Loving Your Fellow Jew pt 3 Raize Guttman
Joy & Seeing the Good + a spiritual "stress test"
We are going to climb up another rung in our ladder of AhavasYyisroel (Loving Your Fellow Jew) today!
Two weeks ago we spoke about judging people favorably. Last week we spoke about giving honor to everyone. This week we’re going t speak abut joy and seeing the good in everything. When we are happy we can properly get along with others well. That is the way to serve Hashem [G-d] properly.
Ethics of our Fathers: Chapter 3, Mishneh 13 “if the spirit of ones fellow is pleased with him, the spirit of Hashem is pleased with him. But if the spirit of ones fellow is not pleased with him, then the spirit of Hashem is also not pleased with him.” We see here a direct connection between finding favor in Hashems eyes and getting along with each other.
When there’s controversy Hashem says “I’m skipping town and I’m not stickin around for this”. When a husband and wife have peace within the house, Hashem is there with them.
B’simcha means with Happiness. Machshava means thought. These two Hebrew words are made up of the same letters because happiness is not a result of situations; Happiness is a result of positive thoughts.
Mishneh 16: “Rabbi Yishmoel says ‘be easy going to old people and be pleasant to young people and greet all people cheerfully”. From here we see that that the only way to get along with everyone is to treat them with happiness.
How do we become that upbeat happy person??
Let’s do a stress test: 1 = Never, 2=rarely 3 = sometimes 4 = frequently 5 = all the time
I eat a healthy breakfast
I have no pain in my joints or muscles
I have cheerful thoughts
I can concentrate when I read
my teeth and jaws are comfortably relaxed
when I have to wait for someone I look for something constructive to do
I enjoy meeting new people
I function well even if the room is stuffy
heartbeat is study and regular
I feel a strong connection to my family
I am able to be calm when others are inefficient or late to appointments
I have no trouble asking for help when I need it
I feel energetic at the beginning f the day
I can handle my responsibilities even when i'm in pain
when there is a lot to do, I plan ahead and make lists
I push off dealing with issues
I dwell on past mistakes
my neck or back hurts in the morning
I feel responsible to make difficult people e happy or satisfied with me
I scream
I get dizzy and feel as if I cant walk
I am too busy to sort out my thoughts and feelings
I start but don’t finish routine tasks
I feel jealous of friends and neighbors
I misplace things
I have trouble expressing my feelings
I am uncomfortable disagreeing with others
I get tension headaches
I panic when I go to the doctor or dentist
I forget names, numbers, telephone messages and what I am supposed to do next
Add up the two separate columns. 1-15 and 16-30
Take the second number from the second list and subtract it from the first number. [Use a calculatorJ]
If you scored 20-30: you are probably an inspiration t others. You have the ability to view difficult sit as challenges rather than obstacles. You got a great score!
10-20, congratulations you have learnt to take your stress in stride. You will probably want to listen to this class to learn how to deal with aspects of stress. You’re doing great
0-10 like most people you experience stress. Rather than knocking yourself, congratulate yourself on being honest with your feelings. I’m sure you’ll gain a lot from this class.
If you scored less than zero, listen very carefully J
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