Sunday April 9th – Week 2 – Justice and Discipline
Questions for Reflection
Gevurah - the emanation which bespeaks strength, discipline, restraint, and justice.
We'll spend the first 15 minutes or so deepening our understanding of what gevurah means. Then we'll focus on ways in which it appears to contrast with chesed (loving-kindness). Finally, we'll explore the thesis that God has a balance between chesed and gevurah in Mind for us.
A proverb to consider:
A man who does not restrain his own spirit is likened to a breached city without a protective wall (Proverbs 25:28)
Consider:
I. The loving-kindness of strength/discipline/justice.
What's so essential about the chesed of gevurah? What's wrong with strength/discipline/justice if it is not infused with loving-kindness?
II. The discipline of strength/discipline/justice.
What can go wrong with gevurah if it's not fashioned and implemented in a disciplined way?
III. The compassion of strength/discipline/justice.
What effect does compassion have upon gevurah, whether it involves the way we treat ourselves or others? How important is compassion to balancing loving-kindness and strength/discipline/justice?
IV. The endurance of strength/discipline/justice.
What are the consequences of being a weak or inconsistent disciplinarian?
V. The humility of strength/discipline/justice.
Do you have a recollection in our study of the Mitzvot of ways in which God worried about how judges, kings, and indeed all of us exercise our power arrogantly?
VI. The bonding in strength/discipline/justice.
What difference does binding make when, for example, a parent is disciplining a child?
VII. The dignity in strength/discipline/justice.
How can gevurah add to one's sovereignty/dignity? And how can it hurt or cripple it?
Concluding Discussion
{ Audio of Class Presentation and Discussion }