I remembered yesterday that, after one of our greatest errors as a people, we were introduced to the 13 attributes of mercy. One of the cores of #Mussar.

-ה’
-ה’
-אל
-רחום
-חנון
-ארך אפים
-רב חסד
-ואמת
-נצר חסד
-נשא עון
-ופשע
-וחטאה
-ונקה
May we all aspire to acquire these traits, don them as a keser and see each other as הקב"ה sees us.
(Shemot 34: 6-7)
#Judaism #Torah

On this day in 1953 CE (24 Tevet 5714), Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler passed away. One of the foremost Jewish ethicists of the 20th century, he was born in Lithuania in 1892 and emigrated to England after the Russian Revolution. There he became the head of the Gateshead Yeshiva Kollel until the Ponevezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak hired him as spiritual mentor in the late 1940s. His ethical essays were published posthumously in the six-volume “Strive for Truth”. #OTD #JewishHistory #mazeldon #mussar

Were you taught about mussar? Didn't exist in my community when I was growing up. Only learned about it much later in life. #Mussar is a #Jewish #spiritual practice that enables one to refine one’s character traits. Some of the #mindfulness practices that it teaches are

Cheshbon HaNefesh - an accounting of the soul.

Hargashah – An awareness of where one stands. Mussar teaches that we next “become aware of the ideal, internalize it, and create a longing to reach it.”

@mazeldon

Start the secular year off with a mussar practice session focused on the soul trait of sakranut (סקרנות) curiosity.

Tevet Soul Trait Studio:
Sunday: 11/27/2022
3-4:30pm ET

Learn more & register: https://devotaj.com/soultraitstudio

In Tevet we will be working with the soul trait of sakranut (סקרנות) curiosity that also corresponds with the Doreshet - the seeker.

There is no cost to attend Soul Trait Studio, but registration is required.

#jewish @mazeldon #mussar #jewitch #kohenet

@baruch

A recent acquisition - Widen Your Tent, Micha Berger. - In the introduction of his magnum opus, Shaarei Yosher, Rav Shimon Shkop (1860-1939) outlines his views of mussar and theology – What is the purpose of Judaism? The nature of holiness? What does it mean to be a good person, to be made in the “image” of G-d? How can I be happy with what I have? How can I learn to understand and love other people?

#seforim #jewishbooks #jewdiverse #mussar

@BlinkPopShift

Interesting question. Do you think some form of non-Jewish colonization occurred in our collective thought, which made us less interested in #mussar or Jewish spirituality?

Many of us do feel that some aspects of non-Jewish #philosophies in the 1800s and 1900s had corrosive effects on the Jewish community when it came to #spirituality. Fortunately, #Jews are re-learning our heritage in this area

https://merrimackvalleyhavurah.wordpress.com/2020/07/16/spirituality-in-judaism/

Wow, serious burn. But #Rabbi Micha Berger has a fair point:

Narcissistic #Spirituality: I was at a #Mussar conference once, and Rabbi Dr. Meir Levin asked me “When did Mussar shift from being about giving to others to being about working on my own middos?” In general, this kind of self-focus is an error that is all too easy in many spiritual paths.

I've seen this in a couple of self-appointed mussar masters. Mussar is great, but we need to remember what it was supposed to be about

@mazeldon

@SuddenGenesis @mazeldon

I hope people share this: Here we see Conservative, Reform and Orthodox #Jews studying #Torah and #mussar together in #Brookline, Massachusetts.

We should encourage our local Jewish community leaders to do the same - Torah, #Mishnah, Talmud, #Maimonides, Mussar, are our common inheritance. With good will any community can create opportunities for cooperation, spirituality, Talmud Torah, and communal strength.

#kehillah #achdut

Here we see Conservative, Reform and Orthodox Jews studying #Torah and #mussar together in Brookline, Massachusetts. We can encourage our local community leaders to do the same -Torah, Mishnah, Talmud, Maimonides, Mussar, are our common inheritance. Opportunities for cooperation, spirituality, Talmud Torah, and communal strength.

@judaism
@mazeldon
#Mazeldon #Jewish #Judaism #Jews #klalyisrael

Problems among some Mussar teachers? Rabbi Dr. Meir Levin asks “When did Mussar shift from being about giving to others to being about working on my own middos?” This kind of self-focus is an error that is all too easy in many spiritual paths."

https://aspaqlaria.aishdas.org/2012/09/08/narcissistic-spirituality/

@judaism
@mazeldon
#Jewdiverse #Mazeldon #Jewniverse
#Jewish #Judaism #Jews #JewishStudies #Babka #Mussar

Is relearning suppressed #Jewish practices like #mussar a form of #decolonization ?

Is relearning suppressed #Jewish practices like #mussar a form of #decolonization ?

Kislev mussar practice guide is now available. We’ll use this to support today’s Soul Trait Studio session, and you can also use it to support your practice all month.

Never explored the Jewish spiritual practice of #mussar? Today is a great day to get started!

https://devotaj.substack.com/p/soul-trait-studio-kislev-5783

@mazeldon #jewdiverse #jewish #jewitch #mazeldon

Shavua Tov @mazeldon

Sunday 11/27, 3-4:30pm ET, is my monthly Soul Trait Studio session, which is a monthly open mussar practice. This month focusing on the soul trait of yirah (radical amazement, awe/fear).

Still time to register, and no charge but your time.

Learn more/register:
https://devotaj.com/soultraitstudio

#mazeldon #mussar #jewish