TALMUD BAVLI TRACTATE DEREK
ERETZ ZUTA.
CHAPTER I.
1. The qualities of the sages are: Modesty, meekness, eagerness, courage, bearing wrongs done to them, and being endeared to every one; submission to the members of their household, fear of sin, and judging every one according to his deeds.
In our last classes, we discussed Modesty , Humility, Meekness and Eagerness. Today I invite you to explore with me the middah, trait, of Courage.
Talmudically, courage is the opposite of giving into fears. It is the courage of Abraham the first Ivri, literally meaning to stand on '' the other side.''
As we learned in our class on Jewish Spiritual Renewal, using The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal: A Path of Transformation for the Modern Jew or http://www.jewishspiritualrenewal.net/ ,we all have fears, some of them so paralyzing that they stop us from enjoying life to its fullest .
The first step in overcoming our fears is to realize and understand that we only go around once in life. No do-overs. No second acts. This is not an audition or a dress rehearsal; this is the big show. If we let our fears get the best of us, we are going to bomb, but if we triumph over those fears, we will bring the house down.
The Mishna Pirkei Avot, Ethics of the Fathers, 4:1 teaches: "Who is wise? He who learns from every person." The sages, explaining the advantage of learning from others and coming up with one's own ideas, compare the bee to the spider. Both produce something; the bee makes honey and the spider, a web. The bee's honey is sweet and delightful to eat. The spider's web? Not so sweet. Why is that?
The difference is that the bee's sweet and delicious product is a result of what it collects from others. On the other hand, the web is produced from the spider's own self and for the selfish purpose of trapping other insects.
Nobody is born with all of the answers. We all have to learn. It should never embarrass us to say, "I do not know, please teach me." In fact it is liberating. It is human. And it is the beginning of knowledge. Rabbi Akiva from circa 100 C.E., one of our greatest rabbis, sets a good example for all of us in this respect. He began his study of the Hebrew Aleph Bait when he was 40 years old.
Pirkei Avot also teaches that a wise person can make everyone his teacher. So it would follow that we are also a teacher to all with whom we come in contact and those who witness our actions. All teachers fall into one of two types: those who teach what to do, and those who teach what not to do.
Our sages suggest that we list all of the fears that have held us back in one way or another throughout our lives. When they, or we, do this, we find that we probably have many fears in common with other people, as we are all human. We fear living. We fear dying. Other examples might be fear of failure, or fear of success, fear of not being loved or accepted or fear of not being good enough. Is there anything else we can think of? We are advised to include all of our fears: those we have now, and those we have had in the past. We are taught to take our time and be rigorously honest.
When we review the list we will probably notice that most of our fears are irrationally based. Most fears are of issues over which we have no control. Worse yet, many of them, like a fear of not having enough money, will lead to the chet (sin) of coveting. Coveting inevitably leads to resentment and grudges. To hold a grudge is a sin, and resentment may lead us to take action against the ones we envy, leading us to further sin.
Fear is a process of the mind that can have ruinous consequences in our lives and drive us to hurt others.
Although many of our fears are irrational, there may be a few that have rational etiology. For example, we might fear becoming poor because our parents, who lived through the Great Depression, were always talking about it. Some people develop a fear of the opposite sex because at some point they were made to feel sexually inadequate. Others fear, in the depths of their hearts, that they are just not good enough, which leads to a fear of other people whom they perceive to be superior. Jealousy ensues, as does the desire to undermine, gossip or otherwise strike out.
The most effective way for us to deal with fear, rational or irrational, is to believe in, have trust in, and have faith in God. Most important is when we learn to have experience with God. If we truly do, our fears, covetous thoughts and all other by-products of our fears will be objectionable to us. We will know how to get rid of them. We will know that we can ask God to remove our fears and end the destructive behavior that it causes. He will, but we will be the ones doing the work.
We are asked to determine the reasons for our fears. We are to think about from where they might have come. Did somebody teach it to us? Is it the result of a traumatic experience? We skip no fear. We skip no reason. If while doing this, and we recall another fear, we add it to our original list.
We are asked to think about the behaviors that we believe each fear causes. For example, if we have a fear of being without money we might horde our cash, avoid making charitable donations, or perhaps we shoplift, or pad our expense accounts. Do not be ashamed, none of us are perfect angels. Again, we need to be rigorously honest.
Then the sages teach us, for each of our fears, we ask ourselves this question: "If I trusted in, had faith in, had experience with, and believed in God, could I let go of these fears and the behaviors stemming from them?" Via mussar, ethical and spiritual transformation, we learn that the answer is '''yes!!''
"And the Lord went before them in a pillar of cloud by day." (Ex. 13:21).
"There were seven clouds, four on the four sides of them, one above them, one beneath them, one before them to prepare the road before them, raising the depressions and lowering the elevations to make for them a plain, as it says: 'Every valley should be lifted up and every hill and mountain shall be made low and the rugged shall be made level, and the rough places a plain.'" (Isaiah 40:4).
The sages teach that these verses tell us that God will always raise valleys and flatten mountains during times of trouble, and that belief in God gives us a life free of fears and full of courage to do '' what is right and just in God's eyes.'' (Deut. 13:18)
As we read in the Talmud, our sages had great courage to stand up to tyranny, and for Judaism and their people, because of complete experience with God. We see the same in the TaNaK with Moses, David, Esther, Job, and almost every main figure. ''Who can protest and does not, is an accomplice in the act.'' [ Talmud Bavli Tractate Shabbat 54b} . By wearing the armor of Ha Shem, we rarely lack courage nor give into fears. We truly can ''not stand idly by while our neighbor's blood is shed.'' [Leviticus 19:16.]
The opening prophecy that God communicates to Joshua after the death of Moses is: "Only be strong [hazak] and be very courageous [ematz] to observe [lishmor] to act [la'asot] according to all the Torah which Moses My servant has commanded you; do not depart from it to the right or to the left, so that you will prosper wherever you may go" (Joshua 1:7). Our sages explain that the heartening hazak (be strong) refers to learning Torah, while the encouraging ematz (be courageous) indicates the practice of good deeds. {Talmud Bavli Tractate Beracoth 32b).
The Talmud continues with a biblical source for courage from God: "Hope to God, be strong and He will give your heart courage (veya'ametz), and hope to God" (Psalms 27:14). "Our sages offer the following verse as another source for courage without fear: ''Be strong and let us strengthen ourselves (venithazak) on behalf of our people and behalf of the cities of our Lord, and God will do that which seems good in His eyes" (II Samuel 10:12). The verse is taken from General Yoav's tactical discussion with his brother and fellow general, Avishai, during the battle against Ammon and Aram. Yoav was offering strengthening words before the two generals parted, each taking part of the army.
Note that the first part is read at the conclusion of every book of Torah by the entire congregation. In developing the trait, middah, of courage, it is important that we surround ourselves with spiritual and ethical people from which we gain encouragement. There will be times when we need encouraging words, and times when we need to offer them.
As we study Derek Eretz, always keep in mind these wise words. Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav once said, "If you won't be better tomorrow than you were today, then what need do you have for tomorrow?" All of us can always improve and grow ethically and spiritually.
What are your ideas about courage ? How does courage play a role in your spiritual life? How have you combated your fears?
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