Riverton Mussar - a wellspring for ethical change

07/31/2020

Our world needs more compassion. Rabbi Russ points us in the direction of finding complete compassion.

Our chavurah is reading together through Luke in the Delitzsch Hebrew Gospels, and this week we came to this verse: “Therefore, be compassionate just as your Father is compassionate” (Lk 6:36), the climax to Messiah Yeshua’s instructions to love our enemies and be generous toward the undeservi...

07/19/2020

Who do you trust?

Trustworthiness is something we like in other people. When we have trust in others, our relationships flourish and we can reach higher levels of camaraderie. The world becomes a better place when people are there for each other.

05/11/2020

Are you a Renter or a Buyer? We each have a negative inclination lingering within us — indecisiveness. This thief constantly desires to take from us our inner goodness and spirituality. Yet many of us discover the motivation and the spiritual muscle to battle this thief only after he has fired all his bullets against us.

The Sages teach, and this is widespread in Jewish thought, that man must act in even a small way in order to open the gates for Hashem to respond from above.

05/09/2020

Reb Rez sheds some light on counting the omer and Decisiveness.

Counting the Omer is an opportunity to learn decisiveness. This tradition marking the days from Passover to Shavuot (see Lev. 23:10-21) reenacts the journey from bo***ge in Egypt ( Mitzraim in Hebrew, meaning “the narrow place”) to revelation at Mount Sinai.

04/11/2020

Tired? Sinking in your chair? Let's give ourselves a boost this Shabbat and study Zerizut - Enthusiasm! Join us on Apr. 11 at 11:30am PDT. See our web page for Zoom link (https://rivertonshul.org)

03/26/2020

One single, extra small letter in the traditional text of Vayikra (Lev. 1:1-5:26) teaches us a big lesson in humility. In fact, it’s a letter in the first word of the parasha, the word “vayikra” itself, which is written in the Torah scroll with a final aleph that is smaller than the rest of the letters.

One single, extra small letter in the traditional text of Vayikra (Lev. 1:1-5:26) teaches us a big lesson in humility. In fact, it’s a letter in the first word of the parasha, the word “vayikra” itself, which is written in the Torah scroll with a final aleph that is smaller than the rest of th...

03/26/2020

Thank you Rabbi Russ for reminding us how helpful Mussar can be during trying times. Look! He's wearing our t-shirt! We have been moving the RM resources to a new website, with one new middah per week. We also have been having online community mussar teachings on Shabbat. Let us know if people outside Seattle are interested in joining.

03/22/2020

Middah of Responsibility from the week's Parsha with Reb Rez...

What is most striking in this parasha, however, isn’t what the Lord provides, but how much he leaves up to the hands and hearts of the Israelites.

03/17/2020

The next time you feel yourself losing patience over a situation, remember this warning: impatience is contagious.

The remarkable yet sad outcome is the punishment of Moses and Aaron: they will not set foot into the land. One can imagine the great sadness they felt - all their striving for the sake of Heaven and one mistake seals their fate.

03/16/2020

Many things are uncertain as of late. Here is a meditation to help calm the soul.

The Hebrew phrase for equanimity is menuchat hanefesh, which also means "calmness of the soul."

03/15/2020

https://www.rivertonshul.org/mussar-blog/middot/equanimity-2/besorah/a-calm-spirit-despite-the-storm

03/15/2020

https://www.rivertonshul.org/mussar-blog/middot/equanimity-2/daily-living/stress-management

The secret of handling an overload of stress is dismantling—don't try to deal with all your pressures simultaneously. Ride one wave at a time, and you'll make it safely to shore, too.