Mishpacha Lifelines: New Lease on Life (character growth)

PinkFridge

Fri, May 08 2015, 12:31 pm

This week's Lifelines was written by Dr. Tuvia Meister, shlit"a (I use this term in the literal sense of a bracha, though he is worthy of it). As September June's sig line says, sometimes the biggest challenge in our Yiddishkeit comes from other people. Here's a snip of how one person, the author, responded:

As someone who was drawn to the frum community for its high moral and ethical standards, I was always very bothered when I encountered frum people whose behavior was less than stellar. I thought that Yiddishkeit was good, and that frum people were good, and it hurt to discover that the society I had joined wasn't as perfect as I had imagined.

Rather than become disillusioned, however, I chose to use my disappointment as a catalyst for self-improvement. Now that I sported a beard and peyos, people were looking at me as a representative of Yiddishkeit. Did my behavior live up to the standards I expected of my frum counterparts? Or was I also guiltyu of hypocrisy, faithfully observing minute details of halacha while flouting basic moral standards or stepping on the people around me?

I couldn't change other people, but at least I could change myself. And if I took an honest look in the mirror, there was much that needed change. I have to say, studying all of the Torah was easy compared to working on my middos.

New Lease on Life, Lifelines, Mishpacha, May 6 2015

I look forward to finishing it over Shabbos, and our sharing thoughts. I know there's a working on middos forum but it's closed, and I'm not sure if I can rise to the challenge of even trying to get in Wink