Since the beginning of the year, I have been giving a short, sharp shiur of about fifteen minutes duration after the Kiddush on Shabbat mornings. Attendance has been excellent - far better than I anticipated, with between twenty and thirty people participating each week. The  shiur comprises brief textual study associated with the week's parasha or festival. 

This week's topic will be Self-Esteem - An Antidote to Sin. If you haven't been attending, now is a good time to start!

As an example of what we discuss here are a few points from our recent classes on Gratitude and Empathy:

Empathy

• The definining aspect of Moshe was that he felt the pain of others
• The Hebrew word for Peace (connectedness) shares the same root as the Hebrew word for Perfection
• Without Peace there can be no Perfection!
• A lack of empathy demonstrates a lack of true peace (connectedness) and hence a lack of perfection
• G-d only rests in a place of perfection
• Hence one can only truly acquire Torah if one is empathetic
• A person who is empathetic knows that another person's sins affect him as much as his own
• Hence the defining aspect of Moshiach is his empathy - he feels the pain of others

Gratitude:

• Although Moshe had many names, the one which stuck was Moshe, given to him by Pharaoh's daughter - in gratitude that she saved him.
• One must remain cognisant of the past good a person has done you, even if he later doesn't live up to your expectations.
• Moshe did not bring the plague of blood or frogs on the Nile - because the Nile protected him when he was cast in it.
• It is not possible to be grateful to G-d if one is ungrateful to human beings who have assisted you.
• Don't cast rocks into a well from which you have drunk!

​Rabbi Benzion Milecki OAM