Introduction to Jewish Meditation

The following course was delivered to Post-high school Yeshiva students.

Types of meditation introduced in this course:

1. Introduction - Relaxation of body and mind.

2. Mindfulness - Learning to be aware non-judgmentally and dispassionately of body, feelings, thoughts, and environment. See the work of Dr. Jon Kabbat-Zinn

3. Dis-identification/Identification - Learning to not identify with the body, feelings and thoughts and identifying with the inner "I." See the work of Dr. Roberto Assagioli. 

4. Identification - Learning to discover the inner "I" and, therefore, Will, through Tai Chi and meditative movements (shuckuling).

5. Guided visualization - Learning to see one's self in a more objective way through visualizing one's self from above and in the context of the universe. See the work of R. Menachem Ekstein

6. Guided visualization - Learning to develop and expand the imagination and, therefore, emotions through visualizing new experiences. See the work of R. Menachem Ekstein.

7. The art of amazement - Learning to fully experience emotions while listening to music or eating an orange. See the work of R. Alexander Seinfeld.

8. Mussar exercise - Learning to chant and be emotionally impacted by a pasuk or saying from Chazal. See the work of R. Tzvi Miller and Alan Morinis.

9. Hisbodenus/Contemplation - Learning to think in learning (especially gemara) in a mediative state. See Alter of Kelm and the writings of Chabad. 

10. Hisbodedus/Personal prayer - Learning to talk to G-d in your own words in a natural setting. Includes singing (kumsitz). See R. Avraham b. ha'Rambam (Hamaspik l'ovdei Hashem) and Rebbe Nachman.

11. Tefillah/Communal prayer - Learning to prayer the formalized prayers with consciousness of one's self in the presence of G-d, slowly with contemplation on words, visualizations,  meditative head and body movements and song.

Recommended Resources

Apatow, Avraham Chaim 

       -http://torahandmeditation.weebly.com/

  Bergman, R. Ozer

      -Where Earth Meets Heaven: A Guide to Rebbe Nachman's Path of Meditation

 Brody, R. Lazer

      -In Forest Fields: A Guide to Personal Prayer

 Ekstein, R. Menachem

     -Visions of a Compassionate World (translation)

Ginsburgh, R. Yitzchak

      -Living in Divine Space: Kabbalah and meditation.

 Kaplan, R. Aryeh

      -Jewish Meditation, 

      -Meditation and Kabbalah

      -Meditation and the Bible

     -Outpouring of the Soul: Rebbe Nachman's Path in Meditation

 Locks,Gil 

     -Taming the Raging Mind

 Millhauser, Miriam

     -Inner Torah: Where Consciousness and Kedusha Meet

    -Practical Inner Torah: A Guide to Going Within

    - The Breath and Body of Inner Torah

Seinfeld, R. Alexander  

     -The Art of Amazement

 Sutton, R. Avraham

     -Reawakening Spiritual Awareness

 Svirsky, R. Efim 

    -Connection :Emotional and Spiritual Growth Through Experiences God's Presence

Tools of Mussar - Hispaalus II

One way to practice mussar is to focus on one trait for a period of time. During this time you can pick one pasuk or ma'amar chazal to think about, to repeat over and over. Here is an example of Hispaalus based on Tehillim 134:2 (thanks to R. Zvi Miller for pointing to this pasuk):   שאו ידכם קדש וברכו את ה

שאו - Lift up, rise above your self-imposed limitations, above petty physicality, higher than the mundane world and the crass.

ידכם - Your hands which represent all of your actions in this world.* Your interactions with people, your involvement in the physical aspects of life. Every glance, every step, word...

קדש - Devote everything, your entire life, to transcedance, to the highest ideals, to holiness.

וברכו - And through this devotion draw down blessing to yourself and to the world.** Enrich the lives of others. Touch another person's soul with a smile. Spread the spirituality which you have merited to taste.

את ה- Your actions will bless the Eternal G-d of Love and Compassion. Transcendence breeds love. Every interaction will be surrounded with an aura of compassion and wisdom.

Below are two audio recordings of hispaalus on this pasuk:

Hispaalus 1
Hispaalus 2

* R. Hirsch on Shemos 30:18 writes regarding the כיור "The ministering priests themselves are continiously reminded that they do not enter the Sanctuary on behalf of the nation on the grounds that their 'doings and goinds' (יד ורגל) in their ordinary life are already sufficiently sanctified to justify their position...This symbolic nature of the priesthood is bestowed on the whole of the rest of their bodies by being clothes in their priestly garments. Only their hands and feet - the principle means of their doings and endeavours - remain unclothed. For these, comes the washing out of the basin." On Shemot 38:8 R. Hirsch continues "It is deeply significant that the vessel [כיור] which was to represent 'the moral keeping holy of one's acts and efforts, קידוש ידים ורגלים, was made out of women's mirros. Mirrors are articles which lay stress on the physical bodily appearance of people being an objection of special consideration. So that it was shown that the physical sensual side of human beings is not merely not exluded from the sphere which is to bsanctified by the Mikdosh, but that it is the first and most essential objection of this sanctification." R. Kook (Eyn Ayah) also views the washing of hands after the meal as an attempt to cleanse ourselves from excessive focus on the self which is often an outcome of eating. Symbolically, we wash the melach sedomis - the salt of Sedom, a place defined by selfishness - off our hands.
** For a new-age twist to this I found that raising my hands during the first part of the pasuk and lowering them down during the second part added an extra dimension to this meditation.

Tools of Mussar - Hispaalus I

R. Yisrael taught that preaching to one's self what is right or wrong is not sufficient for personal transformation. Intellectual awareness,[i] and even meditation, [ii] is only the first step but Man must be confronted at all levels of his being. Thus, the way of mussar is to engage the heart. Therefore, R. Yisrael’s method of hispaalus is to learn mussar with excitement and passion.

In Telz the theory was the same but their method was different. R. Yosef Leib Bloch advocated a calmer emotional arousal. He writes:

“A person should not force himself to learn with enthusiasm. He should not try to coerce his thoughts and energies towards this, because this way is unnatural. Furthermore, when someone "pulls" the enthusiasm forcibly ... he won't succeed, because the other forces and emotions which reside within him won't let one of the forces loose to be aroused and exalted by itself; they won't leave it alone. At this time - more than any other - the yetzer (impulse) that disturbs and hinders thought, stands vigilantly on guard so as not to allow the exalted emotion in man to achieve the pure, inner arousal which this sacred study ought to bring.

“So it is: man does not have the power to arouse his good feelings by forcing his nature; he cannot detach and hold the feeling of enthusiasm and excitement just in order to learn Mussar; he cannot push away at that time all that lives within him, to drive the yetzer from his heart...

“But rather this is the way to learn Mussar: The whole man, with all of his capacities and feelings, the man -as he is - should learn Mussar. He begins to learn calmly and patiently, with a sweet voice and profound observation; he hears every word he utters, examines it and feels it. The study, together with the pleasant and stimulating melody, energizes and brings the whole man to heartfelt inner enthusiasm... Then the whole man becomes exalted - his whole essence, the man with everything in him...”[iii]

In a different place[iv] R. Bloch expands on this approach:

“The most subtle impressions on a person, even if they are hidden from him, are very important…The goal is achieved specifically through these things which do not inspire much emotional arousal (hispaalus) and remain as subtle impressions since these reach to the most subtle “veins” of the soul and arouse them. When we do things more impactful and more identifiable – even when it seems to us that they make a great impression on the person and brings him to great inspiration and emotion – they do not, in truth, make such a great impression. This is because they make an great external impression which first moves the most petty aspects (kochos) of a person, then the impression fills the rest of the person, until the impression does not reach the higher and more subtle aspects of the person.”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[i] See R. Kook, Mussar Avicha, for a criticism of hispaalus.
[ii] See Ramchal, Derech Eitz Chayim concerning the power of hisbonenus.
[iii] Shiurei Da’as, Limmud ha’Mussar.
[iv] Shiure Da’as, Nishmas ha’Torah.

Beginning of Mussar IV – Mussar and Real Life

In the previous posts I described the three-part model of growth that mussar study provides – the ideal, the real and the bridge connecting them. In truth, however, life is not so neat. Growth is less like a ladder and more like a zig-zag or a maze (Ramchal, Messilas Yesharim, Chapter 3). It is a “running back and forth.”

Sometimes we must redefine our ideals, rest from intense self-scrutiny and inner work, or abandon one set of spiritual tools for another set. Sometimes we take a wrong turn or life makes us turn. What, then, is the value of the neat three-part model that mussar study provides if it does not play out in real life? This model gives us a road map, or more precisely, a GPS system. Yes, we take pit-stops and reroute, and maybe even change cars, but the GPS is there all along guiding us to our destination.

Beginning of Mussar III – Creating a Bridge between the Real and the Ideal

After the ideal has been inspired and the real discovered, a bridge, a ladder, must be constructed to enable growth. There is a plethora of modalities in mussar, depending on the school, ranging from behavioral training (hergel) and meditation (hisbonenus) to guided imagery (dimyon) and emotional arousal (hispaalus).

R. Nachman (Likkutei Moharan, Tanina, 48) warned us that this bridge is a very, very narrow bridge, but the main thing is to not become afraid. In other words, we should approach this daunting task with a sense of curiosity and trust in Hashem that He will guide us to our true selves.

The Beginning of Mussar II - Confrontation with the Self

As previously discussed, mussar inspires us to a loftier ideal; it stirs within us longings for greatness. Yet mussar only begins with dreams. The next step is to examine the real, the self, in all of its good and bad characteristics. At this stage of self-scrutiny the two most important traits are honesty and patience.

The study of mussar is an act of self-revelation – in all of its beauty and ugliness. It is an attempt to look beyond one’s defense mechanisms and peer into the depths of the soul.

However, as important self-scrutiny is, it must stem from the proper motivation. Ramchal (Messilas Yesharim, chapter four) delineates three different motivations that an aspiring eved Hashem may have. Some may serve Him out of their love for Shleimus, others out of a desire for kavod in the next world, and others out of a fear of punishment. Notice, however, that one motivation is missing: Self-hatred.

Growth is a necessity. But the beginning of growth is a patinece born of self-love; that is, caring for one's own being. We want to build ourselves, not run away from a self that we hate. We act as a loving, not an annoyed, parent.

The Beginning of Mussar I - Gadlus ha'Mochin

The beginning of mussar is the ability to dream, to have a "subtle inclination from the sensitivity of the soul" pushing one to rise above one's present state, to envision the greatness of Man. Only one who has tasted this vision knows of its sweetness. It is likened to a prophecy in which one sees the true potential that lies within.

 The study of mussar, which includes shimush talmidei chachamim, has the dual function of inspring this vision and informing it. Concerning the latter function, the soul, the "big mind," the "natural law" planted within man, yearns to be Godly. It yearns to be a source of blessing and goodness in this world. But it lacks precision and form. Mussar, depending on the school of thought, gives color to the pure white light of the soul.