Mishnah Pe'ah 1:1 - Kindness is without measure

מסכת פיאה פרק א

א,א אלו דברים שאין להם שיעור--הפיאה, והביכורים, והריאיון, וגמילות חסדים, ותלמוד תורה. ואלו דברים שאדם אוכל מפירותיהן בעולם הזה, והקרן קיימת לו לעולם הבא--כיבוד אב ואם, וגמילות חסדים, והבאת שלום בין אדם לחברו; ותלמוד תורה כנגד כולם.

Mishnah Pe'ah 1:1

These are the things that are without measure: charity, first fruits, pilgrimage to the temple, righteous deeds, and studying Torah. These are things that a man can eat of their fruits in this world, but their true fulfillment is in the world to come: honoring one's parents, righteous deeds, bringing peace between a man and his friend. Studying Torah is equal to them all.

This mishnah strikes me as a study guide: these are the things you should get out of studying Torah. If you study Torah and it doesn't make you into the kind of person who gives charity, does righteous deeds, and makes peace between a man and his friend, you're doing it wrong.

There are actually measures for many of these things in the Torah, but what the Mishnah is telling us is that you can do them as much as you would like and they are always a good thing. Interestingly, all of these things are done in relationship with others except studying Torah (which is usually done in hevruta, but not always). It shows how concerned Jews should be with their community and those around them who are in need.

Unfortunately, it's a lesson that many in this country, religious and secular, need to learn: that there is no limit to being kind to people.

Words create

In class today, we talked about how ineffectual words can be to actually communicate. What I mean when I say something may or may not be what you think I mean. Even when we both think the communication was clear, there may be a complete lack of understanding.

In our tradition, words were used to create the world. We are in the image of God, so every time we speak, we create. Tradition teaches that the world is in a continual state of creation.

Words create worlds. When someone speaks, what do their words create in you? Isn't that how communication works: we create in someone else. It makes all of our words so much more powerful, and should make us so much more careful about what we say.

Tugging on your shirt

Working with a client this past week, I found myself repeatedly using the analogy of a small child tugging on her shirt. There was a thought that kept going through her head repeatedly during the day and she wasn't sure how to make sense of it. The energetic was exactly like a small child: when they want your attention, they pull on the edge of your shirt. If you turn and acknowledge them, they usually are satisfied and go back to playing. But if you ignore them or don't actually listen to what they say, they continue to pull on your shirt more aggressively.

Such it was with this thought of hers. It was asking for her attention. She knew about it, but she hadn't really fully acknowledged it. As we continued to talk, She asked how one can more effectively acknowledge the thought? It's the difference between yes-ing the child and lowering yourself to the child's level to look her in the eyes and really listen to what she has to say. With this thought, my client needed to take some time during the day and dedicate it, without distraction, to dealing with the thought and the emotions associated with it.

For the emotions, more effectively acknowledging them means to feel them more intensely. If the emotion is tugging on your shirt, then the more intensely you can feel the emotion is the way to listen to it more effectively.

The souls are similar. There are times when they demand our attention and we'd best pay attention, but if we can give them a time during the day that we do nothing but interact with them, then they are less likely to need to demand our attention while we are doing other things.

So if you find a small thought or emotion tugging on your shirt, bend down, look it in the eyes, and listen.

Yibani ha mikdash

יבנה המקדש!

There are many times during the prayers when we pray for the rebuilding of the holy temple. It's my very humble opinion that it might already have happened.

The temple was the home of the Shechina, the aspect of God that is most present in the world. When the temple was destroyed, the Shechina went into exile with us. And, presumably, when we came back to Israel, she came back with us.

As I've written in an earlier post, I experience the Shechina as the energy created between two people. When I came to Jerusalem, I felt the power of this city. So many Jews here, so much energy created when they study, pray, and live together.

Maybe the Shechina has already made her home here and we didn't notice? We have built Jerusalem for a third time as a Jewish city. We live in a world where Judaism is decentralized and can never be recentralized again without destroying what was created over the past 2000 years.

So maybe we have already built the third temple, though not as it once was in all it's splendor and glory. We have built it through so many small synagogues and minyanim. Together, they shelter the Shechina.

So maybe we should not be reciting "may we be blessed to merit the re-building of the temple". but instead we should be saying: "we give thanks that we have merited to live during the time of the third Jerusalem." בנינו בית המקדש Amen.

The balance of Rain

In class today, we discussed a section of the Zohar where the sephirah of חסד-Hesed (loving kindness and compassion) is referred to as water. Hesed, in Kabbalah, is in tension with גבורה-Gevurah (strength and boundaries), which balances in תפארת-Tiferet (splendor). In the daily prayers, the prayer for rain is called גבורת גשמים (gevurat Geshamim), or the power of the rains. In this context we pray for the balance between gevruah and hesed.

One of my classmates pointed out that if there was just hesed and the water came all at once, it would be like a tsunami - incredibly destructive. If there was just gevurah, we would have a storm with no rain, which would also be destructive. So we require the balance between the two to enable the rain to come down in little drops (hesed held within gevurah) that are nourishing to us and the earth. We always need a balance between strength and compassion because too much of either doesn't heal anyone.