TRANSLITERATION
Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu laasok b’divrei Torah.
TRANSLATION
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of all, who hallows us with mitzvot, commanding us to engage with words of Torah.
Guidelines for Mussar Circle Sessions & Facebook Group
Purpose: The purpose of the NOVA Mussar Circle and FB group is to study Mussar literature and practice, and then provide information and updates to participants as well as a safe, supportive, and holy forum for mutual support and encouragement in Mussar study and personal growth.
To this end, please follow these guidelines:
- All communications, posts, and other personal sharing among Mussar Circle members will be confidential.
- All posts, comments, responses, and other sharing should reflect kavod, respect – honor. This means – Avoid gossip, grievances, political talk, name-calling, and any other negative or toxic speech.
- Keep exchanges constructive, supportive, in the character of chesed – lovingkindness
- Administrator(s) will monitor the group and communicate directly with any participants who violate the letter or spirit of these guidelines.
- May this holy study strengthen and enrich us all
LEVIN (LEFIN), MENAHEM MENDEL (1749–1826), early Haskalah author, translator, and educator. Born in Satanov, Podolia, he had a traditional Jewish education but also studied sciences, mathematics, and medieval philosophy in his youth. From 1780 to 1783/84 Levin lived in Berlin, where he met Moses *Mendelssohn , through whom he established contact with the leaders of the Haskalah. ...
Rubinstein, Avraham. "Levin (Lefin), Menahem Mendel." Encyclopaedia Judaica, edited by Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik, 2nd ed., vol. 12, Macmillan Reference USA, 2007, pp. 710-711. Encyclopedia Judaica, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2587512284/GVRL.judaica?u=grjc&sid=bookmark-GVRL.judaica&xid=78e2faa0. Accessed 12 July 2022.
and have turned back to Your decrees.
There is a teaching about 2 business owners - one who is wealthy, wise, and quick to do his work...and he works night and day to increase his supply and then make it available to customers...and this one sees his wealth increase, and then builds new warehouses in order to increase his supply, but he does not pay attention to his accounts at all.
The other, is poor in knowledge and capital...and he is always full of worry and doubt whether his income will cover his expenses...and he and his family cannot do anything else but keep a close eye on his accounts and carefully monitor his books in order to know better which product sells better and at what time...and as a result, he is able to better calculate ways to increase his income...and with this hard work he is finally able to distance himself from danger and worry...and he does this year after year in order to achieve a life of solid sustenance, profit, and joy with God's help.
The implications of this teaching will be clarified, with God's help, at length in this essay.
- How does the teaching hint at the purpose of the material that will follow?
"The animal soul does not possess wisdom or power to either rest or move on its own from its own choice, rather; it reacts to stimulation, or desire, or difficulty based upon [its programming that were inborn] at its creation, or as a result of learned ways by longstanding habit...
...And when opposing winds (spirits? stimuli?) push against the animal soul, it gives in to the stronger wind at the time since it lacks self-knowledge, and cannot see the consequences...
...Due to the fact the animal soul has no power of choice, עשה (mitzvot/commands 'to do...') and לא תעשה ('do not do...) are irrelevant to the animal soul...
A person is able to cause the animal soul to act in one's favor...
- How does the animal soul 'show itself' in our lives?
...God sends [the souls of human beings] down to earth to be within the animal soul for a period of time, [in order to] cleave to one's ways and improve human beings, so that they may afterwards return to the high pleasure [of the Divine realm] with as a reward for the soul's work and [earned] merit...nourished by chesed (lovingkindness)...
...the descendants of Abraham...are a treasure among treasures since God gave them Torah and mitzvoth...
...the animal soul...[only] fulfills its bodily needs...but the reasoning soul needs lots of work to teach it Mussar/ethics, middot/values...all its days...
...the yezter ha'ra (evil inclination) grows each day from the day of our birth until the end of our youth...and then we become people oof wisdom and strength...meaning, people who have the ability to make choices...
- How do we train ourselves to overcome the yetzer ha'ra and nourish right habits & thinking?
...[this works depends upon] constant effort (hatmadah retzufah)...[meaning] ongoing education...
What is the method?
- Focus on 13 middot, character qualities
- One middah per month is 13x4 = 52 weeks or one year
- During each month, the Mussar V'ad (network, circle) meets to study the background material on that middah and to practice it regularly, taking time to record our efforts on this one middah throughout the month and to share our efforts, struggles, thoughts, and reflections along the way
- We look for opportunities to engage with the middah, but if clear opportunities don't present themselves, we work on it in whatever way we can, and we create an ongoing log for each middah in whatever way works best - on our smartphone, on paper, through posts in the Facebook group (PLEASE REGISTER FOR THE FACEBOOK GROUP!!)
- CHALLENGES - keep faith when things do not go well - do not despair!
- Partnerships for Tikkun/spiritual growth - We need to create a SAFE SPACE for everyone to share, and R. Satanov recommends we find a partner (or partners) to be sounding boards, "if one falls, the other lifts them up" - not required, but a possibility