Welcome week 37 of the #MussarWithMe project!

Each week we are, collectively, focusing on one middah (soul trait) of the mussar practice.

If you are joining in along the way - join in on the middah of the week so you can practice with us. If you are totally new to mussar, it is a long-standing inherited practice of spiritual refinement from Judaism that become a really powerful part of my spiritual practice. **Check** out the intro post for more background.

Join in here (patrons only), on Instagram or Facebook, or your own blog or all of the above using #MussarWithMe.

Zehirut (זהירות) Illuminated Awareness

Using the order set out in Every Day Holy Day by Alan Morinis, we move from from nedivut (נדיבות) - generosity - openhandedness to zehirut (זהירות) - illuminated awareness, watchfulness, or caution.

If you have both books, this is week 37 (and 11) in Every Day Holy Day and does not appear in Everyday Holiness, but there is a great PDF that Alan Morinis has created for Jewish Pathways if you want to explore further.  And I also recommend you read the week 11 post, which explains why I’ve adopted the translation of “illuminated awareness” instead of the direct translation of “watchfulness” or "caution”.

A radiant light shines within. (Alan Morinis)

Some equate zehirut with mindfulness, but it’s something beyond just mindfulness. I think of zehirut as what you are able to do - once you are fully present. Mindfulness allows the potential for zehirut. Think of it like a passive state (mindfulness) and the active or applied state (zehirut). Being actively in a state of zehirut allows us to see what is not only directly in front of us — but also how it connects to the next three steps. Last night I was reading a comic book (yes, I’m into comic books) that illustrated this concept beautifully. Until this moment — I didn’t think of what I was seeing as zehirut - but now I do.

See the red shining thread in the image? That’s the character connecting to zehirut! Okay — not in the comic book, because it’s based on Japanese folklore (Wayward by Jim Zub, Steve Cummings, and John Rauch). But in the Jewish version — she’s totally tapping into zehirut! Tapping into the soul-trait and having it balanced within yourself, allows you to make better choices. You can see the impacts of not only the next moment — but see the trail and where it might lead.

And the knowledgeable will be radiant (יַזְהִ֖רוּ) like the bright (כְּזֹ֣הַר) expanse of sky (Daniel 12:3)

In Mussar (and broader Jewish teaching), this world IS REAL. Unlike Buddhist teachings where the world is just an illusion, Mussar teaches us that the world is real and the choices we make in this world have real impacts.  In kabbalistic teachings (Jewish mysticism) there are ancient teachings about what we do in this world affecting all the worlds.  This is why zehirut is so important.  In a way, it’s kind of the point of practicing Mussar - to achieve a state of shining consciousness that allows you to see the world with a special kind of clarity.

Darkness gives shape to the light, as light shapes the darkness (Octavia Butler)

In the book, The Path of the Just by Rabbi Chaim Luzzatto (circa 1730 CE) which is available on Sefaria.org, you’ll see that one of the key aspects of zehirut is being able to tell the difference between reality and what your yetzer hara, evil impulse, is tempting you to do. We all have the yetzer hara, and it is not all for the bad. Judaism teaches that we would never build anything, make babies, or do a lot of other positive things without the yetzer hara, but you can’t let it control you.

Rabbi Luzzatto teaches that there are two aspects to zehirut, the first is being mindful of whether or not your actions are for the good or for the bad.  The second step in zehirut is to ACT ON THAT.  There are two awesome words — pishpush (פשפוש) and mishmush (משמוש) that are the two steps of zehirut. Pishpush is the step of intellectually examining one’s deeds to see if they are in alignment with the Divine, and generally good.  Mishmush is the second step, and it means “feeling out” of those deeds that are generally positive to see if there are traces of negativity or negative outcomes that still should be removed or reconsidered.

Needless to say, this all could lead to total paralysis because one is trapped in analysis.  But remember — mussar is about balance. Too much zehirut is just as bad as too little.

One of the rules of caution (zehirut) is not to be too cautious (Rabbi Bahya ibn Paquda - 11th Century )