Noble Eightfold Path

The main ingredient of having faith in the Lord is to consider that which one cannot see as part of reality. A believing person is convinced of G’d’s mercy, of the fact that the same G’d who has created this very day and what it brings also created the means to provide for His creatures on this day and on subsequent days.

However, the distinction between that which is in potential and that which is in actuality exists only from our own perspective as created beings that have been set into action. God has programmed us, by and large, to see reality in this way. God created an order to the world.

We have been stiff-necked, refusing to admit that the cause of our suffering is our own sins.

Do not devise harm against your fellow Who lives trustfully with you.

Ye shall not steal; neither shall ye deal falsely, nor lie one to another.

Rava said to Rabba bar Mari: From where is this matter derived whereby people say: If there is a well that you drank from, do not throw a stone into it? Rabba bar Mari said to him that the source is as it is written: “You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother; you shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were a stranger in his land” (Deuteronomy 23:8). Since you dwelled in their lands, you may not cause them harm.

Guard your tongue from evil, your lips from deceitful speech.

Put crooked speech away from you; Keep devious talk far from you.

Bread of falsehood is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.

Scripture employs the plural Ye shall not steal, for the one who sees and is silent is also a thief.

Swearing and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery! They break all bounds, and blood toucheth blood.

Do not enter on the path of the wicked; Do not walk on the way of evil men.

It is forbidden to deceive people in business dealings, as well as by false pretenses; non-Jews and Jews are all alike in this respect. If one is aware of a defect in the article he is selling, he must let the purchaser know about it. It is forbidden to cheat people even by the use of mere words.

Do not act dishonestly in business, whether in land measurement, in dry weighing, or in liquid measurement:

Do not withhold good from one who deserves it When you have the power to do it [for him].

Only by your own hard work and the sweat of your brow will you eat bread, until you return to the ground from which you have been formed. For you are from dust, and to dust will you return — and still your soul will have to account for your deeds.”
(עפ"י יונתן ב"ע.)

If you see the donkey of your enemy lying under its burden, and you might not want to help him [stop yourself from abandoning him], [but you should] [[you should]] make every effort to help him [abandon what is in you heart against him and unload with him] .

Mark! Because you are endowed with free will, and you have the choice in your own hands, therefore I have set before you the way of everlasting life by doing good deeds, and the way of death by following the way of evil.
(ספורנו.)

More than all that you guard, guard your mind, For it is the source of life.

Evil thoughts are an abomination to the LORD, But pleasant words are pure.

Remove all worldly concerns from your heart during prayer. Prepare your heart before God, purify your thoughts and think about the words before you utter them.

Concentration of the mind—how is this condition [to be fulfilled?] Any prayer uttered without mental concentration is not prayer. If a service has been recited without such concentration, it must be recited again devoutly. A person finds that his thoughts are confused and his mind is distracted: He may not pray till he has recovered his mental composure. Hence, on returning from a journey or if one is weary or distressed, it is forbidden to pray till his mind is composed.

What is to be understood by concentration of the mind? The mind should be freed from all extraneous thoughts and the one who prays should realize that he is standing before the Divine Presence. He should therefore sit awhile before beginning his prayers, so as to concentrate his mind, and then pray in gentle tones, beseechingly, and not regard the service as a burden which he is carrying and which he will cast off and proceed on his way. He should, accordingly, also sit awhile, after concluding the prayers, and then leave. The ancient saints were wont to pause and meditate one hour before the service, one hour after the service and take one hour in its recital.