If "Mussar" is the noun, what's the verb? (Shema as deep listening and loving) ❦ Conversation #2

START HERE: https://mussar.center What does the word Mussar mean? Every word in Hebrew comes from a verb, so what's the action word behind Mussar? The verb behind the noun Mussar (מוסר) is Yasar (יסר). It's used 43 times in the Bible and means to discipline, correct, instruct, train, and warn. So basically, Mussar is the practice of doing this for yourself.

The first time Yasar is used is in the third book of the Torah, Leviticus. God tells Israel that if they listen to him things will go well and if they don't, discipline will kick in and really bad things will start to happen. We learn from this that Mussar is the practice of disciplining yourself to listen. It's also the habit of pausing when things start going wrong to ask if you're really listening.

So essentially, Mussar is about living out the Shema. This ancient prayer has two action words in it: first to listen (שמע), and then to love (אהב). What does this tell us? You can't truly love someone until you truly listen to them. That's the goal of Mussar, to enter into this beautiful circle of coming to know and love the other through deep listening.

Building on that, Hashem (השם) means the Name, the "I am", the source of being, the highest reality. Hashem isn't the universe, but he's creating it. So Mussar isn't only a path of listening to God - it also involves listening to your body, to your true self, to the people in your life, and to the cosmos.

We'll finish this conversation with four things: a celebration of what we just learned, your first Mussar exercise, a little blessing, and with the discovery that our symbol for Mussar isn't just called a fleuron, it's also called...the floral heart! ❦

#Mussar #Hebrew #Shema #Ahavah #Listening #Loving #Discipline