TRANSLITERATION
Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu laasok b’divrei Torah.
TRANSLATION
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of all, who hallows us with mitzvot, commanding us to engage with words of Torah.
Review of our work on Savlanut (patience, dealing with adversity) - Successes? Challenges? Questions?
"All our actions and objects are ordered/well-arranged, everything in its place, and all our thoughts are focused on what is in front of us." -R. Mendel of Satanov
- Everyone's perception of order and disorder is different
- Everyone's tolerance of order/disorder is different
- At the same time, what may be common denominators across the board?
According to Cheshbon Ha'Nefesh:
"The animal soul is is unable to set [order to our thoughts] or to decipher [among them' to determine the correct order."
However:
"The knowledge soul, designed to evaluate all our actions based on an accepted principle, and [also designed to] accustom the animal soul to find peace in orderliness based on a principle...[the knowledge soul then] eases every course of action during our lives both in the small world [of our thoughts] and in the large world [of our actions]."
What then is the middah of Seder/Order?
"We must devote time, attention, and space to each thought and matter and carefully delineate each matter so that one does not cross over into the other."
"The animal soul is is unable to set [order to our thoughts] or to decipher [among them' to determine the correct order."
However:
"The knowledge soul, designed to evaluate all our actions based on an accepted principle, and [also designed to] accustom the animal soul to find peace in orderliness based on a principle...[the knowledge soul then] eases every course of action during our lives both in the small world [of our thoughts] and in the large world [of our actions]."
What then is the middah of Seder/Order?
"We must devote time, attention, and space to each thought and matter and carefully delineate each matter so that one does not cross over into the other."
- R. Mendel argues our knowledge-soul is eager to set our thoughts and actions, our lives, in order
- What are the potential benefits of this eagerness?
- How can our 'circle', friends, family, mentors, etc. be helpful in this work? Why is it often difficult, for example, to edit our own writing, our own work?
- What happens when life intrudes and disrupts our sense of order? What's our emotional and other response?
"We've met people who study Torah, wisdom, and good character traits (middot), but are lacking order in their homes and in their interactions with other people, as well as their studies and prayers. Their items at home are piled up or scattered...and some are lost at the time we need them...or it takes a long time to look for them since everything is piled up on everything else.
"There are others who get deeply invested in studying halacha, or accounts of business during the Amidah prayer.
"There are also those whose eyes are open in the market but they do not see nor hear anything and then are hurt [by their inattention] either [hurt in their] bodies or business...
"A person needs to be very careful with becoming confused, and teach oneself to clear all one's thoughts except the one that we're focused on in this moment...so that we do not stand and think in a fantasy world while we're in our tallit and refillin..."
"There are others who get deeply invested in studying halacha, or accounts of business during the Amidah prayer.
"There are also those whose eyes are open in the market but they do not see nor hear anything and then are hurt [by their inattention] either [hurt in their] bodies or business...
"A person needs to be very careful with becoming confused, and teach oneself to clear all one's thoughts except the one that we're focused on in this moment...so that we do not stand and think in a fantasy world while we're in our tallit and refillin..."
- What are some reasons we are unable to focus on what we're doing or thinking at any moment?
- How can we respond to different types of distractions?
- Working on middot like this one is not an overnight activity, it's a process - as Denzel Washington's character says in the Equalizer, "Progress, not perfection." Progess is the goal!
- What could be a first step toward ordering our things at home? How might we begin to focus on one thought/action at a time?