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

Mussar – anger and the fractured ideal

gavriel — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 19:03:20 +0000

Anger, says Rav Kook, is really understandable, though not excusable. By understanding what it is, we can understand how we are supposed to respond to it when it comes…

Rav Kook Mussar – fixing and rebuke

gavriel — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 18:44:59 +0000

We continue in our wide view of how personality and interaction actually function by looking at a variety of traits that make up a situation. Today we explore tikkun and tochachah, which fit quite well with our recent work on anger and love. We have learned that ‘anger=time to connect’, but how do we connect? what should we expect?

Mussar Post-Morinis – Love and practice

gavriel — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 22:07:23 +0000

Alan Morinis was here this Shabbat, and we talked a lot about practice and mussar. So we are reexamining our Monday class in that light, trying to build in more practice to keep it real. Today we talked about love of G-d. Rav Kook says it is inherent and inevitable. Not everyone thinks so. rav kook mussar ahava morinis method 4 12 10

Rav Kook on Love – We must love everyone, and with a full heart, at that

gavriel — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 15:35:51 +0000

And how is this possible? And what if this love is destructive? And… but… (exactly Rav Kook’s point.)

Are you trying to find the truth or trying to make the world conform to your 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.