“Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one..” These words are the supreme testimony of Jewish faith. Each word is worthy of careful study, but it is the first – the verb Shema – that deserves special attention.
Read MoreDay 3:
What is Mussar?
שְׁמַע בְּנִי מוּסַר אָבִיךָ, וְאַל תִּטֹּשׁ תּוֹרַת אִמֶּךָ (משלי א ח)
Listen, my son, to the discipline of your father, and do not forsake the teaching of your mother. (Proverbs 1:8)
“Listen“
Meaning to pay close attention.
The most important part of mussar (guidance) is listening. When a person really listens and concentrates on what people tell him, this wakes him up. He begins to understand that what they are saying is correct, and he accepts the mussar.
“The discipline of your father”
“The discipline of your father”
Rashi explains that in his book of Proverbs, King Solomon is referring here to the basic texts and rules of God’s Torah as recorded in the Oral and Written Law, which were given to Moses at Sinai.
“The teaching of your mother”
Whereas this is referring to the additional fences and safeguards which the Rabbis introduced in every generation, in order to keep the people far from sin.
(Summary from A Letter for the Ages, p. 25)
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