Changing the World from the Inside Out: A Jewish Approach to Personal and Social Change

Rabbi Salanter created a movement with systematic practices for opening the heart and aligning what we know is right with how we actually behave. This included rigorous study of Jewish ethical literature, fervent and emotional chanting of ethical teachings, meditation, daily practices to develop character traits (middot), and careful review and rec

We develop sensitivity to our inner life not just by noticing when we explode, but by looking for little signs of when we get triggered.

To live fully means to engage this paradox and be, at once, completely oneself—unique and distinct—and at the same time cognizant that separation is only an illusion

Simcha is a key tool for change makers. Despair is a partner of oppression. People or systems that promote exploitation consciously and unconsciously try to get people to feel powerless and bad about themselves, so they won’t challenge the exploitation. Someone in despair is not going to put up much of a fight against oppression.

When alone, at night, with just God and me, the ego gets to melt away. In this safe, intimate space, I get to say exactly what is on my mind. I also get to ask God what God wants of me. Sometimes it takes a few minutes of speaking around an issue until my heart opens.

Soul accounting can be done as a form of hitbodedut, spoken out loud (as described in the last chapter). You can also write your cheshbon hanefesh in a journal, keeping a narrative record of your inner life.16 A regular soul-accounting practice will produce a wealth of information about your inner life. This practice will be described at length in

What is at least one deep desire you have that brings you to this kind of social-change work? Use at least half of your soul-accounting time to meditate on or speak about this desire/motivation. Why do you care so much? If you relate to the idea of God’s will, is this a motivating factor in any way?

this type of sensitivity is central to Mussar practice, which Rabbi Yisrael claimed was the discipline to awaken “hearts [that] are unfeeling and hard as stone.”15

A companion practice to finding good points is judging people favorably. A classic Jewish teaching instructs us, “One should make it a practice to judge all people favorably.”