[Aspaqlaria] Aspaqlaria

Tue Feb 13 02:36:06 PST 2007

Aspaqlaria

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The 25th of Shevat

Posted: 12 Feb 2007 08:49 PM CST
http://www.aishdas.org/asp/2007/02/25th-of-shevat.shtml

[This is an expansion on an earlier yahrzeitzs post.]

Today is the 25th of Shevat, the 124th yartzeit of Rabbi Yisrael Ben Ze’ev Wolf Lipkin of Salant. Rav Yisraels best-known work, his Iggeres haMussar is available on line in English (translated by R Zvi Miller as part of Or Yisrael) and in a bilingual edition (by R Menachem G. Glenn, from his book Rabbi Israeli Salanter: Religious-Ethical Thinker).

Mussar is mandatory for three reasons. First, because without developing ones middos, one is unable to overcome as many of the challenges of following halakhah. Mussar enables better observance. Second, there are many mitzvos of the mind. The middos required in the Rambams Hilkhos Deios. The six perpetual mitzvos listed by the Chinukh and cited in the beginning of the Arukh haShulchan (1:14), Chayei Adam (kelal 1), and Biur Halakhah (1:1)  (1) belief in a Creator who (2) alone is in charge of the universe (3) and is unique and indivisible, to (4) love and (5) fear Him, and to (6) protect oneself from sin. Mussar is not only needed to perform the mitzvos maasiyos, the mitzvos of action, it is itself the subject of a number of mitzvos. Last, is the realization that mans entire task in life it to perfect himself.

To my mind, the essence of Rav Yisrael Salanters innovation is to extend this notion that Mussar is the goal of life to conclude that one must therefore actively engage in self perfection. Second, that this self perfection is a rational concept, one measured in personality, reactions and decisions. Mitzvah performance without the concomitant Duties of the Heart are unlikely to be sufficient to reach that goal. And in fact, Rav Yisrael took the idea even further, and applied mans duty to be holy, as the Ramban puts it Sanctify yourself with that which is permitted to you to find acts that go beyond the law to help one improve in particular areas that require work.

However, Rav Yisraels focus on the self and self-improvement didnt make the Mussar Movements approach narcissistic. Man is to perfect himself  but perfect himself at being what? Man has three primary relationships: mitzvos between himself and other people, mitzvos between himself and the Omnipresent, and mitzvos between himself and his [own] soul. The first two categories are classical, the third was first articulated by Rav Yisrael. However, in perfecting the bridges outward to other people and to G-d, one can only work on their side, on the stanchion at their end.  Mussar is about self-perfection, but that means perfection at relating beyond oneself. Which is why a characteristic of his Mussar Movement is stories of its greats, and how they saw ways to address the needs of others that the rest of us wouldnt have even noticed.
What can you do about it? Buy a notebook. For many people, the first step into the world of mussar is keeping a Cheshbon haNefesh, an Accounting of the Soul. It need not be in some formal format. Simply get in the habit of taking a few minutes at the end of the day to recall the decisions, reactions and actions you made that day. Its about your soul, your free will  so it should focus on what you did, not what happened to you. You should be the subject of the sentence, not the object. The daily exercise teaches the ability to step outside oneself and see what youre doing. It teaches introspection and reflection. And it allows one to see where the areas for improvement lie. Rav Yisrael identifies hargashah, feeling the gap between what one is and what one could be, as the first step.

This posting includes a media file: http://www.aishdas.org/igeresHamussar.pdf

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THE KING AND I

Posted: 12 Feb 2007 05:29 PM CST
http://www.aishdas.org/asp/2007/02/the-king-and-i.shtml

The following by Rabbi Avi Shafran was sent to my email box by Am Echad Resources. The point made, the dignity of man regardless of whether he is a wealthy member of our community, or an African American homeless man living on the streets, is one that needs hearing.

Anyone who frequents the streets of lower Manhattan has seen him. Hes not the sort of fellow who easily escapes eyes.

Like many who spend their days wandering big-city downtowns, he seems to carry all his possessions in the upright shopping cart he pushes along. It is a colorful and eclectic collection. Peeking out from within the wire grid are assorted pieces of clothing, cardboard boxes, plastic bottles, empty cans, newspapers, the flag of some unknown country, and other assorted detritus of a life lived on the street.

Unlike many other unemployed homeless, though, he never panhandles or even seeks eye-contact with passers-by. He just pushes along proudly, a look of satisfaction on his face  and a large, green, foam-rubber Statue of Liberty crown atop his head.

Its the crown that really makes him stand out, and which, along with his piled-high pushcart and resolute gait, makes the security dogs at the Staten Island Ferry terminal go berserk with barking at the sight of him. To be sure, one sees the occasional tourist with a similar headdress; the hats are popular souvenirs from nearby Liberty Island. But tourists wear them as kitsch, for photographs; to King Liberty, as I call the proud cart-pusher of Wall Street, it is clearly a diadem, a mark of royalty.

It is easy to dismiss the king as someone suffering from a mental illness, although suffering may be too strong a word, considering how content he seems. But what occurred to me when I recently saw him is that he is, at least from what one can know from observing him, not all that different from the rest of us, only perhaps a bit more transparent. After all, hes busy collecting stuff and exulting in the status he imagines can be gleaned from flimsy things.

Our own stuff might seem more practical than King Libertys, but thats just a function of our personal perspectives. His possessions are every bit as valued by their owner as ours are by us. And our own crowns  be they fancy watches, designer clothes, BMWs, the latest model cell-phone, or corner offices with nice views  are really no more meaningful in the end than gaudy foam-rubber garlands.

And the rest of us collect our stuff and our status, just as King Liberty does his, in an effort to achieve respect, mistaking the counterfeit for the real thing.

But its not. True honor comes from accomplishment, not acquisitions. Its not what we have or wear or drive that counts, but what we are.

And the rabbis of the Mishneh point to a particular aspect of life that is a key to respect. Who is honored? they ask in Avot, 4:1, He who honors [G-ds] creatures.

At first glance, one might interpret that statement as a simple good strategy: honor others and they will return the favor. But thats hardly always true, and it is particularly untrue in our crass times, when cynicism and insults, aimed even at people who deserve the respect they themselves show others, are the coins of all too many realms.

The Hebrew words for Who is honored?, however, might better be rendered Who is honorable?  who, in other words, is inherently, meaningfully worthy of honor, honored, if not by his fellows, by his Creator.

And more food for thought lies in the Mishnehs answer, He who honors [G-ds] creatures. A proof-verse is offered, and it is laden with meaning: As the verse says, For those who honor Me I will honor [Samuel I 2:30].

On a simple level, the verse is invoked to show that since G-d Himself honors those who honor Him, surely we mortals should act similarly. But something else clearly lies in the verses words  namely, that honoring others is itself an honoring of G-d. For man, after all, is created in the Divine image, and every human being  the word creatures is used pointedly  carries a spark of holiness within. Thus the famed Talmudic leader Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, we are taught, would swiftly greet every person he met each day even a Gentile on the street.

And so, the next time I spy King Liberty, who got me thinking about things in the first place, I will try to focus less on his hat than on what lies below it, and remember that he, no less than any of us, is worthy of honor. Because, royalty or not, he is the handiwork of the King of kings.

© 2007 AM ECHAD RESOURCES

[Rabbi Shafran is director of public affairs for Agudath Israel of America.]

A philosophical side-note: Should one show respect for others because they are in the Image of G-d, and therefore one is respecting G-d? Or are Avodah (worshipping Hashem) and Gemillus Chassadim (supporting others through acts of lovingkindness) independent primary values?

I would think that because Shimon haTzadiq considers Torah, Avodah and Gemillus Chassadim to be distinct pillars upon which the world stands, that one needs to perform chessed because its chessed. In the ideal, one needs to develop a relationship with other people for its own value, not only because it is part of having a relationship with Hashem or perfecting oneself through Torah. Although one should have all three, and they should intertwine.

I touch on this question in my post on the lishmah of interpersonal mitzvos.

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