Every aspiring עבד ה' appreciates the significance of the adage “קנה לך חבר”, and the terribly painful loneliness of או חברותא או מתותא. For years, I have desired to form a chaburah of individuals whose attempt to guide their life at achieve both יראת שמים and קרבת אלוקים. As members of such a chaburah, I hoped that together we could develop profound thoughts concerning avodas Hashem, both its theoretical as well as its practical elements. We would assist each other in developing the unique ideas and approaches of each member.

Over the years and in different stages of my life, I was fortunate enough to meet such individuals. With current technology, we are attempting to form this chaburah, despite the geographical distance that may separate us. We would like to invite others with whom our ideas may resonate to join us by reading, commenting, and ultimately sharing your thoughts with us. קנה לך חבר, says the Arizal, means that your pen (קנה) should be your friend – as you write, your thoughts become clearer.

The exact parameters of this blog will be defined as we develop our ideas. All entries are guided by five principles:

a) יראת שמים

b) desire for קרבת אלוקים and becoming a better עבד ה'

c) strict adherence to Halacha, including הלכות לשון הרע

d) belief in גדלות האדם, both in oneself and all other people

e) intellectual rigor
Anyone who does not feel passionately about these five principles is asked not to comment, since any comment that does not meet the above-mentioned criteria will not be posted.

About the name of the blog. “השגה” represents the intellectual grasp of any given idea, while “הויה” represents the incorporation of that idea into the person’s weltanschauung. Our goal is to merely discuss theoretical ideas and then return to our daily lives. We want to transform the ideas of the Torah into a living Torah, a תורת חיים.

-BilvaviNer

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Development of Personal Thoughts:
Part 5 – Life Events Guide Our Development

A person must grab the opportunities to develop ideas. Profound development of ideas, though, isn’t just a mere intellectual exercise. Can I develop a profound understanding of love if I have never loved? Development of idea, in the fullest sense, must involve all human faculties, both those of the mind and those of the heart. This is why Hashem sends us various experiences that force us to think and force us to feel, and the contemplation of the mind and the heart allows us to develop our unique ideas in an appropriate way.
People want to know what they should think about, which thoughts to develop. This is a complicated question that requires much thought and guidance. Nevertheless, one of the most important guides is life itself. Life sends us experiences that challenge our old ideas, our old outlooks. We are challenged to build greater keilim, since the old keilim can’t contain the flow of life that confronts us. The old schemas don’t work, and we are forced to confront new ones. A person who acquires wealth can ponder the balance between ruchniyus and gashmiyus. A person who has to take time off learning to help his wife with a newly-born child can discover the importance of seder. An individual who visits a friend in the hospital is presented with an opportunity to recognize the yesurin of the world and how lucky he truly is to possess his health. Life is a great guide indeed.
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