בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָֽׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו, וְצִוָּֽנוּ לַעֲסוֹק בְּדִבְרֵי תוֹרָה.
Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu laasok b’divrei Torah.
Praised are You, Ado-nai, Our God, Sovereign of the Universe, who made us holy with the commandments and instructed us to busy ourselves with Torah.
What is the middah "Peace of mind"?
To overcome over any trivial event, whether bad or good, that should not distort our peace of mind.
To overcome over any trivial event, whether bad or good, that should not distort our peace of mind.
- When our mental state is ordered (or calm)...our animal soul emits the light of knowledge...throughout the body, in order to alert all the parts of the body the command of the high-soul (to God?) and its (God's) will...
- This is based upon the teaching in Proverbs:
(כז) נֵ֣ר יי נִשְׁמַ֣ת אָדָ֑ם חֹ֝פֵ֗שׂ כׇּל־חַדְרֵי־בָֽטֶן׃
(27) The lifebreath of humanity is the lamp of the LORD
Revealing all one's inmost parts.
- When we have menu'chat nefesh, we have the power to choose and we command our spirit to focus our thoughts...[for the purposes of] swaying the animal spirit or preventing it [from acting]...such that we may experience what is good in this world and in the next.
- If we do not preserve our peace of mind, we will fall into fear and darkness, and we'll lose our wisdom and strength, and our animal soul will lead us in times of trouble...filled with the 'sleepiness of laziness' (i.e. we'll shut down)
Challenges to preserving our peace of mind:
- The impact of external events on us - good news or bad news, pleasure or difficulty in life
- Largest potential impact on us - over-reacting to even minor changes to our routine (expectations of reliability in life) -- Examples: Unexpected changes in the layout of furniture in the house (changes to the visual setup of our living spaces), meeting and interacting with a new group of people who don't know us (potentially awkward social situations), having to lead a service or give a D'var Torah in public when one is not used to doing so (being put in stressful public situations requiring us to lead or present), fears of night (darkness, unknowns), banging of an animal against the wall (disturbing sounds), responding to an earthquake (staying safe from natural disasters), fear of night robbers (people with evil intent)
How to address these challenges to peace of mind?
- Return to the situation that caused the upset and confront, and analyze, the factors that contributed to the feeling
- What caused us to feel the fear, anxiety, worry in that moment?
- Suggested remedy: accustom ourselves to a calm, balanced perspective on life
Activity #1:
Identify for yourself the top 3 things in your life, in order of severity if you can, that unsettle your peace of mind.
Take 3 minutes to jot them down.
We divide into small groups - share our top 3, the others in the group listen, explore the nature of those things, and suggest ways to mitigate our reactions to those unsettling things.
Rotate through until everyone has a chance to share and hear responses.
Then, we'll regroup and listen to overall reactions to the exercise and responses.
Identify for yourself the top 3 things in your life, in order of severity if you can, that unsettle your peace of mind.
Take 3 minutes to jot them down.
We divide into small groups - share our top 3, the others in the group listen, explore the nature of those things, and suggest ways to mitigate our reactions to those unsettling things.
Rotate through until everyone has a chance to share and hear responses.
Then, we'll regroup and listen to overall reactions to the exercise and responses.
Activity #2:
For the first four weeks, our focus will be on peace of mind.
Goal setting: Take 2 minutes to choose one goal with respect to peace of mind for the next 4 weeks and a short thought or two about how you might begin to pursue that goal.
Sharing for everyone's benefit.
For the first four weeks, our focus will be on peace of mind.
Goal setting: Take 2 minutes to choose one goal with respect to peace of mind for the next 4 weeks and a short thought or two about how you might begin to pursue that goal.
Sharing for everyone's benefit.
We're beginning our first year of the Musar circle, and as we do we recognize the power and potential of this moment and we give thanks to God for the opportunity to pursue this work together.
HEBREW TEXT
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה, יי אֱלֹקֵינוּ, מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ וְקִיְּמָנוּ וְהִגִּיעָנוּ לַזְּמַן הַזֶּה.
TRANSLITERATION
Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, shehecheyanu, v'kiy'manu, v'higiyanu laz'man hazeh.
TRANSLATION
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of all, who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this season.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה, יי אֱלֹקֵינוּ, מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ וְקִיְּמָנוּ וְהִגִּיעָנוּ לַזְּמַן הַזֶּה.
TRANSLITERATION
Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, shehecheyanu, v'kiy'manu, v'higiyanu laz'man hazeh.
TRANSLATION
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of all, who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this season.