incomprehensible now often because helpful and clear later on as you grow.

But if you're never exposed to the idea in the first place, how will you know?

And this idea also applies to mussar works by all our tzaddikim.

Having said that, you'll also find many statements in the Pele Yoetz that are appealing and easy to understand. It depends who you are and where you're coming from.

Anyway, I just think it's good to give the old-time original mussar literature a chance as much as you can at whatever pace you can manage at whatever level you're at.

I started out very slow at a very low level, and I still feel that I benefited over time.

And I wish the same for everyone else (including myself because I still have a long ways to go and it hasn't been easy).

May Hashem open our minds & hearts to receive His Truth & Wisdom.
_________
The Pele Yoetz in English online
The printed 2-volume set of the Pele Yoetz in English

The gravesite of Rav Eliezer Papo today. By אלבום משפחתי (אלבום משפחתי) [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

2 Comments

The Secret Power of Tammuz

1/7/2018

0 Comments

Rabbi Alon Anava has got a great shiur on the power of the month of Tammuz for transformation, and how using that power correctly can extend throughout the rest of the year.

This shiur really helped me because I always find this time of year depressing and scary.

And yes, many depressing and scary things happened between yesterday, the 17th of Tammuz and 3 weeks from now on the 9th of Av.

But judging events and people favorably can change everything.

In this time period, due to the Crab mazal influencing things to move backwards and the Lion mazal of Av providing a more savage "tear it apart" inclination, we can find ourselves becoming harsher with our hearts and minds. And this is behind the Destruction of the Beit Hamikdash.

However, seeing the good in people and events, and judging favorably, can utilize the power of Tammuz for greatness.

(This does not mean that we whitewash truly bad acts or truly bad people, or allow them to hurt others, but that we see the good in things and people in addition to the bad, we find some kind of merit or something to be grateful for.)

Rabbi Anava speaks about how the disease is the same word as the Latin and Hebrew name of the month: Cancer/Sartan, and what the root of this disease is and more about the word Sartan and how it relates to the word seret, which is Hebrew for movie.

Being grateful for everything, even if you don't know why, and striving to find some chip of diamond in the mountain of sludge are the keys to utilizing the power of Tammuz.

Please access the audio & video of the shiur here:
The Secrets of Kabbalah behind the Month of Tammuz

0 Comments

<<Previous

Forward>>

From Wise-Cracking Businessman to Soul-Stirring Holy Man

Na'afochu -- A Spiritual Somersault

From Rich Man to Rich Soul

2 Examples of Unforeseeable Personality Transformation

From Shabbos Transgressor to Shabbos Lover

From Rough to Refined

Holding Back with Your Left & Drawing in with Your Right

There is Truly Always Hope

3 Types of Heavenly Decrees & How to Change Your Destiny

Understanding Torah Sages: Overcoming Black-&-White Thinking

Contradictions or Directions?

Hope for the Black-and-White Thinker!

Don't Judge until You've Read the Whole Book

Pele Yoetz: Even the Smallest Acts Count beyond Measure!

Pele Yoetz: Always End on a Note of Hope

Affirming Our Innate Goodness & Ability

Judging Wonky Jews Favorably

Bringing It All Home

A Quick Word on the Truth about Women & Daat Kalah

Dealing with Daat Kalah

What Daat Kalah is NOT

The Wise Woman of Valor: You

Getting Past the Excuses of Not Taking Mussar to Heart

The "Times Have Changed" Excuse

The "Influenced by the Surrounding Culture" Dismissal

A Handwritten Copy in Bulgarian, Please

The Dreaded Women's Issues

Why We Need to Let the Pele Yoetz (and Any Old-Time Mussar) Penetrate Our Modern Life & How to Do It

Rav Papo's Saintly Life & Heroic Death

Expanding the Real You

The Secret Power of Tammuz

Myrtle Rising

Categories

Jewish Blogs

Jewish Current Events

Jewish Health

Archives

Copyright Notice