THE PATH

Dear Family,

Hope everyone is well.

This week we have been learning the Laws of Personal Development (Hilchos Deos) in Rambam (one chapter a day) and the Parsha is Lech Lecha.

They both talk about creating a PATH for one's life, how to work on oneself to find the MIDDLE WAY, and guidelines on how to work with others, all of which are very interesting.

Most of this was in Rambam, and of course Lech Lecha ('go to you' or 'go to your true higher self') describes the JOURNEY of Avraham.

A sample from this week's Rambam:

To the physically unwell, the bitter tastes sweet and the sweet tastes bitter, and they reject healthful foods which they need.

Similarly those who are morally unwell desire and love bad traits, and are lazy to follow the good path.

The Rambam suggests that the morally ill should go to the wise, who are healers of the soul, and who will teach one how to acquire proper traits, and return to the good path.

Someone who is full of pride should train himself to practice the opposite extreme until the arrogance is uprooted from his heart.

Then he can shift himself to a middle path, in between the 2 extremes.

Similarly , this procedure can be followed for any bad trait a person has acquired or is part of his nature.

However there are some traits, where a person is forbidden to even follow the middle path, but has to adopt the opposite extreme completely. For example anger.

We should train ourselves not to become angry even when it seems appropriate to become angry. If it is vitally important to be angry to motivate family or community, it should be an angry front with an inner calm. Ie not real anger.

The early Sages said, anyone who becomes angry is like one who worships idols. If he was a wise man, his wisdom leaves him, if he was a prophet, his prophecy leaves him. The life of the irate is not true life.

This is the way of the righteous: they accept humiliation, but do not humiliate others. They listen when they are shamed, but do not answer. They do this with love and are joyous in their suffering.

Of them it states 'And those that love Him are like the sun when it comes out in its strength.'

Gut Shabbos to all