A Prayer before Mussar Study

This is the prayer I use to open each session of Soul Trait Studio.

Well Balanced Stones via Getty (styf22)

Weaver of the Worlds our Connection and Foundation, source of compassion and forgiveness, we offer gratitude and great respect to you, holy one of our ancestors, as well as to the elements, unseen beings, plants and animals, indigenous people and refugees everywhere, and to our bright and benevolent ancestors.

We offer gratitude and great respect to our many teachers of the human and more than human world, who teach through their words, their actions, and their presence.

Thank you for revealing some of the mysteries of your way through the practices of Mussar.

May each of us, in our right way and pace, engage our soul’s curriculum and embrace the gifts of each middah (soul trait) and the interconnections between them. 

May each of us, in our right way and pace, engage our soul’s curriculum to understand the burden of each middah (soul trait) when it is out of balance or engaged in an unhealthy way.

May each of us, in our right way and pace, engage our soul’s curriculum for the liberation of all people and the good of all beings.

Please forgive the times we have missed the mark whether through thoughtlessness, unkindness, or exhaustion.

It is a blessing to better know ourselves, understand the impact of our choices on ourselves and others, and know that by striving to be agents of holy change — we are part of the re-weaving of creation.

Blessed are you who creates endless opportunities for us to choose holiness.

V’eimru: Amen

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By Kohenet Ketzirah haMa’agelet

Inspired by A Prayer before Torah Study, by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi z”l and is shared by the living contributor(s) with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.