CALMNESS | NICHUTAH | ניחותא
PHRASE/SLOGAN
Go down deeply into the relaxed place
Awaken calmness by not judging (others and yourself)
Balance having things and empty space to facilitate calm
Seek not the relative calm of certainty but rather the ultimate Calm from embracing uncertainty/not knowing
Remember divine Calmness even when you're restless
In order to be in good standing with Existence, maintain good standing with your peers
Speak calmly in order to be heard
Teach yourself to speak gently
Be like rain that comes down gently
SOUL TRAIT (MIDDAH) SPECTRUM
ETYMOLOGY
- gentleness, pleasantness, mildness
- ease, calm, serenity, tranquility
- ease of mind
- root - נוח
- to rest
- seat for resting, cushion, pillow
- make camels kneel down, resting place of camel
- settle down, quiet, relieved
- alight, set down
- deposit
- let remain, left
- abandon
- let alone
- related to נחת
- to go down, descend, lower (especially from Palestine to Babylonia)
- to land
- to place
- penetrate deeply into
- press down, bring down
- quietness, rest, gratification, pleasure
- to put down
- humbled, bowed
TORAH
So that in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.
MUSSAR
“There is no happiness in a scattered soul,” Rabbi Perr continued. “There is mishigas [craziness] and there is worry, but there is no peace, no calmness of soul.” And calmness of soul is the barometer by which we measure trust. (Chp. 7: The Gate of Trust in God)
In this m’shugene / harried age, where we and everything around us is constantly moving, it is truly remarkable to create a mitzvah, a spiritual discipline, which says- "Sit quietly, watch your breath, observe yourself. Just put your mind at rest. Put all your anxieties away. Just repeat calmly, "Shalom, shalom, shalom.'" (Chp. 1: Discovering All the Questions)
When we are settled into a natural, rhythmic pattern of breathing, we can let the momentum of the in-breath bring our attention in from all the mental corners where it is usually scattered and focus it at the center of our breathing. We can let the momentum of the out-breath help us to relax very deeply; to let go of tension, both muscular and emotional; to let go of regret about things that have already happened; to let go of anxiety about things that haven’t happened yet; focusing as we breathe in, letting go as we breathe out. As our awareness begins to permeate the breath and the body, they begin to glow as if lit from within. The breath begins to bring a wonderful calm to the body, a radiant calm that fills us body and mind. (Chp. 1: Transformation)
Inevitably your mind is carried off by thoughts and distractions, and when you become aware that this has happened, you gently bring your mind back to the object of its focus. (Chp. 8: The Overflowing Cup)
שְׁמַ֣ע בְּ֭נִי מוּסַ֣ר אָבִ֑יךָ וְאַל־תִּ֝טֹּ֗שׁ תּוֹרַ֥ת אִמֶּֽךָ.
My son, heed the discipline of your father, And do not forsake the instruction of your mother.
My son! Hearken to the root proof of your father and do not forsake the gentle teaching of your mother. (Chp. 9: Receiving Torah)
Finding the good in others is transformative because judging others is stressful. When you stop judging, you’ll experience more calmness of the soul. . . . Observe your internal world. When you are judging others, does it make you feel good? (Chp. 11: Honor)
In interior design, a balance of furnishings and empty space ensures the flow of energy in a room and creates a calming effect on those who enter. (Chp. 5: Silence: The Role of White Space in Our Lives)
Without what I call “the wisdom of not knowing,” it is difficult to leave the safe harbor of the known for the vast, unpredictable sea of growth and change. Certainty may calm our anxious spirits, but it closes the door on possibility. . . . when the known overshadows the unknown, we forsake our infinite life for a counterfeit, finite existence. (Introduction)
Shiviti adonai l’negdi tamid, I have set YHVH before me always . . . simply naming what is before you at any moment as YHVH, What Is. Remember, YHVH is as present when you are restless as when you are calm. (Chp. 6: Mind: Seeking and Stopping Seeking)
הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, כָּל שֶׁרוּחַ הַבְּרִיּוֹת נוֹחָה הֵימֶנּוּ, רוּחַ הַמָּקוֹם נוֹחָה הֵימֶנּוּ. וְכָל שֶׁאֵין רוּחַ הַבְּרִיּוֹת נוֹחָה הֵימֶנּוּ, אֵין רוּחַ הַמָּקוֹם נוֹחָה הֵימֶנּוּ.
He used to say: if the spirit of one's fellow creatures is pleased with them, the spirit of The Place is pleased with them. And if the spirit of one's fellow creatures is not pleased with them, the spirit of The Place is not pleased with them.
This mishnah is not calling for a popularity contest. On the contrary, its purpose is to expound on the profound relationship between ethics and spirituality. . . . If one is not a kind person known for being gentle and giving, then God is distanced. If one is a giver who is appreciated by others for one's contributions, then God is brought closer. Indeed, the reality of our character can, as one measure, be tested by the perception of our character. This simple precept . . . continues to guide the expansion of Jewish social consciousness. (Chp. 3)
צְרִיךְ לְמֵימְרִינֵהוּ בְּנִיחוּתָא, כִּי הֵיכִי דְּלִיקַבְּלִינְהוּ מִינֵּיהּ.
One must say them calmly so that the members of his household will accept them from him.
מִיבְּעֵי לֵיהּ לְאִינִישׁ לְמֵילַף נַפְשֵׁיהּ בְּנִיחוּתָא שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר וְהָסֵר כַּעַס מִלִּבֶּךָ וְגוֹ׳
One is required to teach himself to act gently, as it is stated: “And remove anger from your heart, and put away evil from your flesh” (Ecclesiastes 11:10).
אָמַר רַבִּי אָבִין: הַאי נָמֵי מְתַקַּן הוּא, דְּקָעָבֵיד נַחַת רוּחַ לְיִצְרוֹ. וּכְהַאי גַּוְונָא מִי שְׁרֵי? וְהָתַנְיָא, רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן אֶלְעָזָר אוֹמֵר מִשּׁוּם חִילְפָא בַּר אַגְרָא שֶׁאָמַר מִשּׁוּם רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן בֶּן נוּרִי: הַמְקָרֵע בְּגָדָיו בַּחֲמָתוֹ, וְהַמְשַׁבֵּר כֵּלָיו בַּחֲמָתוֹ, וְהַמְפַזֵּר מְעוֹתָיו בַּחֲמָתוֹ, יְהֵא בְּעֵינֶיךָ כְּעוֹבֵד עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה. שֶׁכָּךְ אוּמָּנוּתוֹ שֶׁל יֵצֶר הָרָע: הַיּוֹם אוֹמֵר לוֹ עֲשֵׂה כָּךְ, וּלְמָחָר אוֹמֵר לוֹ עֲשֵׂה כָּךְ, עַד שֶׁאוֹמֵר לוֹ עֲבוֹד עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה וְהוֹלֵךְ וְעוֹבֵד. אָמַר רַבִּי אָבִין: מַאי קְרָאָה — ״לֹא יִהְיֶה בְךָ אֵל זָר וְלֹא תִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה לְאֵל נֵכָר״, אֵיזֶהוּ אֵל זָר שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּגוּפוֹ שֶׁל אָדָם? הֱוֵי אוֹמֵר, זֶה יֵצֶר הָרָע.
Rabbi Avin said: This case, where one rends his garment in anger, is also constructive, because in doing so he assuages his anger. Rending his garment calms him; therefore, it can be said that he derives benefit from the act of rending, and it is consequently a constructive act. The Gemara asks: And is it at all permitted to tear in that manner? Wasn’t it taught in a baraita that Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says in the name of Ḥilfa bar Agra, who said in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Nuri: One who rends his garments in his anger, or who breaks his vessels in his anger, or who scatters his money in his anger, should be like an idol worshipper in your eyes, as that is the craft of the evil inclination. Today it tells him do this, and tomorrow it tells him do that, until eventually, when he no longer controls himself, it tells him worship idols and he goes and worships idols. Rabbi Avin said: What verse alludes to this? “There shall not be a strange god within you, and you shall not bow to a foreign god” (Psalms 81:10). What is the strange god that is within a person’s body? Say that it is the evil inclination. One may not rend his garments in anger, because in doing so he is deriving pleasure from satisfying the evil inclination.