speech ∙ PAUSE before you POST

get ∙ unstuck

experiments in spiritual mobility

What if something small and relatively painless could change the way you wake up and go to sleep, the way you eat and drive and schmooze and think, the way you relate to your most annoying co-worker and your best friend, the way you see the world? We're willing to bet that if you experiment with one age-old/ completely-new Jewish spiritual practice each month, it might actually change your life. Whether you're a rookie or an old Jewish pro, we'll help you find something that's just uncomfortable enough. You in?

PAUSE before you POST:

practice practice practice restraint

Remember that insult that felt like a punch in the gut? The words that stuck – even years later? The nasty, unnecessary jab, the diminishing side-bar, the public attack, the anonymous talk-back?

Remember those words you regretted the minute they left your mouth? The insult you crafted perfectly to maximize injury? The attack that never should have slipped out? That time you accidentally cc’ed the whole group??

We’ve all been on both sides of this one.

Words can destroy reputations, break hearts, spread despair, cause immeasurable pain. And we know that words can be a vehicle to share our longing and our dreams, reveal our deepest truths, inspire, support and challenge one another.

Judaism takes words really seriously. Speaking negatively about someone (lashon hara if it’s true, motzi shem ra if it’s false) is considered worse than murder (Yerushalmi Peah 1:1). Once you put it out there, you can’t take it back - and you have no idea the impact it may have.

That’s why this month’s spiritual experiment is designed to WAKE us UP to the way we speak. We’re pretty convinced that becoming mindful of our words will change the way we relate to one another and even how we feel about ourselves.

are you a beginner?
Tape a note to your computer: PAUSE before you POST. The world doesn’t need to hear you at your worst this month.

ready for more?

Designate one hour each day for a month in which you will not say ANYTHING negative about someone else. (Can’t be 3-4am.)

already a ringer?

Create a kvetch jar. Each time you notice yourself speaking sloppily, put in a dime, or a dollar, or $100. At the end of the month, give the money to tzedakah. At least something good should come out of your dirty mouth.

Want more? Meet IKAR of JUDAISM: Home Edition. We're taking the learning to a living room in your neighborhood, with monthly house parties all over the City and Valley. Mark your calendars:

ikarofjew@ikar-la.org

LEARN MORE:

Try our Shabbat Challenge:

Power Down & Dream Big:

http://ikar-la.org/getunstuck/shabbat

Try our Kashrut Challenge:

Eat Holy

http://ikar-la.org/getunstuck/kashrut

Try our Tzedakah Challenge:

Give Holy

http://ikar-la.org/getunstuck/tzedakah

Try our Hesed Challenge: