Tuesday spiritual literature post, from Hasidic Anthology by Louis I. Newman: The Example of Self-Restraint "Of what avail is mere study of the Torah when he who learns is contaminated by pride and temper? The good man should himself be the Torah, and people should be able to learn good conduct from observing him." Self-Forgiveness in old age "We often see an old man who has spent his life in excesses, imitating in his declining years the works of the pious. He does not indulge himself in food; he rises early to pray and to recite the Psalms. He imagines he has become a pious man by the performance of acts which simulate piety. But he forgets that his abstinence from food and sleep is due chiefly to his weakened desires. He becomes so self-satisfied that he 'forgives himself his own sins.' The result, however, is that he dies without true repentance. May the Lord preserve us from such a fate!" Patience Under Annoyance "The truly humble man is unable to ...
