#1073
Strategic Humility
There is a very powerful tool that will enable you to overcome many potential quarrels. This is the art of knowing how to act with "strategic humility" when a needless quarrel might arise. By being willing to forego illusory honor and speaking to someone from a humble position, you will be able to soften a heart made of stone. Your opponent's heart will melt in the face of your warmth when you act in a humble manner.
Even if you think you are losing by acting humbly, actually you lose absolutely nothing in a spiritual sense. Outwardly you are complying with the wishes of another person, but inwardly your spiritual level is not affected.
(see Rabbi Chaim Zaitchyk - Maayanai Hachaim, vol.3, 64-5; Rabbi Pliskin's "Consulting the Wise")
28 Kislev
The mitzvah of kindling the Chanukah lights begins with sunset (Shabbos 21b).
Chanukah commemorates both physical and spiritual triumphs. Israel had been politically, that is physically, under the domination of the Greek-Syrians, and the Hellenist culture was jeopardizing the spirituality of Judaism. The miracle of Chanukah, which occurred at one of the darkest moments in Jewish history, should remind us that no matter how bleak life may appear, whether in a physical or spiritual sense, we should never abandon hope. Hence, we commemorate Chanukah in the evening, when it is just beginning to get dark.
We might ask, "Why light the candles at dusk? Why not wait until it is completely dark, when the candles will shine their brightest and banish the total darkness?"
In my work with alcoholics, I often hear that "one does not recover until one hits rock bottom." However, the changes that may occur on the way to rock bottom are often so irreversible and catastrophic that rehabilitation programs put in much effort and ingenuity to intervene at an earlier stage.
We light the Chanukah candles when the sky is just beginning to get dark, instead of waiting for complete darkness. Our action teaches us when we should combat moral and spiritual deterioration - at the very first indication that it is occurring. Delaying action until the latter has occurred may be too costly.
Today I shall ...
... try to identify the very earliest signs of weakening and make an effort to avoid deterioration.
See more books by Rabbi Abraham Twerski at Artscroll.com
There is a very powerful tool that will enable you to overcome many potential quarrels. This is the art of knowing how to act with "strategic humility" when a needless quarrel might arise. By being willing to forego illusory honor and speaking to someone from a humble position, you will be able to soften a heart made of stone. Your opponent's heart will melt in the face of your warmth when you act in a humble manner.
Even if you think you are losing by acting humbly, actually you lose absolutely nothing in a spiritual sense. Outwardly you are complying with the wishes of another person, but inwardly your spiritual level is not affected.
(see Rabbi Chaim Zaitchyk - Maayanai Hachaim, vol.3, 64-5; Rabbi Pliskin's "Consulting the Wise")
28 Kislev
Yahrtzeit
of Rabbi Avraham Dov of Avritz, 19th century leader of the Ashkenazi
community in Tzfat, Israel. Legend says that he was once captured and
held for ransom. The captors placed a sword at his throat and threatened
to use it if payment was not immediately forthcoming. The rabbi asked
to make one last request: water to wash his hands so he could recite his
final prayers. The captors were so impressed with his faith and courage
that they promptly released him. Rabbi Avraham Dov was the author of Bat Ayin, a commentary on the Five Books of Moses. He died in 1840.
Yahrtzeit
of Rabbi Avraham Dov of Avritz, 19th century leader of the Ashkenazi
community in Tzfat, Israel. Legend says that he was once captured and
held for ransom. The captors placed a sword at his throat and threatened
to use it if payment was not immediately forthcoming. The rabbi asked
to make one last request: water to wash his hands so he could recite his
final prayers. The captors were so impressed with his faith and courage
that they promptly released him. Rabbi Avraham Dov was the author of Bat Ayin, a commentary on the Five Books of Moses. He died in 1840.
28 Kislev
The mitzvah of kindling the Chanukah lights begins with sunset (Shabbos 21b).
Chanukah commemorates both physical and spiritual triumphs. Israel had been politically, that is physically, under the domination of the Greek-Syrians, and the Hellenist culture was jeopardizing the spirituality of Judaism. The miracle of Chanukah, which occurred at one of the darkest moments in Jewish history, should remind us that no matter how bleak life may appear, whether in a physical or spiritual sense, we should never abandon hope. Hence, we commemorate Chanukah in the evening, when it is just beginning to get dark.
We might ask, "Why light the candles at dusk? Why not wait until it is completely dark, when the candles will shine their brightest and banish the total darkness?"
In my work with alcoholics, I often hear that "one does not recover until one hits rock bottom." However, the changes that may occur on the way to rock bottom are often so irreversible and catastrophic that rehabilitation programs put in much effort and ingenuity to intervene at an earlier stage.
We light the Chanukah candles when the sky is just beginning to get dark, instead of waiting for complete darkness. Our action teaches us when we should combat moral and spiritual deterioration - at the very first indication that it is occurring. Delaying action until the latter has occurred may be too costly.
Today I shall ...
... try to identify the very earliest signs of weakening and make an effort to avoid deterioration.
See more books by Rabbi Abraham Twerski at Artscroll.com
