P'shat / Simple definition: The power of comprehending; sympathetically aware of other people’s feelings.
- From jewishcamp.org/making-menches/
And is established by understanding;
Jewish sources often pair wisdom or knowledge with understanding. What is the difference between wisdom/knowledge and understanding? How does the metaphor of building a house relate to Sullys call to see the humanity in the situation?
כִּי הֲווֹ מִפַּטְרִי רַבָּנַן מִבֵּי רַבִּי אַמֵּי, וְאָמְרִי לַהּ מִבֵּי רַבִּי חֲנִינָא, אָמְרִי לֵיהּ הָכִי: ... לִבְּךָ יֶהְגֶּה תְּבוּנָה, פִּיךָ יְדַבֵּר חָכְמוֹת וּלְשׁוֹנְךָ יַרְחִישׁ רְנָנוֹת
When the Sages took leave of the study hall of Rabbi Ami, and some say it was the study hall of Rabbi Ḥanina, they would say to him the following blessing:...
May your heart meditate understanding,
your mouth speak wisdom, and your tongue whisper with praise.
Where do you locate understanding in your body? Where do traditional Jewish sources like this one locate it? How does this resonate with your definition of binah?
What can we take from this story of Solomon and God? What is the lesson for us? How has understanding helped us as leaders?
אַשְׁרֵ֣י אָ֭דָם מָצָ֣א חׇכְמָ֑ה וְ֝אָדָ֗ם יָפִ֥יק תְּבוּנָֽה׃
Happy is the one who finds wisdom,
The one who attains understanding.
Does understanding lead to happiness? What are the benefits of this middah?
Mahatma Gandhi “Relationships are based on four principles: respect, understanding, acceptance and appreciation"
The receptive mode is at the heart of human existence. By ‘existence’ or ‘existing,’ I mean more than merely living or subsisting. When existentialist philosophers refer to ‘existence,’ they mean to include an awareness of and commitment to what we are doing, what we are living… Existence involves, then, living with heightened awareness.” (p. 35 Nel Noddings, Caring: A Feminine Approach to Ethics and Moral Education)
How do Gandhi and Noddings suggest that cultivating binah will enhance your life?
“If I had an hour to solve a problem I'd spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.”
― Albert Einstein
How does understanding affect our relationships with those in our community?
How does understanding affect our relationships with those in our community? Our responses?