EQUANIMITY | MENUCHAT HANEFESH | מנוחת הנפש
PHRASE/SLOGAN
Gam ze ya'avor / this too will pass
Be present and look beyond the present
Gam zu leTovah / this also is for the Good
The Divine is always Tov, goodness/evil come and go
The ocean depths abide equanimously whether the surface is still or waky
In great winds and calm, the earth's depths are at rest
To be free of the negative you must also divest from the fleeting positive
Restful witnessing presence sits in outer and inner storms
This call is being monitored for quality assurance purposes
Receive all opposites equally (e.g., honor/insult, gain/loss, fame/ill-repute)
The land of equanimity is beyond good and evil
SOUL TRAIT (MIDDAH) SPECTRUM
ETYMOLOGY
- resting the body-soul
- root - נוח
- rest, stop movement
- seat for resting, cushion, pillow
- camels kneel down, resting place of camel
- settled down, quiet
- relieved, alight, set down, deposited, remain, left, placed
- restful site, resting place
- allowing
- calmness of the soul, settled soul, repose, abiding
- resemblance, similarity, alike
- root - שוה
- like, equal, equivalent, agree
- even, flat, equal in value
- leveled to ground's surface, smoothed
- harmonized, straightened
- to set, put, or place
- root for shiviti
- settled mind, peace of mind, seated consciousness
- serenity
TORAH
(יא) כִּ֣י שֵֽׁשֶׁת־יָמִים֩ עָשָׂ֨ה יְהוָ֜ה אֶת־הַשָּׁמַ֣יִם וְאֶת־הָאָ֗רֶץ אֶת־הַיָּם֙ וְאֶת־כָּל־אֲשֶׁר־בָּ֔ם וַיָּ֖נַח בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֑י.
(11) For in six days Hashem made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day.
MUSSAR
There once was a farmer who owned a horse. One day the horse ran away. All the people in the town came to console him because of the loss. "Oh, I don't know," said the farmer, "maybe it's a bad thing and maybe it's not."
A few days later, the horse returned to the farm accompanied by 20 other horses. (Apparently he had found some wild horses and made friends!) All the townspeople came to congratulate him: "Now you have a stable full of horses!" "Oh, I don't know," said the farmer, "maybe it's a good thing and maybe it's not."
A few days later, the farmer's son was out riding one of the new horses. The horse got wild and threw him off, breaking the son's leg. All the people in town came to console the farmer because of the accident. "Oh, I don't know," said the farmer, "maybe it's a bad thing and maybe it's not."
A few days later, the government declared war and instituted a draft of all able-bodied young men. They came to the town and carted off hundreds of young men, except for the farmer's son who had a broken leg. "Now I know," said the farmer, "that it was a good thing my horse ran away." [or, "Oh, I don't know" . . . ]
The turbulence of emotions can be exhausting. It happens to me whenever I identify myself as the prime actor in my life, the master of my fate. When life blesses me with gifts, “I” have made a success of myself; when life is bleak, it’s because “I” have failed.
A soul infused with trust in God, on the other hand, is graced with equanimity, stillness, and quiet, and is no longer at the mercy of these emotional firestorms. Having bitahon [trust] means you have a profound understanding that you didn’t ask to be put here, you didn’t write the script, and neither did the person who might be helping or hindering you at any given moment, so you might as well relax and trust. But that doesn’t mean you now believe that only good things will happen to you. That isn’t how life works. Trust in God isn’t going to give you any kind of special edge—it won’t help your team win the next game and it won’t cure your cancer. When you strengthen the soul-trait that is bitahon, you gain equanimity, because you have set yourself up to accept whatever ultimately comes to pass. Your will is aligned with the larger Will, and so you are not going to be disturbed by the way things go, whether or not it is the way you had hoped. (Chp. 7: The Gate of Trust in God)
As long as one lives a life of calmness and tranquility in the service of God, it is clear that he is remote from true service. (Chp. 12: Equanimity)
If you have come to a place in your life where all the waters are becalmed and the waves have been stilled, there is a very good chance that you are in a coma, or at least deeply asleep. . . . Mussar doesn’t point us toward a complete transcendence of who we are, as if the goal is to become something other than human, like an angel.
Equanimity in the Mussar usage does not suggest that feelings are idling in neutral. It isn’t a kind of numbness. You still register the ups and downs of the feelings—those are the waves—but you stay awake to the experience from an undisturbed place. When you are submerged in your feelings without at least a flicker of self-awareness, the light of consciousness is extinguished, and the doors to connection and choice are closed. But if awareness is calmly present, even amid the storms of life, your soul maintains its connection to others and to the divine source and your free will is preserved. (Chp. 12: Equanimity)
שִׁוִּ֬יתִי יְהוָ֣ה לְנֶגְדִּ֣י תָמִ֑יד כִּ֥י מִֽ֝ימִינִ֗י בַּל־אֶמּֽוֹט. לָכֵ֤ן ׀ שָׂמַ֣ח לִ֭בִּי וַיָּ֣גֶל כְּבוֹדִ֑י אַף־בְּ֝שָׂרִ֗י יִשְׁכֹּ֥ן לָבֶֽטַח׃
I have set God before me always [I am ever mindful of God’s presence; God is always monitoring]; because He is at my right hand I will not be shaken. For this reason, rejoice does my heart, and elated is my whole being, also my flesh rests in confidence/trust.
One way in which this four letter name of G~d can be read is as "Yud Hoveh." Yud is a point, Hoveh is the present, that very point in the present. The Shiviti reminds us of this radical present, that we're right here, that we don't have to create the past nor the future. We're right at this N'kudot Hoveh, this point in the present. In the Shiviti, the equanimity, of this situation, we realize that we are not deprived of anything. . . . Looking at the Shiviti, we view the world from G~d's vantage point. (p. 25)
To be present with everyone, in every situation, no matter how he or she acts — whether they embody their Ra or Tov. . . . our ability to keep our Neshamah shining through a semi-permeable Nefesh, no matter the state of the other person’s Yetzer. (Middah Four: Intimacy)
Although there are definitely times when we ought to stand away from powerful outer forces . . . we need to be more concerned with the impulses and reactions that arise in us. . . . to cultivate an inner attitude that creates some distance between the stimulus that comes at us (whether from within or outside) and our reactions to it. We make this space by cultivating an inner capacity to bear witness. (Chp. 12: Equanimity)
There is not a link between goodness/evil in the world and the existence of goodness. Goodness is. . . . the Divine is always Tov. The “cause” of Ra is the closed Nefesh of the human instrument that channels the Divine energy. (Middah Thirteen: Holiness)
I form light and create darkness, I make peace and create evil/selfishness— I God do all these things.
Blessed are You, Adonoy our God, King of the Universe, Former1Forming, יוצר, is the act of refining or modifying an original substance, whereas, creating, בורא, refers to creating the original substance from nothing. For example, when one shapes a wooden table, to make it round, he “forms” the wood, the original substance which was “created.” Similarly, God “forms the light” which is His act of modifying or limiting the darkness He created.—Siddur HaGra of light, Creator of darkness, Maker2Making, עושה, is the act of completion, such as when one completes a table by painting it. Similarly, God’s finishing touch of creation is “making peace,” the vessel that holds it all together, as stated in the Mishna, “God found no vessel to contain blessing other than peace.” לא מצא הקב״ה כלי מחזיק ברכה אלא השלום—Siddur HaGra of peace, Creator3The verse in Isaiah 45:7, on which this blessing is based concludes with the words, “and creates evil.” In His original creation, God created the potential for evil, which He constantly limits and controls as the Former and Maker.—Siddur HaGra of all things.
Rested is his heart, he is unafraid to the degree he can look [calmly] upon his distress.
בִּנְא֣וֹת דֶּ֭שֶׁא יַרְבִּיצֵ֑נִי עַל־מֵ֖י מְנֻח֣וֹת יְנַהֲלֵֽנִי׃ נַפְשִׁ֥י יְשׁוֹבֵ֑ב יַֽנְחֵ֥נִי בְמַעְגְּלֵי־צֶ֝֗דֶק לְמַ֣עַן שְׁמֽוֹ׃ גַּ֤ם כִּֽי־אֵלֵ֨ךְ בְּגֵ֪יא צַלְמָ֡וֶת לֹא־אִ֘ירָ֤א רָ֗ע כִּי־אַתָּ֥ה עִמָּדִ֑י.
In lush meadows S/He lays me down; beside tranquil waters S/He leads me. My soul S/He returns. S/He leads me on right paths as befits Her/His name. Even though I walk through a valley of deepest darkness/overshadowed by death, I fear no harm, for You are with me.
Why was the Torah given in the wilderness at Mount Sinai and not in the calm and peacefulness of Israel? This is to teach us that true peace of mind doesn’t come from physical comforts, but from an awareness of one’s ultimate life goals. When you focus on this, you are constantly traveling toward your goal [on right paths] and will never be overly disturbed or broken. (Week 7, Day 4)
מהן מנוחת נפשו ובטחונו על אלהיו יתברך.
Among them, peace of mind, and trusting in G-d . . .
He shall be like a tree planted by waters, Sending forth its roots by a stream: It does not sense the coming of heat, Its leaves are ever fresh; It has no care in a year of drought, It does not cease to yield fruit.
So that in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.
וירא מנוחה כי טוב / When he saw how good was security, by pursuing his twin objectives he found true מנוחה, i.e. a kind of being at peace with oneself knowing one has done what is expected of one. The prophet Jeremiah 6,16 describes such a state of mind as ומצאו מרגוע לנפשותיכם, “find tranquility for yourselves.” [He advised people of his time to travel ancient paths, i.e. the path of Torah as it used to be practiced. Ed.]
כֹּ֣ה אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֡ה עִמְדוּ֩ עַל־דְּרָכִ֨ים וּרְא֜וּ וְשַׁאֲל֣וּ ׀ לִנְתִב֣וֹת עוֹלָ֗ם אֵי־זֶ֨ה דֶ֤רֶךְ הַטּוֹב֙ וּלְכוּ־בָ֔הּ וּמִצְא֥וּ מַרְגּ֖וֹעַ לְנַפְשְׁכֶ֑ם.
Thus said God: Stand by the roads and consider, Inquire about ancient paths: Which is the road to happiness? Travel it, and find tranquillity for yourselves.
לֹֽא־הִנִּ֣יחַ אָדָ֣ם לְעָשְׁקָ֑ם.
He allowed no one to oppress them.
Be at rest, once again, my soul, for God has been good to you.
The holy Ba’al Shem Tov spoke of hashgahah pratit, a ‘specific personal providence,’ in which all events are seen as happening with a specific or particular purpose, beyond appearances of ‘good’ or ‘evil.’ This is in keeping with his pantheistic worldview, wherein there is nothing in existence but divinity; therefore, nothing happens that is not divine or divinely ordained (however we may judge it according to our limited vision). (Providence)