| Kabbalah
and Education A Kabbalistic Approach to Spiritual Growth |
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| Kabbalah and Jewish Meditation |
Part
2 The
basic ideas presented here derive
Guidance written in 1898
by Rabbi Joseph Isaac Schneersohn, the sixth Rebbe of Chabad Lubavitch. This
discourse was initially composed as a "training manual" for mashpi'im,
those rabbis responsible for developing the spiritual character of yeshiva
students. In 1943, the Rebbe released these teachings to the general
public. He reasoned that since we are now living in the messianic era, with
its rapid pace of growth and change, every interpersonal encounter must be
utilized as an opportunity for mutual growth. In
addition to the basic principles of education, this work also presents Rabbi
Joseph Isaac's seven skills of a good educator or spiritual advisor. These
skills may seem deceptively simple. Yet, each is ultimately procured only
through practice and hard work. Reading about it is not enough. A person
obviously can read this material for its technical information and gain
invaluable insight about the Torah's system of psychology and education.
However, the person who truly desires to develop his teaching and
counseling skills must find ways of experimenting and applying the
information to his life. Can
a person learn to play violin from studying books on theory, chords and
finger positions? Obviously
not. The actual skill is only acquired through practice, and one's progress
will directly mirror the time invested in the effort of training his hands
to respond to his mental commands -- to actually play the instrument in
accordance with the musical score. This
is the necessary requirement of internalization or integration -- when
intellectual awareness becomes "wired" into the physical level of
being so that one's habitual way of behaving automatically expresses those
truths. And for this there is no shortcut. Progress is only accomplished
through tedious practice and hard work. That
hard work is not only important, it is essential --for everyone. This is
because education -- in the deepest sense of the word -- is everyone's
responsibility. We must all help each other along. The more familiar we are
with the basic principles of education, the more successful our efforts will
be as we struggle to perfect the human community and thereby fulfill the
purpose of our creation.
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