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Five Mussar Lessons From Star Wars

December 16, 2015 By Greg Marcus 1 Comment

I was super caught up in the hype prior to the release of The Force Awakens. I was inspired to write five mussar lessons from Star Wars.

I was in 4th grade when Star Wars first came out, and my father took me to opening night of each of the original three movies. And my beloved wife bought tickets for the whole family to go opening night on Friday. Given that it is hard for me to think of anything other than Star Wars this morning, I thought I would try to do some soul work with my obsessive focus. So here are five American Mussar lessons we can learn from Star Wars

1. The Spiritual is more powerful than technology.

At the end of Star Wars episode 4, Luke turns off his targeting computer, and uses the Force to destroy the Death Star. For all that this forerunner of the franchise is recognized as a science fiction powerhouse, at the end of the day it is the power of something greater, something unseen that changes the world. Technology is but a tool. It is not like Luke isn’t using technology – he is. But technology cannot guide technology, it must be a human hand inspired by something greater.

The Soul Trait in play here is Awe of Something Greater. On my best mornings, I meditate for 40 minutes, and am filled with a Divine energy that powers me through the day. Five years ago I would have bet you a million dollars that I would never write or feel such a thing. But the truth is, that on multiple occasions I have tacked obstacles that I thought were impossible after a deep meditation. The answer was not found out there, but became apparent when I unblocked my Divine Spark.

2. We are driven by the battle between the Good and Evil Inclinations

The first three movies in the series are about the battle within Anakin Skywalker between the dark side and the light side of the Force. Such a battle goes on inside of each of us every day. We are presented with Choice Points, spiritual challenges where we can pick the good or evil path. Each decision makes it more likely that we will make a similar decision in the future, as it says in the the Talmud, “one mitzvah leads to another mitzvah, and one sin leads to another sin.” Anakin does not become Darth Vader overnight. He makes a series of choices that leads him to become the embodiment of evil. Yet the battle still rages within, and eventually the good once again becomes ascendant as he returns to his Jedi roots to kill the Emperor.

3. Too Much Good is Bad

Yoda caused the destruction of the Jedi because he was too Humble. In the third movie, Anakin goes to Yoda sick at heart because he has visions of Padme’s death. Yoda stayed with the party line that “Attachment leads to jealousy”, and advises him to “let go … of everything you fear to lose.” Where else does Anakin have to go but towards the dark side? Yoda was a leader, who could have bent the rules and helped Anakin come out of hiding with his marriage, and helped him channel his strong emotions. Anakin was prophesied to bring balance to the Force, and he did in an sense because he wiped out the Jedi who became detached from human emotion, and then defeated the Emperor who became ruled by his dark emotions. We cannot defeat the Evil Inclination, nor should we want to. When the Rabbis trapped the Evil Inclination, the chickens stopped laying eggs, and no one went to work. The key is to guide our impulses and emotions, and not let them control us.

4. No Victory is Complete

I haven’t seen the movie yet, but a shadowy figure in front of a melted Darth Vader helmet shows that the battle within is a constant one. Rabbi Dessler teaches that one the Evil Inclination tries to lull us into complacency by telling us that we are done (Strive for Truth p 46). We then let down our guard, and become susceptible to the impulses that lead to bad decisions. We need the Soul Trait of Enthusiasm to keep our focus on proactively doing the right thing.

5. Keep Going When It Seems Hopeless

It doesn’t get much darker than the end of Episode 3. We know that things will get better with A New Hope. Rabbi Tarfon taught, “It is not incumbent on you to complete the task, but neither are you at liberty to desist from it.” (Pirkei Avot 2:16). Moses did not live to see the Promised Land, just as Obi Wan and Yoda did survive to see the victory in Jedi. Each of these great leaders kept going when all seemed lost. And for every Yoda and Moses, there were thousands of people doing their small part in service of something greater.

What do you think of these five mussar lessons from Star Wars? Do they fit with your life experience? Let me know below or on Facebook.

Want to start your own American Mussar journey? Take the free Soul Trait Profile Quiz and get the American Mussar Sampler as a bonus. Click here to begin.

The Mussar Perspective on the Chicago Police

December 3, 2015 By Greg Marcus Leave a Comment

This week I’ve started practicing the Soul Trait of Responsibility for the first time. It seemed fitting somehow, as I met the Tuesday deadline for the second round of edits to my manuscript. The Hebrew word for the Responsibility Soul Trait can be translated as either “after” or “other.” The “after” translation leads one to interpret the soul trait in terms of consequences – we are responsible when we understand and account for the consequences of our actions. The “other” translation brings our attention to the needs of other people, and thus we are responsible when we are looking out for other people.

I also thought of Responsibility when Rahm Emmanuel fired the police superintendent for the suppressed video of Laquan McDonald’s killing. Emmanuel is the antithesis of responsibility, throwing anyone he can under the bus when it seems clear to me that his interest was served by keeping the video out of the spotlight during his re-election campaign. But it is not for us to kibitz Emmanuel’s spiritual curriculum. I am more interested in the “blue wall of silence” culture in the Chicago PD and other police departments, in which police officers close ranks to cover up wrongdoing by other officers by remaining silent, making false statements, or destroying evidence. Here is my Mussar perspective on the Chicago Police.

Mussar teaches that Responsibility governs our sensitivity to the needs of others, and of the consequences of our actions. Chicago PD shows neither.

Officer Jason Van Dyke, the shooter, has a history of excessive force complaints. One resulted in a $350K payout for excessive force, and in this case, -‘s mother was paid $5M. Here is my solution:

Have 10% of the funds for police excessive force or wrongful death settlements come from the police pension fund.

A police officer’s pension is highly prized, and having a portion of the settlement money come from the pensions gives every officer an incentive to get cops with repeated complaints like Van Dyke off the force. Imagine what would happen if it could cost every officer money if a cop starts to beat up a suspect? The other officers would say “knock it off” to nip it in the bud before it became a systemic issue.

Usually it is a small number of bad actors who account for the majority of excessive force complaints. For example, none of the 8 other officers on the scene fired their weapons, but all of them participated in the cover up. Let’s make a clear consequence, to give each of them an incentive to practice Responsibility. Instead of thinking of their fellow cops first, they must be retrained to be responsible to the public. And I don’t mean lecture training – I mean pocketbook-consequences training.

What do you think?

iAMResponsible

Greg

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How Do We Show Gratitude Towards Veterans?

November 11, 2015 By Greg Marcus Leave a Comment

On this Veterans Day, I was working on the Gratitude chapter of my forthcoming book. On the drive home, I heard the end of a discussion of Vets in college. The speaker made reference to the loneliness that many Veterans feel. She suggested that they try to reach out to different professors or professionals. As she put it, “Educators love to help people. We don’t do it for the the money, and if you don’t connect with the first person, try someone else.”

While my father and grandfather were both in the service, few of my friends are veterans, and none of them were in combat. The reality is, I don’t have the slightest idea what combat veterans have gone through. My knowledge comes from movies like The Hurt Locker and American Sniper. In each movie, a veteran comes home, and really struggles to re-integrate into society.

One common approach that I’ve seen and used myself is to say, “Thank you for your service.” I’m told that this can make Veterans uncomfortable. They feel it is their duty to serve, and further, sometimes the generic “thank you for your service” can come across with an unspoken “I don’t know why you did it, because I sure never would have signed up to go to war.” For me, the “thank you for your service” at least gave me something to say. So if that statement isn’t appropriate, what is?

One thing that comes to mind is a phrase I picked up from an essay by Sheryl Sandberg about dealing with people after the accidental death of her husband. Sandberg explained that the question, “How are you today?” displayed a sensitivity because it acknowledged that globally she is far from fine, and allowed for a relative answer. I don’t know how well that will translate to the case of talking to a Veteran, because they may or may not be struggling personally. Perhaps the answer is to ask a personalized question, like “When did you serve?” or “How has the transition back to civilian life been for you?”

Hmmm, the latter is a bit scary, because it opens the door to an answer that could be intense.

Mussar started this line of thought for me, so perhaps Mussar can help answer the question. How do we show Gratitude towards Veterans? The Soul Trait Gratitude is a measure of how we see the world. The literal translation from the Hebrew for this Soul Trait is “Recognizing the good,” as in finding the good in any situation that life puts you in. Part of practicing Gratitude is not taking things for granted, and we certainly should not take it for granted that people are willing to volunteer for combat duty. Yet if we shouldn’t say “thank you,” what should we do?

One approach is to practice Honor, which teaches us to honor the Divine Spark in others. Rabbi Alan Lew wrote that when we look at life through a spiritual lens, for every situation we ask ourselves “How did I contribute to this situation?” and “What can I do to make sure it doesn’t happen again?” We live in a country where our Veterans suffer from PTSD, depression, and commit suicide at an alarming rate. Maybe the answer is on two fronts:

Personal connection as above when we meet or know a Veteran, as above
Action in the political arena. For example, too long we tolerated a government that did not adequately fund the VA. I read an encouraging article today that a growing number of cities and states have resolved to end Veteran homelessness.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject. I really am looking for answers, and additional ways to either connect or help. Please share your ideas below.

#iAMGrateful

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