Tag Archive: Mussar
Chachma from LeBron James & Coach John Wooden
Just last week, the nation turned in to hear where, the self proclaimed, “King James,” a.k.a. LeBron James would decide to play the game of basketball! Indeed, people are still wrapped up in all the hoopla of LeBron James leaving his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers, and joing the Miami Heat! However, I’d rather focus on a man who recently passed away, just a few months ago, on June 4th, at the age of 99: Coach John Wooden. Coach Wooden, was someone who in my opinion fulfilled the words of our Sages who teach, “yesh chachma bagoyim” there is wisdom among the nations! Indeed, Rashi also contends that he who truly values wisdom will seek it wherever it can be found. In fact, our Sages even institute a special blessing to be said upon meeting a great non-Jewish scholar. In short, Coach Wooden is the polar opposite of “King James.” For instance, despite receiving other offers throughout the years, he never left his beloved UCLA Basketball Team. Moreover, he was a man of great ethics and principals. However, as related in this Rick Reily ESPN.com Video below, his greatest love was not the game of basketball. Instead, it is and remained, even after she died – his wife. For years on end, he would still write her poetry and cry over his lose of his beloved life companion.
Additionally, being that we believe that Secular knowledge is not inherently negative (see here), I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that although his UCLA Bruins won a record 10 NCAA national championships and their 88-game winning streak is the longest in major collegiate basketball history, his favorite part of coaching was leading the practice sessions in which he taught the fundamentals that were the foundation of his success. He would teach his players everything from the proper way to put on their socks to lacing their shoes! After all, he used to say, “It’s the little things that make the big things happen.”
All in all, Coach Wooden was more than a basketball coach, he was arguably the first Life Coach and always more pleased by his players’ success in life than on the basketball court. There’s much we can learn from him. Here are some of his quotes that can relate to us in our daily lives:
- “Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.”
- “Never mistake activity for achievement.”
- “Winning takes talent; to repeat takes character.”
- “I’d rather have a lot of talent and a little experience than a lot of experience and a little talent.”
- “A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.”
- “If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything. I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes.”
- “If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?”
- It isn’t what you do, but how you do it.”
- “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”
- “Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”
- “Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”
In the midst of the era of athletes and sports figures becoming so ego-centric that it’s news when an athlete makes a subtle quiet announcement (see here in regards to Keven Durant) I hope Coach Wooden’s words will be an inspiration and remind us to keep our eyes on the real prize of life!
I highly recommend: Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success: Building Blocks For a Better Life.
I highly recommend: LeBronathon: How to Hype Up Your Life, by Rabbi Boruch Leff.
A Mussar Message from Steve Nash!
As a child, I was a resilient follower of my local sports teams. Frankly, that was an easy task as I grew up in Los Angeles, during an era in which the Dodgers won the World Series and the Lakers…have they ever been bad? Anyways, as time went on my interests began to wane. Nowadays, I would say that when I do tune in to sports I like to follow a different angle. Truth be told, YC noted my current interest in professional sports in this recent Tweet. That said, I’d be remiss to not mention how I’ve been inspired by the playing and preservance of the 36 year-old Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns. Nash, a two time regular season MVP, (finally) led his team to the Western Conference Championships. However, from my prospective, win or loose, he has shown that he has a true love for the game, and by extension, a seemingly innate desire to act as a playmaker and win the NBA Title. In the previous round, in which his team defeated the San Antonio Spurs, Steve Nash was clobbered so badly that one of his eyes was swollen shut! Nonetheless, after withstanding a couple of stitches he quickly headed back out to the floor to resume his role as Point Guard and Captain of his team. Furthermore, as if he enjoyed these altercations, in the current series against the Lakers, he has already been besieged with a broken nose.
So let’s get this straight.
Standing at only a bit over 6 feet tall (see here) he may seem like a giant to us common-folk. However, in the National Basketball Association, he’s really a small guy, who because of his scrawniness, could get unintentionally bruised up, banged up, and so on and so forth. Additionally, he is playing in a league with speedy young men. And yet, despite his “old” age, the wear and tear on his body and his height, the guy is a hoops machine! He just keeps on shooting and winning regardless of what’s stitched or broken.
Likewise, hats off to Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks, who played after seven teeth got knocked out. Guess what? His team is now in the Stanley Cup Finals!
Reading about the stories of Steve Nash and Duncan Keith, reminds me that as human beings, we can live a life in which obstacles are placed in our way. Moreover, at times, things are broken one after another seemingly so frequently, that all we may want to do is curl up into the fetal position and cry! And frankly, if we did so, it wouldn’t be wrong. If Nash or Keith would have taken the rest of the night off they had every reason to not play. After all, it’s not within reason to compete at the highest level with one eye or several missing teeth! That said, they kept their “eye(s) on the prize” and didn’t let anything sway or distract them. The best thing to do in life is to remember the wise words of Bill Copeland who famously remarked, “The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score.”
As such, I implore everyone to have a goal in life. If you don’t yet know what your goal is, I suggest you take some time TODAY to define your goal. Define your goal for the next six months, for the next year, for the next five years, and certainly set a lifetime goal! In so doing, you will help ensure that despite any bumps or bruises in your personal road, you will know where the basket or net is to keep on shooting. It may take a bit longer to reach than you anticipated; or you may have to try a different method or approach to reach your goal. That said, if you pick yourself up, instead of looking for self pity, and keep on entering and shooting in the game called life, you will constantly move in a positive direction.
For another perspective on sports see this recent article by Dr. William Kolbrenner.
Rabbi Yaakov Hillel—A Real Kabbalist
While I am not of Sephardic decent, I have a great amount of respect for their practices and heritage. Indeed, I even enjoy praying at the occasional Sephardic Minyan and listening to the Middle Eastern incantations and melodies. Recently, I was fortunate to meet with and speak to one of the most well respected Sephardic Sages of our time-the great Rabbi Yaakov Hillel. Accordingly, I thought it would be appropriate to enlighten my readership to some of his English and Hebrew books that exude the wisdom of Judaism.
In his first book to ever be translated into English, Faith and Folly: The Occult in Torah Perspective (Tamim Tehiyah) Rabbi Yaakov Hillel, the Dean of Yeshivat Chevrat Ahavat Shalom in Jerusalem and a authoritative figure on mystical subjects, tackles the issues of superstitions, astrology, palmistry, sorcery, and other esoteric practices. In this 119 page book, Rabbi Hillel guides us clearly and concisely through the practices, telling us what is sanctioned and what is forbidden today.
It is worth noting however, that he strongly does not approve of Practical Kabbalah:
“If a person uses Practical Kabbalah…the evil that adheres to the good will cling to him. His soul which he had hoped to purify, will be sullied with evil (Faith and Folly page 45).”
“No one should use Practical Kabbalah unless he has been informed by Eliyahu Ha-Navi or shown clear signs that God wills it and his soul is suited for it (ibid page 47).”
In fact, the holy Arizal not only forbade teaching this form of Kabbalah to his disciple Rabbi Chaim Vital, but he also prohibited the use of Practical Kabbalah (Sha’ar Ha-Mitzvot, Parashat Shemot)
While there is much more that can be discussed on this topic, it is worth surveying the sources that Rabbi Hillel provides us. Quickly, we will all be able to make an educated opinion as to both our study of Torah and spiritual focus.
Additionally, another work of his that has recently been made available to the English speaking public is titled, Roni Akarah: A Guide for the Childless Couple. Whether one is religious or unaffiliated, Jewish or non-Jewish, infertility afflicts thousands of couples every year. To that end, this book is written with wisdom and sensitivity and is a treasure house of knowledge and encouragement for a Jewish husband and wife.
Finally, arguably the most recognized work of Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto is Messillat Yesharim (The Path of the Just). Nowadays however, some people feel that they can’t relate to the ebb and flow of this work. In light of the above, while many fine translations have been written for this work, the way in which Rabbi Yaakov Hillel presents and explains Luzzatto’s words in Ascending the Path, truly makes it once again relevant for our generation.
Amongst the many books that he has authored in Hebrew, I have most enjoyed the small but powerful Ad HaGal HaZeh. Rabbi Reuven Boshnack provides a nice summary of just some of the points that Rabbi Hillel discusses. Truthfully, what I benefited from the most was not just the Rabbi Hillel’s clear style of conveying esoteric concepts, but it was the organized Table of Contents that helped me navigate the work despite the complicated ideas written in Hebrew. Likewise, I enjoyed the fact that every quote was sourced and annotated to its fullest extent. Indeed, while I enjoyed the fact that the most recent English book from Rabbi Yaakov Hillel, Ascending Jacob’s Ladder, spoke to both the layperson and scholar alike, I felt that it was lacking his normal citations that apparently had been lost in translation
All in all, with thousands of Jews and non-Jews alike searching for knowledge of “Kabbalah,” but instead receiving a watered down version of pop-psychology mixed with a tea spoon of traditional Jewish mysticism, I would encourage any seeking soul to learn from the words of Rabbi Yaakov Hillel-A Real Kabbalist!
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