Sindy Warren's Ramble:
My family and I are pretty new to JFX. We joined last September, after a friend turned me on to the possibility of learning and growing in a traditionally Jewish way. Before then, I had absolutely no idea that this opportunity for personal and spiritual growth existed in my very own religion. It’s been an amazing year thus far. The community has been so warm and welcoming, and we’ve already made friends-for-life. And, my daughter now practically leaps out of bed every Sunday asking “is it time to go yet?” Suffice it to say this was not her Sunday morning routine pre-JFX.
In addition to Sunday school, I started taking a class with Ruchi that many of you know and love – Mussar. Mussar is an ancient Jewish practice that begins with the premise that we are all spiritual beings capable of climbing a proverbial ladder towards our personal growth. The path of ascension is through the study of character traits, or “gates.” Mussar posits that we are all endowed with a unique cocktail of these traits, and that through study and practice, we can bring them into balance and perfect them. The thing I love best about Mussar is that it is a very practical, down-to-earth practice. Need to work on your patience? Slow down long enough to see how you react in real-world time. Think about it, with intention and awareness. By practicing patience, you will actually become a more patient person. Studying Mussar has also been an experience of connecting with like-minded people; the bonding that happens in class is something special.
I’ve been so inspired by studying Mussar that I decided to start a blog a few weeks back, called Mussar for the Masses. The blog chronicles my own journey in studying Mussar, and invites readers to join me along the way, to share, debate, and grow as a community. I have to admit that I have my fair share of head-scratching moments, where I ask myself “why am I doing this? Is this a waste of time and energy? Shouldn’t I be embarrassed?” But I keep coming back to this. By writing about my experiences, I have to be honest with myself about where I am on my own journey. I think the entire exercise will help me grow. At least that’s my goal. If you want to check out my blog, it’s here: www.mussarforthemasses.com.
