| Kabbalah
and Education A Kabbalistic Approach to Spiritual Growth |
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| Kabbalah and Jewish Meditation |
Part
51 To
keep the good, fix the fixable and replace the bad, different methods of
treatment are required. The verse in the Book of Psalms: "Turn from
evil, do good, search for peace and pursue it," gives the prescription for how to address each area of need. The
teacher must be prepared to utilize whatever method is necessary to get his
students to "turn from evil." In this case, the evil is that which
presently possesses no redeeming value whatsoever. It is an opaque barrier
to the student's realization of his or her potential. This opaque barrier
can be formed by a bad temper, anxiety, addictions, or by dishonesty to name
a few examples. It must be eliminated altogether. The question is: how?
Different problems require different solutions--sometimes we can eliminate a
negative trait by replacing it with a positive one. For example, a person
who is stingy can consciously work on himself to give, until generosity
actually does become one of his character traits. Sometimes,
however, the negative character trait must be forcefully eradicated, as is
the case with haughtiness, which has no place in a person's psyche. To
accomplish this, the teacher can lovingly point out to the student where he
is motivated by haughtiness. The very recognition and isolation of this
negative trait is the first step in its eradication. Any borderline elements of the student's character must be cleansed of impurity, refined and perfected, so as to function at maximum potential for maximum good. Likewise, these personality traits which are basically healthy, but which are unbalanced in expression, require tempering to keep their strength channeled into productive areas. For
example, a student who is disciplined in his or her studies may need to
temper that industriousness by engaging more with others--by visiting the
sick or attending celebrations--thus bringing that positive trait of
thirsting for Torah into a balanced state, where giving and receiving exist
in their proper proportions. On the other hand, a student who is constantly
doing favors for others may need to set boundaries, and stay focused on one
project at a time so as not to overextend himself or herself in too many
directions. To
take another example, a student who is focused on absolute honesty may need
to cultivate tact and learn to speak "truth" gently. In this case
the student's trait of honesty, though praiseworthy, requires
"fixing" before it can operate at maximum potential. In
the above examples of borderline, we see that something is missing in the
student. What is there is good, yet it is only half of the way toward
perfection, and the polarity which complements that attribute must still be
developed. This is the work implied in: "Do good." It means taking that which is not operating to capacity,
dusting it off, filing it down, and reinserting it in a way that insures
maximum productivity. In
the following chapter will explore the reinforcement of good attributes.
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