Real Torah for the Real World » Rav Kook’s anti-mussar

Are you trying to find the truth or trying to make the world conform to oyur truth?

gavriel — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:48:06 +0000

Rav Kook has nailed Ga’avah – arrogance. It is all about your orientation – people who are pursuing the truth pursue it avidly. And people who do not do not…

Rav Kook Mussar Anavah – ‘humility’

gavriel — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:54:54 +0000

In our enthusiasm to be humble and open, we might miss the mark and end up in sadness. Rav Kook draws the line between these two related traits to help us stay joyous and healthy.

Rav Kook’s mussar – Ga’avah I – the 4 ingredients

gavriel — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:40:46 +0000

Ga’avah – arrogance – is in insidious. It presents a wall that keeps us progressively more insulated. Oy. I just wish I could help all those arrogant people out there. Ha ha.

Rav Kook Mussar Ga’avah 2 8 10 – pursuing life or illusion

gavriel — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:26:23 +0000

Rav Kook describes and defines ga’avah (usually translated as arrogance) as a certain closed-ness to reality. And he explains where that comes from, and how it is so destructive. And maybe we tie Purim in a bit.

Rav Kook’s Anti-Mussar – chopping our midot in half

gavriel — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 05:52:04 +0000

We often react with mixtures of midot, part of which are useful and part of which are not. We have to learn how separate them out. Then we can react with an accurate reflection of what we feel.

Rav Kook Mussar – the fence around the Torah and around integrity

gavriel — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:04:39 +0000

You’ve got to know where your vulnerabilities are and be able to establish firm fences around them. And this may make you feel (and look) like a zealot, but that’s OK. The Hashmonaim were zealots, and they were the winners of the Hanukkah story.

The insensitive heart

gavriel — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:16:39 +0000

In order to stay tuned in to how we, as individuals, need to move in accordance with the will of our Maker, our hearts must stay open. Not so simple,though, is it?

Rav Kook’s mussar – we need binah in order to figure out how to deal with all this

gavriel — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 06:13:25 +0000

Binah is how we apply everything we learn to our own lives; how the ladder meets the ground

Mussar – 11 23 09 – the life that is circumscribed by Torah

gavriel — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 05:07:20 +0000

The Torah life is the latticework upon which our lives grow. It is our job to do the work of allowing the Torah to circumscribe that life for us. Please note that this class cuts off at the end, and you’ll never ever know the all-important secret that was revealed at the end.

Rav Kook’s Mussar – 11 16 09 – The wisdom of yir’ah

gavriel — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:25:54 +0000

Yir’ah – the cherishing of the opportunity of a moment – can be and has to be learned. We can learn the bullet-points but we have to take them home. And now we start looking at building blocks of yir’ah.