JEWISH SPIRITUALITY : RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: KEEP OUR EGO, YETZER HARA IN CHECK

JEWISH SPIRITUALITY : RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: KEEP OUR EGO, YETZER HARA IN CHECK

 

 

 

PRACTICING KINDNESS AND HUMILITY ENRICHES US SPIRITUALLY : BLUFFTON SUN, AUGUST 2013,

RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL

 

Shalom and Peace:

Today we continue with a bit more of Jewish Ethics (Great is Peace - Derek Eretz 2:9 partial). This is yet another top ten sage advice from the entire Talmud.

 ''If someone has done you a bit of good, consider it as if he has done you much good. If, however, you have done any wrong to someone, even a little bit, consider it as if it is much wrong. Say: 'Woe is me that I was the cause of the wrong.' And make amends. If others have done to you much wrong, consider it as nothing.''

In a society driven by consumerism, we can easily thank those who give a great deal. When someone gives us what we value, we can easily laud him. We must try to show the same appreciation for the cashier and the bagger at our local market.

 Similar courtesies and acts of kindness are done for us many times each day. We should receive them with the same gratitude we would show for the large favors granted to us.

 When we live with an attitude of gratitude, we recognize how much other humans do for us that we previously had taken for granted. We become aware of all that God provides. When we wake in the morning, we thank God for our first breath of the day, and for restoring our souls.

We can easily hurt another's feelings.  We cannot dismiss others by telling ourselves that their reactions are their own problem. For the slightest harm we are obligated to apologize, and to make teshuvah.

 The last part of the verse describes how we  feel when we live without grudges or angst. Our spiritual task is to grow from Homo Sapiens to Homo Spiritus. We must learn to keep the yetzer ha ra, our ego, in check. We need to learn to let the childish, mean-spirited behavior of others roll off our backs.

Not everyone will treat us respectfully. As quipped by Rabbi Mordechai Kaplan, founder of the Jewish Reconstructionist Movement, ''just because you are a vegetarian doesn't mean the bull won't charge at you.''

LEARN MORE ABOUT DEREK ERETZ AND GREAT IS PEACE:?

http://www.jewishspiritualrenewal.org/books/great-is-peace-a-modern-commentary-on-talmud-bavli-tractate-derek-eretz-zuta

Rabbi Arthur Segal is an international lecturer, author, and teacher. Visit him at www.JewishSpiritualRenewal.org  . Follow him on FaceBook at 'Arthur L Segal', on Twitter at RabbiASegal, or his blog at http://rabbiarthursegal.blogspot.com  . Email at RabbiASegal@aol.com  .

 

Rabbi Arthur Segal www.jewishspiritualrenewal.org
Jewish Renewal www.jewishrenewal.info
Jewish Spiritual Renewal http://rabbiarthursegal.blogspot.com
Jewish Spirituality
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Hilton Head Island, SC, Bluffton, SC, Savannah, GA

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