GETTING TO A DEEPER PLACE
When one thinks of the word “mussar” many ideas come to mind; a shmuze, a vaad, seder mussar, or Mesilas Yesharim. One thing we don’t think about is what Rav Yisrael Salanter, the founder of the mussar movement, was really after- to get us to a deeper place.
Rav Yisrael was the precursor of Freud by 70 or 80 years in uncovering the subconscious and its amazing power and influence on mankind. He knew that if one touches his inner self, he can do much more to fix himself than when making external changes. Rav Yisrael speaks about kochos kaihim (gray, not clear) and kochos behirim (bright, clear). As a child learns to read and carefully puts together “kamatz ב” and ”tzarei ר” a behir understanding is at work. He is consciously and deliberately making the pieces into a whole. But after mastering the system, reading becomes a koach kaihe. One doesn’t think about it. The ability is just there. The kochos kaihim are deeper than the kochos behirim.
אברהם אבינו experienced great joy at the Akeida (as we usually imagine and are told) but חז"ל tell us he was also intensely crying – Rav Yisrael explains that in his kochos behirim he was incredibly joyful but the intrinsic love of a son (which is a koach kaihe) caused him to cry. The fascinating thing is that both emotions were happening at the same time!
He instructed to learn mussar withוסערת הנפש שפתים דולקות (with a stormy spirit and fiery lips) and to say a particularמאמר מוסר many, many times. These are (some of) his suggested ways to penetrate into our deeper recesses. Obviously one could do no better than to follow his advice. The problem is this approach seems unfeasible for many today. Are there other ways to touch our subconscious?
Perhaps singing and listening to music is a way to approach this issue. Anyone who has experienced a hartziga kumzitz or shalosh shudes knows that singing can be very moving. Let us think about how we generally approach singing and listening to music. It is haphazard. We are busy and don’t attribute any definite value to it. Therefore we make no specific attempt to engage in it. We are happy if it comes our way. If not, it’s also good. If this is a true way to touch our inner selves it should not be done randomly. Compare it to exercise. Someone who thinks they need to exercise makes a point to exercise. He doesn’t say “If I happen to see a gym I go in. If not I’ll wait for the heart attack ח"ו!”
Those that think singing can help their ruchnius should make time for it. They should also be specific about the content. If one wants to develop his connection to Torah he should sing Torah songs. If one wants to work on בטחון he should sing the songs that deal with בטחון .
Directed thinking in state of deep relaxation may be another approach. One can calm himself and deeply relax. In that state one could speak to himself about some middah he needs to work on or how he would like to look in the future. One could also say a מאמר מוסר many, many times.
Perhaps these approaches can be helpful. What certainly will be helpful is for בני עליה to confront this important challenge. How can we carry out what Rav Yisrael held was so basic for our שלמות?
(please send comments and questions to rdsvaad@gmail.com)
"if you would lilke to recieve these Avodah thougths every 2 weeks sign up at
http://rdsvaadim.com/subscribe/
When one thinks of the word “mussar” many ideas come to mind; a shmuze, a vaad, seder mussar, or Mesilas Yesharim. One thing we don’t think about is what Rav Yisrael Salanter, the founder of the mussar movement, was really after- to get us to a deeper place.
Rav Yisrael was the precursor of Freud by 70 or 80 years in uncovering the subconscious and its amazing power and influence on mankind. He knew that if one touches his inner self, he can do much more to fix himself than when making external changes. Rav Yisrael speaks about kochos kaihim (gray, not clear) and kochos behirim (bright, clear). As a child learns to read and carefully puts together “kamatz ב” and ”tzarei ר” a behir understanding is at work. He is consciously and deliberately making the pieces into a whole. But after mastering the system, reading becomes a koach kaihe. One doesn’t think about it. The ability is just there. The kochos kaihim are deeper than the kochos behirim.
אברהם אבינו experienced great joy at the Akeida (as we usually imagine and are told) but חז"ל tell us he was also intensely crying – Rav Yisrael explains that in his kochos behirim he was incredibly joyful but the intrinsic love of a son (which is a koach kaihe) caused him to cry. The fascinating thing is that both emotions were happening at the same time!
He instructed to learn mussar withוסערת הנפש שפתים דולקות (with a stormy spirit and fiery lips) and to say a particularמאמר מוסר many, many times. These are (some of) his suggested ways to penetrate into our deeper recesses. Obviously one could do no better than to follow his advice. The problem is this approach seems unfeasible for many today. Are there other ways to touch our subconscious?
Perhaps singing and listening to music is a way to approach this issue. Anyone who has experienced a hartziga kumzitz or shalosh shudes knows that singing can be very moving. Let us think about how we generally approach singing and listening to music. It is haphazard. We are busy and don’t attribute any definite value to it. Therefore we make no specific attempt to engage in it. We are happy if it comes our way. If not, it’s also good. If this is a true way to touch our inner selves it should not be done randomly. Compare it to exercise. Someone who thinks they need to exercise makes a point to exercise. He doesn’t say “If I happen to see a gym I go in. If not I’ll wait for the heart attack ח"ו!”
Those that think singing can help their ruchnius should make time for it. They should also be specific about the content. If one wants to develop his connection to Torah he should sing Torah songs. If one wants to work on בטחון he should sing the songs that deal with בטחון .
Directed thinking in state of deep relaxation may be another approach. One can calm himself and deeply relax. In that state one could speak to himself about some middah he needs to work on or how he would like to look in the future. One could also say a מאמר מוסר many, many times.
Perhaps these approaches can be helpful. What certainly will be helpful is for בני עליה to confront this important challenge. How can we carry out what Rav Yisrael held was so basic for our שלמות?
(please send comments and questions to rdsvaad@gmail.com)
"if you would lilke to recieve these Avodah thougths every 2 weeks sign up at
http://rdsvaadim.com/subscribe/