{"id":528,"date":"2020-01-27T18:02:36","date_gmt":"2020-01-27T18:02:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jewishpath.org\/wordpress\/?page_id=528"},"modified":"2020-11-09T20:27:49","modified_gmt":"2020-11-09T20:27:49","slug":"equanimity-first-steps","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/jewishpath.org\/wordpress\/mussar\/equanimity-first-steps","title":{"rendered":"Equanimity \u2013 First Steps 10"},"content":{"rendered":"

Equanimity \u2013 First Steps<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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The Baal Shem Tov sought and achieved equanimity with his mind always on G-d, he was unaffected by people\u2019s opinions about him.\u00a0 Whether they praised or criticized him, he said to himself Isn\u2019t this sent from G-d?\u00a0 And if it\u2019s good in His eyes, shouldn\u2019t it also be good in mine?<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Rabbi Akiva had to deal with a generation that experienced a Yom Kippur soon after the Temple\u2019s destruction, when there was no Kohen Gadol he said that Yom Kippur was still beautiful<\/em> as it had been.\u00a0 When the Kohen Gadol exited the inner Sanctuary of the Temple you could visibly see the Presence of HaShem in his visage. Rabbi Akiva said, We do not necessarily need a Kohen Gadol!\u00a0 We are now purified directly by\u00a0G-d\u00a0Himself<\/strong><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Rabbi Akiva\u2019s strength was that he always saw the positive in every situation.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Rabbi Akiva once entered a city.\u00a0 Upon arrival, he sought a place to lodge; however, no one provided him with one.\u00a0 He said, All that G-d Does, He Does for the good!<\/em>\u00a0 So he went and slept in a field.\u00a0 He had with him a rooster, a donkey and a lamp. A wind came and extinguished the lamp, a cat came and ate the rooster, a lion came and ate the donkey. He said: Everything that G-d does, He Does for good<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 <\/em>That night, an army came and took the entire town captive. Rabbi Akiva said to his disciples: Did I not tell you that everything that G-d Does, He Does for good<\/em>?\u00a0 (If the lamp had been lit, the army would have seen me; if the donkey would have brayed or the rooster would have called, the army would have come and captured me as well. Berachoth 60b<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Rabbi Akiva had a donkey, a rooster, and a lamp with him. The donkey represents our animal instincts. It symbolizes pure materialism without spirituality. The rooster has the ability to distinguish between night and day. In fact, one word for rooster in Hebrew (sechvi) which also means insight, and consequently symbolizes our own intellectual capacities. Therefore the rooster in Rabbi Akiva’s story is a metaphor for our intellectual yearning. We all strive for perfection in our understanding of the world. The lamp symbolizes our spiritual pursuits, as the Torah Says<\/span>,<\/span> The lamp is a mitzvah and the Torah is light<\/em><\/strong>. Mishlei (Proverbs) 6.23<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We are always striving for the perfect balance between our material needs and desires, our intellectual ability and understanding, and our spiritual objectives. But we never [seem] to <\/span>find it. The lions and wildcats come and devour the product our toil. The wind comes and blows out our hopes. But this all for the best… Everything that G-d does, He does for good<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Rabbi Akiva taught: Love your neighbor like yourself<\/em><\/strong>. Every person has SOME positive aspect.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Vayikra(Leviticus) 19.18 You shall not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I AM The L-rd<\/span><\/p>\n

\u05dc\u05b9\u05d0 \u05ea\u05b4\u05e7\u05b9\u05bc\u05dd \u05d5\u05b0\u05dc\u05b9\u05d0 \u05ea\u05b4\u05d8\u05b9\u05bc\u05e8 \u05d0\u05b6\u05ea \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05e0\u05b5\u05d9 \u05e2\u05b7\u05de\u05b6\u05bc\u05da\u05b8 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d0\u05b8\u05d4\u05b7\u05d1\u05b0\u05ea\u05b8\u05bc \u05dc\u05b0\u05e8\u05b5\u05e2\u05b2\u05da\u05b8 \u05db\u05b8\u05bc\u05de\u05d5\u05b9\u05da\u05b8 \u05d0\u05b2\u05e0\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05b9\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4<\/span><\/p>\n

Vayikra( Leviticus) 19.18 Not \u2013 shall avenge \u2013 and not \u2013 shall bear grudges \u2013 everything from Aleph to Tav \u2013 sons of \u2013 your people \u2013 and shall love \u2013 your friend (Kamocha)<\/strong> \u2013 as yourself \u2013 I AM<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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The Baal Shem Tov interprets the word Kamocha<\/strong> (as yourself) in this verse as follows:<\/span><\/p>\n

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When a person gets up in the morning and looks at himself \u00a0\/ herself i<\/span>n the mirror he \/ she<\/span> thinks, I am basically a good person. I have my faults and failings; I am not perfect. But I am more good than bad.<\/em> This is how we must evaluate our neighbor: He \/ She is basically good; I will overlook my neighbors<\/span> faults.<\/span><\/p>\n

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This is not easy. It requires us to focus on the good, rather than the bad. That was the power of Rabbi Akiva.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Nothing sets the spiritually gifted apart from the rest of us more than their utter lack of hubris and arrogance.<\/span> For indeed nothing wreaks more spiritual havoc than the sort of loud and blatant assertions of self we\u2019re accustomed to hearing.<\/span><\/p>\n

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So if we are ever to achieve true spiritual excellence we would need to learn how important it is to abide by the decisions of and surrender to forces greater than ourselves, and most especially to\u00a0G-d\u00a0Almighty. That is, not only to be a humble person and less self-assertive, but to actually set self aside and surrender to the Other\u2019s(G-d\u2019s)Will.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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We are all acquainted with GPS systems.\u00a0 When engaged the system tells us which way to go, which way to turn.\u00a0 If you miss a turn it says recalculating<\/em><\/strong> and finds a new route to take.\u00a0 If in our spiritual lives we take a wrong turn we should then recalculate calmly and endeavor to get back on the right path.<\/span><\/p>\n

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From the Torah\u2019s perspective our real<\/em><\/strong> world is the spiritual one.\u00a0 HaShem Uses the material world to interact with us so with each event in our lives we should be looking to interact with HaShem and not let the circumstances overwhelm us.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

One step at a time.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

As Neil Armstrong said One small step for mankind, one giant leap for mankind.<\/em>\u00a0 Let each moment be that one small step and our world will leap into spirituality.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Blessings and Peace<\/span><\/p>\n

Rebbetzin Revi Belk<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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