Spirituality – Page 11 – New beginnings: A blog about spirituality, chaplaincy and renewal

Rebbe Nachman’s advice – New series

In addition to my recordings on Tanya, (see latest episode – Episode 38, and link to episodes on Apple Podcasts – here), and my occasional, reflective writing as the muse speaks to me, I am planning a couple of other serial postings. Keep on the lookout for new writing projects.

For now, I want to begin with a new series writing and commenting on the spiritual and psychological underpinnings as I see them in from the aphorisms and quotations of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov as culled together in the work, Likkutei Etzot. Based on the sales blurb on breslovbooks.com, Likkutei Etzot is:

The teachings in the Likutey Moharan not only contain novel enlightening concepts but also contain very practical advice and directions on how to implement the wisdom in the teachings. Lekuty Eitzos extracts and summarizes the main practical advice from Rabbi Nachman’s teachings, outlining them in a clear organized fashion. Aside from Lekutey Moharan thoughts are also taken from the sefer Sichos Haran. Now Rebbe Nachman’s guidance is made readably accessible, where one can directly locate and relate to his powerful advice. This work was compiled by Rebbe Nosson. He understood the strong, clear guidance Rebbe Nachman offers and wanted to make it more accessible for the masses. Likutey Eitzos was later reprinted with additions by Rabbi Nachman of Tcherin Lekutay Eitzos is therefore sometimes referred to as the “early” or “later” edition. This book is an amazingly powerful aid for one’s spiritual journey in this world.

I plan to explore selected pieces of advice, in order of the book. The text and translation come from Sefaria. I invite readers to search Sefaria for the original source texts to get a sense of the quotations context. However, my goal is to see the quotes as independent statements requiring our attention and reflection.

The first section is about אֱמֶת וֶאֱמוּנָה, Truth and faith.

א. עִקַּר הַגְּאֻלָּה תְּלוּיָה בָּאֱמוּנָה, כִּי עִקַּר הַגָּלוּת אֵינוֹ אֶלָּא בִּשְׁבִיל חֶסְרוֹן אֱמוּנָה: (לק”א סי’ ז’ אות א’)
In essence, redemption is dependent on faith. The root cause of the exile is simply a lack of faith (Likutey Moharan 7:1).

In this first quote, we can surmise a powerful idea in relation to mindset. Many times the sense of personal exile and redemption is one of perception. When we are in a “good place,” which might be a place where we are feeling strong in our faith in something greater than ourselves, we might well feel a freedom and sense of being redeemed from the trials and tribulations of what came before. At other times, this sense of faith will ebb, will shrink, will shatter. This is often in moments of crisis, moments taking us off the path we feel we have set before ourselves. In those moments of exile, part of the mindset of feeling exiled, feeling lost, can be rooted in the ebbing of our sense of order in the ways of the world. It can be rooted in our loss of sense of connection to Gd. Of course, many times it is the opposite, the exile leads to a sense of lost faith, lost trust.

While this statement can and is read as a call to merely strengthen faith and by extension we will find redemption, I would not be so quick to make that leap. I have witnessed those in “crisis,” in a personal exile being stronger and more secure in their faith than those for whom life is “whole” (though very few really have absolute wholeness in life).

In the eyes of my chaplaincy/spiritual coaching work, a statement like this is a good reinforcer to the work we support others in as it relates to their individual sense of belief, faith and spirituality. While things don’t occur so simply, it is in the depth of recognizing personal exile and redemption can have elements of spiritual struggle or the lack thereof that we can explore in our work.

Comments are welcome as we explore the work of Rebbe Nachman together.

Are you struggling with your spiritual growth? Faith? Feeling lost in the midst of the journey of life? Contact New Beginnings Spiritual Coaching and Consulting LLC at 732-314-6758 ext. 100 or via email at newbeginningsspiritualcoach@gmail.com

Audio – Lessons in Tanya 38

Part of two of chapter 25. This section deals with the phrase “doing good” as it relates to the hidden love, the divine soul within each of us. Even when we aren’t feeling the connection consciously, the love and connection to Gd is built in for us to work to draw upon in order to foster the relationship we want to have. In this piece I also touch on how the well could go dry but not when it comes to the divine soul.

Episode 38

All episodes can also now be heard on Apple Podcasts – here

Do you want to work on taking the actions of your life and find meaning in all you do and who you are? Are you struggling with your spiritual growth. Contact New Beginnings Spiritual Coaching and Consulting LLC at 732-314-6758 ext. 100 or via email at newbeginningsspiritualcoach@gmail.com

Audio – Lessons in Tanya 37

Part one chapter 25. This recording reviews some of the concepts we have seen in the previous chapters about how to overcome the spirit of folly. If we presume our ability to love and fear Gd are always present, we have the tools needed to sustain our positive spiritual growth. This section reviews the importance of relationship with the divine as part of the ability to overcome our mistakes. I also add in a plug for spiritual growth as relational and my work as a spiritual coach. I also offer a special wish at the end of the show to my older son as he turns 13 today on the Gregorian calendar (Hebrew birthday upcoming in a week).

Episode 37

All episodes can also now be heard on Apple Podcasts – here

Spiritual Companionship/Coaching is a Two Way Street

It is a both a beauty and a challenge. In the opening pages of the book, Parting: A Handbook for Spiritual Care Near the End of Life, the authors offer a powerful description of what spiritual companionship means:

When you sign on to be a spiritual companion, you enter a two-way street. You invite intimacy, and you share from your own soul. You are a source of strength, but you look to the dying person for inspiration and moments of strength as well.

You open the window for peace to the surround the one who is dying, and you feel its breeze on your face.

You look for truth, for the expression of candid and deep feelings ranging from agony and anger to joy and acceptance, and find you must bare your feelings also.

Both of you will grow. You will care for one another. And you both will find tears to be a healing release and closeness of body, mind, and spirit to be a shelter from the cold night of pain and grief.
p. 2-3

While the chaplain, spiritual coach, spiritual care provider, (pick your title), has the ethical and professional responsibility to maintain boundaries, the ability to accompany a person from a spiritual place requires the professional to enter the sacred space heart and soul. We are the mostly non-anxious presence in the midst of a person’s struggle with the vulnerabilities that come from illness and loss of sense of wholeness. As such, when we enter, we are open to relationship being a two way relationship. While this does increase the risk of compassion fatigue and burnout, when we are meeting people from the place of relationship, we must meet the person as two vulnerable, imperfect human beings, not just in a the hierarchical relationship that is presumed by the professional role the chaplain or spiritual coach brings to the space.

This reminds me of the following passage from the Talmud:

וְהַיְינוּ דְּאָמַר רַבִּי חֲנִינָא: הַרְבֵּה לָמַדְתִּי מֵרַבּוֹתַי, וּמֵחֲבֵירַי יוֹתֵר מֵרַבּוֹתַי, וּמִתַּלְמִידַי יוֹתֵר מִכּוּלָּן.

And this is what Rabbi Ḥanina said: I have learned much from my teachers and even more from my friends, but from my students I have learned more than from all of them.
BT Taanit 7a

If you are in the midst of illness or spiritual struggle and are in need of a person to be on this journey with you, Contact New Beginnings Spiritual Coaching and Consulting LLC at 732-314-6758 ext. 100 or via email at newbeginningsspiritualcoach@gmail.com

Audio – Lessons in Tanya 36

Part two of Chapter 24. He continues the discussion of sin as a result of the “spirit of folly.” The section deals with three types of violations:

1. Cardinal sins which cannot be violated at any cost

2. Prohibitions that need to be violated in the short term for the sake of long term gain

3. Violations of prohibitions punishable by Karet – divine separation, vs. most other violations, which are temporary breaks with the divine.

I also attempt to express my view of how the spirit of folly as he presents it is not an excuse for the bad choices people make and yet we must also recognize that often people are not making rational choices when making hurtful, horrific choices in the actions that they take.

Episode 36

All episodes can also now be heard on Apple Podcasts – here

Audio – Lessons in Tanya 35

Part one of Chapter 24 This chapter explores how violating the 365 prohibitions of the Torah leads to a sense of separation from Gd. The previous chapters looked at how our actions lead to a closeness and a unification with the divine. This chapter shares the opposite, reflecting on different degrees of sin. We mess up because of our sense of self and we mess up because the animal soul influences us to the point of folly. The latter might help us understand the difference between the Beinoni and the Rasha. Finally, this lesson also contains a short message for Tu B’Shvat at the end of the recording.

Episode 35

All episodes can also now be heard on Apple Podcasts – here

Carob tree and planting the seeds of success – Tu B’Shvat

Today marks the midway of the winter season and the new year for trees in the Jewish tradition. It is the holiday called Tu B’Shevat, named after the day it falls out, the 15th of Shevat. This days marks the starting point of seed growth, of seeing the results of the plantings we have done in the fall, preparing for the Spring/harvest season. In honor of Tu B’Shvat, I want to share a short reflection on the Carob tree and setting events into motion.

Change is hard. Change can feel impossible. So often, we might feel like we aren’t progressing, perhaps even feeling like we are “swimming upstream.” I know that many times I have to remind myself of this idea.

There is a Talmudic story which reflects this same concept. All we can do is plant the seeds and celebrate the possibilities of success. BT Taanit 23a describes the following story:

יוֹמָא חַד הֲוָה אָזֵל בְּאוֹרְחָא, חַזְיֵיהּ לְהָהוּא גַּבְרָא דַּהֲוָה נָטַע חָרוּבָא, אֲמַר לֵיהּ: הַאי, עַד כַּמָּה שְׁנִין טָעֵין? אֲמַר לֵיהּ: עַד שִׁבְעִין שְׁנִין. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: פְּשִׁיטָא לָךְ דְּחָיֵית שִׁבְעִין שְׁנִין? אֲמַר לֵיהּ הַאי גַּבְרָא: עָלְמָא בְּחָרוּבָא אַשְׁכַּחְתֵּיהּ. כִּי הֵיכִי דִּשְׁתַלוּ לִי אֲבָהָתִי — שְׁתַלִי נָמֵי לִבְרָאִי.

One day, he was walking along the road when he saw a certain man planting a carob tree. Ḥoni said to him: This tree, after how many years will it bear fruit? The man said to him: It will not produce fruit until seventy years have passed. Ḥoni said to him: Is it obvious to you that you will live seventy years, that you expect to benefit from this tree? He said to him: That man himself found a world full of carob trees. Just as my ancestors planted for me, I too am planting for my descendants.

יָתֵיב, קָא כָּרֵיךְ רִיפְתָּא, אֲתַאי לֵיהּ שִׁינְתָּא, נִים. אַהְדַּרָא לֵיהּ מְשּׁוּנִּיתָא, אִיכַּסִּי מֵעֵינָא, וְנִים שִׁבְעִין שְׁנִין. כִּי קָם, חַזְיֵיהּ לְהָהוּא גַּבְרָא דְּהוּא קָא מְלַקֵּט מִינַּיְיהוּ, אָמַר לֵיהּ: אַתְּ הוּא דִּשְׁתַלְתֵּיהּ? אֲמַר לֵיהּ: בַּר בְּרֵיהּ אֲנָא. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: שְׁמַע מִינַּהּ דִּנְיַימִי שִׁבְעִין שְׁנִין. חֲזָא לַחֲמָרְ[תֵּ]יהּ דְּאִתְיְילִידָא לַיהּ רַמְכֵי רַמְכֵי. Ḥoni sat and ate bread. Sleep overcame him and he slept. A cliff formed around him, and he disappeared from sight and slept for seventy years. When he awoke, he saw a certain man gathering carobs from that tree. Ḥoni said to him: Are you the one who planted this tree? The man said to him: I am his son’s son. Ḥoni said to him: I can learn from this that I have slept for seventy years, and indeed he saw that his donkey had sired several herds during those many years.

The planting we do is not always for ourselves. It can be something an ancestor set into motion that we are experiencing today. Today is the day we celebrate the beginning of the potentiality becoming reality. We might not know what will result, but we can find the will to rejoice in the effort and process because we know something will eventually come from it.

If you are struggling to establish and pursue your goals and dreams and need help working through the underlying motivations? Or if you know someone who is working on goal setting and needs support in the process, Contact New Beginnings Spiritual Coaching and Consulting LLC at 732-314-6758 ext. 100 or via email at newbeginningsspiritualcoach@gmail.com

Audio – Lessons in Tanya 34

Chapter 23. This chapter discusses the concept of the Torah and Gd are one. In this chapter, we go deeper into the centrality of Torah study as the ultimate way to be in unity with Gd. We explore how our actions allow us to be a vessel for the divine but the pursuit of engaging Gd through Torah allows us to be one, even at the level of the soul.

Episode 34

All episodes can also now be heard on Apple Podcasts – here

Audio – Lessons in Tanya 33

Chapter 22. We continue on the topic of Divine vs Human speech with a discussion of the Torah speaking in the language of humanity. The Torah uses our way of seeing the world to describe Gd, so on some level we see Gd’s speech as being “separate” from Gd. This leads into a discussion of how Gd can allow for the notion of denial of Gd in the universe, exploring in greater depth the ramifications of the term tzimtzum (contraction). Chapter 22 focuses on how people come to “false worship,” the notion of having “other Gods before Gd,” which is prohibited in the 10 commandments. We get into a discussion of arrogance and humility as it relates to our relationship to Gd and to how speech is the crux of the connection between the divine and human.

Episode 33

All episodes can also now be heard on Apple Podcasts – here

Audio – Lessons in Tanya 31

Chapter 20 – This chapter begins our journey into understanding Gd as the unchanged, true existence. We discuss how everything else is “non-existent,” or contingent existence. This discussion leads us into the beginning of a focus on speech. The previous chapters have been focused on we refine and understand our thought and action as it pertains to the Beinoni. This chapter begins to explain how speech is the revealed form of thought, the revealed form of the divine sparks in the world.

Episode 31

All episodes can also now be heard on Apple Podcasts – here