Alan Morinis, With Heart in Mind: Mussar Teachings to Transform Your Life
A recent Mussar master, Rabbi Elya Lopian, actually defined Mussar as “making the heart feel what the intellect understands.” Making the heart feel what the mind knows requires learning and then another step beyond…The proposition that lies at the heart of Mussar is that because life is inherently a process of growing and we have free will, it is within our power and capacity to direct the process of our own change...The highest and best use of a life is to aim toward either shleimut (meaning “wholeness”) or kedusha (“holiness”). These are but two dimensions of the same phenomenon. The more we become living embodiments of our ideals, the more we transition from our partialness (even brokenness) toward becoming more whole, and in wholeness we become vessels for holiness itself. The Mussar masters tell us that this is the open secret that makes sense of the journey of life.
We are not to pursue just any ideals, however. The ideals to which Mussar helps us draw closer come not from our own imaginations or from popular culture or from the philosophers but from the Torah and its interpretations (which are also part of the Torah). The Torah articulates stunning ideals for what a human being can be. In the five Books of Moses, the word kindness (chesed) appears 248 times.
Generosity, compassion, grace, patience, and love are all held up as divine qualities we are meant to embody in our own lives. And Mussar gives us the tools.
(ו) וַיַּעֲבֹ֨ר יי ׀ עַל־פָּנָיו֮ וַיִּקְרָא֒ יי ׀ יי אֵ֥ל רַח֖וּם וְחַנּ֑וּן אֶ֥רֶךְ אַפַּ֖יִם וְרַב־חֶ֥סֶד וֶאֱמֶֽת ׀ (ז) נֹצֵ֥ר חֶ֙סֶד֙ לָאֲלָפִ֔ים נֹשֵׂ֥א עָוֺ֛ן וָפֶ֖שַׁע וְחַטָּאָ֑ה וְנַקֵּה֙ לֹ֣א יְנַקֶּ֔ה פֹּקֵ֣ד ׀ עֲוֺ֣ן אָב֗וֹת עַל־בָּנִים֙ וְעַל־בְּנֵ֣י בָנִ֔ים עַל־שִׁלֵּשִׁ֖ים וְעַל־רִבֵּעִֽים׃
And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed: ‘The Lord, the Lord, God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in goodness and truth; keeping mercy unto the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; and that will by no means clear the guilty (requirement of t'shuvah); visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and unto the fourth generation (accountability of one's actions).’
In the practical realm, this conflict is embodied in the principle of Imitatio Dei. Halachic Judaism placed this principle at the center of the universe. “And you shall walk in His ways” (Deut. 28:9) – as He is, so you shall be (see Sotah 14a). “This is my God and I will imitate Him” (Ex. 15:2) – as He is, so you shall be (Shabbat 133b).
(ה) ... ומצווין אנו ללכת בדרכים האלו הבינונים והם הדרכים הטובים והישרים שנאמר והלכת בדרכיו. (ו) כך למדו בפירוש מצוה זו מה הוא נקרא חנון אף אתה היה חנון מה הוא נקרא רחום אף אתה היה רחום מה הוא נקרא קדוש אף אתה היה קדוש ועל דרך זו קראו הנביאים לאל בכל אותן הכנויין ארך אפים ורב חסד צדיק וישר תמים גבור וחזק וכיוצא בהן להודיע שהן דרכים טובים וישרים וחייב אדם להנהיג עצמו בהן ולהדמות אליו כפי כחו.
We are commanded to walk in these intermediate paths - and they are good and straight paths - as [Sefer Devarim 28:9] states: “And you shall walk in His ways.”
[Our Sages] taught [the following] explanation of this mitzvah: Just as He is called “Gracious,” you shall be gracious; Just as He is called “Merciful,” you shall be merciful; Just as He is called “Holy,” you shall be holy; In a similar manner, the prophets called G-d by other titles: “Slow to anger,” “Abundant in kindness,” “Righteous,” “Just,” “Perfect,” “Almighty,” “Powerful,” and the like. [They did so] to inform us that these are good and just paths. A person is obligated to accustom himself to these paths and [to try to] resemble Him to the extent of his ability.
ואמר רבי חמא ברבי חנינא מאי דכתיב (דברים יג, ה) אחרי יי אלהיכם תלכו וכי אפשר לו לאדם להלך אחר שכינה והלא כבר נאמר (דברים ד, כד) כי יי אלהיך אש אוכלה הוא אלא להלך אחר מדותיו של הקב"ה מה הוא מלביש ערומים דכתיב (בראשית ג, כא) ויעש יי אלהים לאדם ולאשתו כתנות עור וילבישם אף אתה הלבש ערומים הקב"ה ביקר חולים דכתיב (בראשית יח, א) וירא אליו יי באלוני ממרא אף אתה בקר חולים הקב"ה ניחם אבלים דכתיב (בראשית כה, יא) ויהי אחרי מות אברהם ויברך אלהים את יצחק בנו אף אתה נחם אבלים הקב"ה קבר מתים דכתיב (דברים לד, ו) ויקבר אותו בגיא אף אתה קבור מתים
Rabbi Hama the son of Rabbi Hanina said: (Deuteronomy 13:5) "After God you shall walk." And is it possible for a man to walk after the Presence of God? And doesn't it already say (Deuteronomy 4:24) "Because God is a consuming flame"? Rather, [it means] to walk after the characteristics of God. Just as He clothed the naked [in the case of Adam and Chava]… so, too, should you clothe the naked. Just as the Holy One Blessed be He visited the sick [in the case of Avraham after his brit milah]…so, too, should you visit the sick. Just as the Holy One Blessed be He comforted the mourners [in the case of Yitzhak after Avraham’s passing]…so, too, should you comfort the mourners. Just as the Holy One Blessed be He buried the dead [in the case of Moshe]…so, too, should you bury the dead.
When [Moses] asked for knowledge of the attributes and asked for forgiveness for the nation, he was given a [favorable] answer with regard to their being forgiven. Then he asked for the apprehension of His essence, may He be exalted. This is what he means when he says "Show me, I pray Thee, Thy glory;" whereupon he received a [favorable] answer with regard to what he had asked for at first - namely, "Show me Thy ways." ...It is then clear that the "ways" - for a knowledge of which he had asked and which, in consequence, were made known to him - are the actions proceeding from God, may He be exalted. The Sages call them "characteristics" and speak of the "thirteen characteristics." This term, as they use it, is applied to moral qualities...For the utmost virtue of man is to become like unto Him, may He be exalted, as far as he is able; which means that we should make our actions like unto His, as the Sages made clear when interpreting the verse "You shall be holy." They said: "He is gracious, so be you also gracious; He is merciful, so be you also merciful."
Rosh Hashanah 17a
The House of Hillel said, “God who abounds in mercy leans towards [a judgment of] mercy"...How does God act? It is taught on Tannaite authority in the house of R. Ishmael: He passes over the first transgression [of each type], and this is [God’s] attribute [of mercy].
Rava said, “[As for] anyone who passes over his right [to exact punishment against another], they pass over all of his transgressions, “as it says [Mic. 7:18: ‘Who is a God like you], pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression.’ “For whom does God pardon iniquity? For the one who pardons transgression [in others].”
Said R. Aha bar Hanina, “[God passes over transgression] ‘for the remnant of his inheritance,’ but not for all [the people] of his inheritance!” [The verse means that God passes over the transgression of] whomever makes himself as though he were a remnant [by humbling himself and behaving like the righteous (Rashi)].
Rav Huna pointed out an [apparent] inconsistency: It is written [Psa. 145:17]: ‘The Lord is just in all his ways.’ And [in the continuation of the same verse] it is written, ‘and kind in all his doings.’ [There is no contradiction.] [The point is that] at first [God is] “just” and [then], at the end, [he is] kind.
R. Eleazar pointed out an [apparent] inconsistency: It is written [Psa. 62:12]: ‘And to you, Lord, belongs kindness.’ And [in the continuation of the same verse] it is written, ‘For you requite a man according to his deeds.’” [There is no contradiction.] At first—”For you requite a man according to his deeds.” And, at the end—”And to you, Lord, belongs kindness.”
Ilpi, and some say Ilpa, pointed out an [apparent] inconsistency: It is written [Exo. 34:6]: ‘and abounding in kindness.’ And [in the continuation of the same verse] it is written, ‘and truth.’ [How can God be kind and, at the same time, judge a man according to the truth?] [There is no contradiction.] At first—and truth. And, at the end—'and abounding in kindness.'
Illuminates
The Way In Which We Are To Interact With Each Other
Rosh Hashanah 17b
R. Yosé the priest joined her[, Valeria the proselyte,] and said, “I will tell you a parable illustrating the matter: “[This is] as in [the case of] a man who lent his associate a maneh and, in the presence of the king, established a time [for repayment]. And [the borrower] swore to him on the life of the king [that he would repay the loan]. “The time came, and he did not repay it. He [therefore] went to make peace with the king. “But [the king] said to him, ‘For the insult done to me, I forgive you. Go and make peace with your associate [who lent you the money].’
“So too [is the distinction between the verses]: “Here [at Num. 6:26, which refers to God’s lifting His countenance in forgiveness, reference is] to transgressions that are between a person and the omnipresent.
“But here [at Deu. 10:17, which states that God does not lift His countenance in forgiveness, reference is] to transgression that are between one person and another.”
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How Do I Begin?
There Is No Place To Seek Holiness Other Than Where You Are Right Now.
When you walk the pathway...it doesn’t provide you holiness, it removes the obstacles to the holiness that is already and inherently abundant within you. Too much engagement in business is an obstacle. Being egotistical is an obstacle. Excessive or quick anger is an obstacle. Judging others negatively is an obstacle. Whether stated in the positive or the negative, [the] purpose [of Mussar is] to remove a barrier that obstructs the light of holiness that glows within you from shining into your life and through you into the world.