http://www.yearofkaddish.com/you-want-to-start-us-off/ What a Year of Daily Praying Triggers Within and Without Tue, 03 Aug 2010 10:43:35 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 http://www.yearofkaddish.com/you-want-to-start-us-off/comment-page-1/#comment-98 David Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:08:53 +0000 http://www.yearofkaddish.com/?p=171#comment-98 I'm aware of "yetzer hara" and "yetzer ha-tov" from "Everyday Holiness". Hadn't thought of that in your situation though. Interesting. I’m aware of “yetzer hara” and “yetzer ha-tov” from “Everyday Holiness”. Hadn’t thought of that in your situation though. Interesting.

]]> http://www.yearofkaddish.com/you-want-to-start-us-off/comment-page-1/#comment-97 Leonard Felson Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:59:15 +0000 http://www.yearofkaddish.com/?p=171#comment-97 Great question, David. And the answer is Yes. In those few seconds between when i said, "Maybe tomorrow" and "OK. I'll do it, I did feel regret. Or certainly, as you put it, an unsettling feeling. After all this was something I wanted to do. And here the gate opened, the opportunity was right there for the taking, and still, I felt insecure about saying yes. In Jewish terminology, this is the "yetzer hara" at work, sometimes described as the evil inclination. But it operates in a more subtle way, as it did that morning. Its tendency is to play it safe even if that goes against your best interests. The opposite tendency, by the way, is the yetzer ha-tov, or good inclination. That's the inclination that says, this may feel risky, but I will grow from the experience. Which is exactly what happened when I said yes that morning last week. Great question, David. And the answer is Yes. In those few seconds between when i said, “Maybe tomorrow” and “OK. I’ll do it, I did feel regret. Or certainly, as you put it, an unsettling feeling. After all this was something I wanted to do. And here the gate opened, the opportunity was right there for the taking, and still, I felt insecure about saying yes. In Jewish terminology, this is the “yetzer hara” at work, sometimes described as the evil inclination. But it operates in a more subtle way, as it did that morning. Its tendency is to play it safe even if that goes against your best interests. The opposite tendency, by the way, is the yetzer ha-tov, or good inclination. That’s the inclination that says, this may feel risky, but I will grow from the experience. Which is exactly what happened when I said yes that morning last week.

]]> http://www.yearofkaddish.com/you-want-to-start-us-off/comment-page-1/#comment-95 David Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:41:24 +0000 http://www.yearofkaddish.com/?p=171#comment-95 Just catching up on your latest blog posts. A question: in the few seconds between when you said, "Maybe tomorrow" and when you agreed to lead, did you feel regret or any unsettling feeling? Did you feel like you could/should be able to overcome this obstacle of starting the service in spite of your initial reservations? Just catching up on your latest blog posts. A question: in the few seconds between when you said, “Maybe tomorrow” and when you agreed to lead, did you feel regret or any unsettling feeling? Did you feel like you could/should be able to overcome this obstacle of starting the service in spite of your initial reservations?

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