Middah of the Month

What do community/kehilla, do not waste/bal tashchit, and bravery/gevurah have in common? These ideas are three of the 48 Jewish values/middot that are the core of what makes Judaism special. In 5785, Beth El will take a page from a program that has been happening for years in the Beth El Religious School – and each summer at many Jewish camps – as we celebrate and explore a different middah each month.

Middah of the Month: Gevurah / Bravery

In the month of Adar (March 1 – March 29), we will focus on Gevurah. Gevurah (גְבוּרָה) is often translated as “might.”However, might in its own right is not seen as a positive virtue in Jewish tradition.Rather, Judaism values might that is applied to a positive purpose.Accordingly, the translation of gevurah as “heroism” or “bravery” is far preferable to “might.”

Find Out More About Gevurah

Exploring the Middot with Beth El

Apr3
Women’s Study Circle
May13
Women’s Study Circle
Apr3
Women’s Study Circle
May13
Women’s Study Circle
Apr3
Women’s Study Circle
May13
Women’s Study Circle
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Apr3
Women’s Study Circle
May13
Women’s Study Circle

Previous Middot

Starting in this month of Elul (September 4–October 2), we will focus on Teshuva/Repentance. As we move toward the High Holidays, we traditionally take this month to reflect and make amends as we head into a new year. So, it only makes sense to kick off our middot program with this idea to learn and explore the idea of repentance together. We’ll start with a movie at the DCJCC, a lunch and learn with Rabbi Harris, and a parent learning session on how to teach and model forgiveness in the home.

Teshuva (תְֹּשוּבָה) is most commonly translated as “repentence.” However, it actualy comes from the Hebrew root shoov (שוּב), which means “to return.” Teshuva is based on an attitude that people are good at heart and want to do the right thing, but at times they move off-course and conduct themselves inappropriately. Teshuva, therefore, is a person’s effort to enact a course correction, to return to the proper mode of conduct.

Find Out More About Teshuva

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In the month of Tishrei (October 3 – November 1), we will focus on Kehillah (Community). The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines kehillah as the Jewish community of a city organized for the administration of charities and communal work. While this definition is technically accurate, it does not truly capture the essence of the concept of kehillah. Judaism is a religion that places strong emphasis on the notion of being a part of a community. For instance, with only a few exceptions, the prayers that comprise our liturgy are all couched in the plural. We pray not only for our own needs or the needs of others whom we know, we appeal to God for the well-being of everyone in the kehillah, even those of whom we are completely unaware.

Find Out More About Kehillah

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In the month of Heshvan (November 2 – December 1), we will focus on Hakarat HaTov (Gratitude). Hakarat HaTov is loosely translated as “appreciation.” However, the Hebrew words literally mean “recognition of the good.” Thus, the Jewish understanding of appreciation (or gratitude) is possession of a mindset that allows one to recognize the good in a situation, or in the acts of others. The Middah of Hakarat HaTov is at the very heart of our identity as Jews. Every blessing that we recite is an expression of gratitude. It is an act of thanking God for all of the miraculous phenomena in the world, ranging from the sunrise in the morning to a slice of bread or the sweet fragrance of spices. Reciting brachot is therefore both a means of instilling and a way of expressing Hakarat HaTov.

Find Out More About Hakarat HaTov

 

Shaliach Yoel Gleizer wrote this song about gratitude. Click here to see the lyrics and English translation.

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In the month of Tevet (January 1 – January 29), we will focus on Tzedakah. The Hebrew term tzedakah is often erroneously translated as “charity.” In fact, the word comes from the Hebrew root, צ.ד.ק. meaning “just” or “correct,” while the English word “charity” comes from the Latin word “caritas,” which “implies an act of giving by the ‘haves ‘to the ‘have-nots’ – out of the goodness of their hearts.’’ (Source: Oxford Dictionary) The distinction is that charity implies an act of generosity rather than an expectation, while צְדָקָה is quite simply “the right thing to do.”

Giving money or other material resources is certainly an act of tzedakah. However, both the attitude of the donor and the emotional well-being of the recipient are also part and parcel of the act of tzedakah. Thus, the 12th Century sage, Moses Maimonides, famously constructed a “Ladder of Tzedakah,” with each rung representing either greater willingness on the part of the donor, or greater care for the dignity of the recipient. It is easy to envision how much more kind and caring a society would emerge if such attitudes were to prevail. Perhaps this is what was meant by the Torah’s commandment (Deuteronomy 16:20) of “צֶ֥דֶק צֶ֖דֶק תִּרְדֹּ֑ף“ – “Justice, justice shall you pursue.

Find Out More About Tzedakah

 

Resources