Pebbles of Wisdom From Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz: Collected and with Notes by Arthur Kurzweil

Pebbles of Wisdom from Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz: Collected and with Notes by Arthur Kurzweil......Page 5
CONTENTS......Page 9
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......Page 13
INTRODUCTION......Page 17
Part I: God......Page 29
Constantly standing before Him......Page 31
Meditating on the Divine......Page 32
Awareness requires inner growth......Page 33
God is not an abstraction but an actuality......Page 34
God is that which cannot be grasped......Page 37
There is nothing other than God......Page 38
To God, there is no large or small......Page 39
How can one speak about the unspeakable?......Page 40
There are no words to describe the Transcendent......Page 41
The infinite light of God has no limit......Page 42
Nothing can occur without God......Page 43
To exist beyond the apparent limits of reality......Page 44
A God I can put into my pocket is not worth being with......Page 45
God hides Himself......Page 47
God hides, and we look for Him......Page 48
God conceals Himself so that man shall seek and find Him......Page 49
Our perception of God is limited by physical existence......Page 50
The development of the world requires darkness......Page 51
Only God can cross the abyss......Page 52
God continuously sustains the world......Page 53
The adventure of finding God behind the partition......Page 54
Removing the sensory images that prevent one from seeing......Page 55
God is not to be found in some other world......Page 56
In the presence of God......Page 57
Recognizing the obvious......Page 59
Revelation is the recognition of a reality that was overlooked......Page 60
God is always present......Page 61
Speaking with God......Page 62
The constant presence of God......Page 65
God is closer than the beating of one’s heart......Page 66
God wants a living relationship......Page 67
God reaches out to us......Page 68
Permitting God to enter......Page 69
The process of creation is continuous......Page 70
The simple human emotion of gratitude......Page 71
Nothing should interfere with acts of gratitude to God......Page 72
One fears God because one feels Him......Page 73
The path of faith......Page 75
Getting stuck with infantile images of God......Page 76
The power of faith......Page 77
Faith is the key that ensures the joy of life......Page 78
Most concepts of belief are acquired in the kindergarten years......Page 79
The recognition of a Higher Power is not a matter of faith......Page 80
The way to faith is never smooth......Page 81
The Torah does not command us to believe in God......Page 82
There is a gladness in Heaven when man passes the Divine test......Page 83
Part II: The Seeker......Page 85
The soul clothes itself in the blood of man......Page 87
The soul may be likened to a person driving a car......Page 88
The central issue in life is the victory of the soul over itself......Page 89
The constant struggle between the two souls of man......Page 90
The animal soul as tempter......Page 91
Which soul will rule the other?......Page 92
A descent for the sake of ascension......Page 95
Spirituality is not, by definition, holy or glorious......Page 96
Each person has a special gift......Page 97
The soul may repeat a lifetime......Page 98
The greatest happiness is the pleasure of being alive......Page 99
Becoming absorbed in the task of Divine work......Page 100
The person who has not found God has not labored hard or long enough......Page 101
What is life? What is it all for?......Page 102
The special key to the private door......Page 103
All calculations of who is a saint and who is a sinner belong to God......Page 105
The ability to see depends on one's purity of heart......Page 106
The aspiration to perfect the soul and elevate the world......Page 107
The same place can be holy to one person and commonplace to another......Page 109
One should compare people on the basis of their efforts......Page 110
The capacity for self-deception is enormous......Page 111
Moving but staying in the same place......Page 112
What will I get out of the next life?......Page 113
Repentance is a total upheaval......Page 115
The chart of human progress is not simple......Page 116
Knowledge of one’s sins can result in a transformation......Page 117
Three stages of spiritual development......Page 118
Our goal is always to aim for greater heights......Page 119
The chief work of man is to make corrections......Page 121
Using a certain skill of a wrestler......Page 122
Walking the path to infinity......Page 123
We do teshuvah in a universe that transcends physical laws......Page 124
It’s easy to fool oneself......Page 125
Great happiness is not the goal of life......Page 127
To be truly free......Page 128
Spiritually free......Page 129
The elementary meaning of freedom......Page 130
To be free means to have a life goal of one’s own......Page 131
Part III: The Children of Israel......Page 133
The Jews, as a people, are obsessed with God......Page 135
The uniting element is undeniably there......Page 136
We Jews are optimists......Page 137
A real Jew would rather die than worship idols......Page 138
What is it that we are so eager to pass on?......Page 139
The Jews are a stiff-necked people......Page 140
Being Jewish means we have obligations......Page 141
The only way we can really know ourselves......Page 142
We are a family......Page 145
We are not a perfect family, but we are a real family......Page 146
Finding out to which family one belongs......Page 147
Judaism is the way we as a family move......Page 148
Israel is an entity......Page 149
The definition of a Jew is beyond biology......Page 150
O Guardian of Israel, protect the remnant of Israel......Page 151
We are bleeding with smiles on our faces......Page 153
Jewish education is so lacking that it almost has no meaning......Page 154
Too long, too boring, and too frequent......Page 155
Jewish leaders don’t even understand Jewish jokes......Page 156
The Jewish people must regain its own essence......Page 157
The destruction of the Holy Temple is a key to all of Israel’s troubles......Page 158
When we are not one, Israel is in a state of deprivation and suffering......Page 159
The destiny of the Jewish person who has been estranged......Page 160
Life is not a vicarious activity......Page 161
A blessing or a curse?......Page 162
Part IV: Torah......Page 163
The Torah comes to man across the abyss of the infinite......Page 165
There are many ways to connect with the Torah......Page 166
The Torah is like a tale within a tale within a tale......Page 167
The Torah descends so it can be grasped by mortals......Page 168
The Torah’s awesome power......Page 170
The study of Torah is weighed against all the commandments......Page 173
When a person studies Torah, he creates an angel......Page 174
Being trapped by the metaphor......Page 175
If Torah study is not for the sake of Heaven, it is no more than playing......Page 176
The proper relation to Scripture......Page 177
Each of us has the ability to “channel” God......Page 178
When we study Scripture, God studies with us......Page 180
Why does God want us to study?......Page 181
Whoever grabs hold can reach the other side......Page 183
The performance of the mitzvah may lie beyond one’s understanding......Page 184
Every mitzvah is a part of a whole......Page 185
Every mitzvah is important......Page 186
The importance of intention......Page 187
The strength and capacity of a mitzvah depend on the life force one puts into it......Page 188
A higher level of functioning......Page 189
The conservation of spiritual essences......Page 190
All the mitzvot together form a symphonic whole......Page 191
Following the Code of Law is not enough......Page 192
Some books of Jewish history denied the existence of Kabbalah......Page 193
The official theology of the Jewish people......Page 194
Kabbalah and Talmud: different forms of the same thing......Page 195
The greatest of the Jewish authorities were immersed in the world of Kabbalah......Page 196
We study the secret lore but don’t see angels......Page 197
Part V: The Trials of Life......Page 199
Climbing from level to level......Page 201
Everyone experiences setbacks......Page 202
The power of repentance......Page 203
The King of Kings is watching our every move......Page 204
Prayer is a time of battle between mighty forces......Page 205
The necessity of instability......Page 206
Tying the broken cord......Page 207
Bless God for the evil as well as the good......Page 209
Thanking God for suffering is easier said than done......Page 210
Everything is for the best......Page 211
Suffering is a test......Page 212
It is a privilege to weep before Him......Page 213
It is often necessary to pass through some crisis or tragic experience......Page 214
The only world in which Creation makes sense......Page 215
The more pure a man is, the more he is tempted......Page 216
Understanding the difference between pain and sadness......Page 217
The worst possible world where there is still hope......Page 218
In the struggle of existence, one discovers the harmony......Page 219
The joys of the next world......Page 220
Understanding evil......Page 221
Evil is a parasite......Page 222
Evil must be fought......Page 223
The struggle with the evil inclination......Page 225
No two people are alike in their susceptibility to temptation......Page 226
Transforming evil into good......Page 227
Developing the capacity to bless evil as well as good......Page 228
Part VI: Guidance......Page 229
Freeing the mind of worry......Page 231
There is always more than one viewpoint......Page 232
One may forget what was known, but the impression cannot be effaced......Page 233
The sin of an uneducated person is considered unintentional......Page 234
The degree of guilt is proportional to one’s level of knowledge......Page 235
I’m interested in almost everything......Page 236
The study of science......Page 237
I have always been suspicious of artificial means—such as mantras or drugs......Page 238
There are three things that are connected—the Jews with the Torah and the Torah with God......Page 239
When a teacher is a fake, the students know it right away......Page 240
A rabbi is one who teaches others......Page 242
The emphasis is not on specific qualities but on the right measure......Page 245
One has to be constantly on the alert......Page 246
Living for the sake of Heaven......Page 247
Only through the body and the physical world can the genuinely spiritual be achieved......Page 248
Avoiding idolatry......Page 249
Contending with one’s imagination......Page 250
The sincere worshiper of God has to tighten the tension......Page 251
This is exactly the time when one must not sleep......Page 252
NOTES......Page 255
GLOSSARY......Page 351
BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 357
ABOUT RABBI ADIN STEINSALTZ......Page 359
ABOUT ARTHUR KURZWEIL......Page 361
INDEX......Page 363