Bring order in life, one step at a time.

Order gives structure to our days and environment so as to maximize our ability and effectiveness. However, order can be demonstrated in unhealthy ways. Order out of balance can either appear completely obsessive and neat to a fault, while on the other end of the spectrum a total lack of order appears as chaos and disarray. Those who embody order have actions, possessions and tasks all of an orderly nature – everything has a set place and a set time.

featured articles

order within and without

Order begins within, but inevitably shows up on the outside. “External disorder may be a reflection of internal disarray,” as Alan Morinis reminds us.1 Now, as I’m writing thi...

by rabbi russ resnik on Mar 31, 2013 in torah

order up

“All your actions and possessions should be orderly – each and every one in a set place and set time. Let your thoughts always be free to deal with that which lies ahead of you....

by rebbetzin malkah on Aug 21, 2012 in daily living

order and priorities

"Whatever sacrifice is offered more regularly than its fellow takes precedence over its fellow, and whatever sacrifice is more holy than its fellow takes precedence over its fellow"...

by rav carl kinbar on Nov 19, 2011 in mesorah

a good place to start

This week, in the order of the Jewish calendar, we have the first haftarah of admonition (Jeremiah 1:1─2:3). The Rabbis instituted the reading of special haftarot in the...

by rabbi benjamin ehrenfeld on Jul 15, 2011 in torah

omer and order

Of all the biblical holidays, only Shavuot – the time of the giving of Torah – lacks a specific date. Instead of giving a month and a day as with other holidays, the Torah tells...

by rabbi russ resnik on Apr 20, 2011 in torah

order of leaving egypt

It is no small thing that the middah associated with the beginning of Pesach this year is seder (order). Drawing from insights I have heard and read from great scholars of...

by rabbi benjamin ehrenfeld on Apr 14, 2011 in torah

order through the body

The Hebrew word for order is seder. This same Hebrew root also gives rise to words like sederah which means a "row", and siddur which is a "prayer book." Order brings stability, co...

by rebbetzin malkah on Oct 11, 2010 in meditation

steady maintenance

In my own pursuit of Mussar, I find myself returning to Order more than any other middah. I can think of three reasons for this. ...

by rabbi russ resnik on Sep 17, 2010 in besorah

accounting  questions to ask yourself Use these questions to evaluate your day: What were the "seeds" that started to affect your order today? Did you start your day with a plan?  Did that plan come to fruiti... by rebbetzin malkah on Oct 11, 2010

quotes  from the mussar masters “Align the course of your feet, and [thereby] all your ways will be corrected.” – Proverbs 4:26 “If a person in need of discipline is obstinate and resistive, he may sud... by riverton mussar on Oct 6, 2010

more articles

daily living

 order up “All your actions and possessions should be orderly – each and every one in a set place and set time. Let your thoughts always be free to deal with that which lies ahead of you.... by rebbetzin malkah on Aug 21, 2012 sequence and order As a child I was diagnosed with Nonverbal Learning Disorder (NVLD). One of the clearest indicators of this learning difference was my early inability to process information out of s... by rabbi benjamin ehrenfeld on Feb 19, 2012 putting life in order There was an office sign that read “a clean desk is a sign of a disturbed mind.”  Anyone who has ever battled with a cluttered desk could smile at that statement. ... by rabbi michael schiffman on Nov 21, 2011 eat that frog There's an old saying that goes, "If the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning is eat a live frog, then nothing worse can happen for the rest of the day!" ... by rabbi paul saal on Jul 15, 2011 order in the midst of chaos During the last half of December through the month of January, I was recuperating from surgery and was, for the most part, bedridden. To pass the time, I played an online game calle... by rabbi michael schiffman on Apr 15, 2011 multi-tasking or distraction? Life is chaotic, but our souls don’t need to be. The wisdom of Mussar is that we can increase our inward order through practical action in our outward surroundings. ... by rabbi russ resnik on Jan 16, 2011 FaceGod not FaceBook Do you ever feel overwhelmed—like you just have too much on your plate and you cannot keep up? Here at First Fruits of Zion, we are always taking on more projects than we can h... by boaz michael on Nov 1, 2010 order in the face of chaos Luis Urzua has played a special role in this drama [Chilean mine ordeal]. He is credited with having kept the miners together back in August when there was no hope in sight.  W... by rebbetzin malkah on Oct 12, 2010

torah

 order within and without Order begins within, but inevitably shows up on the outside. “External disorder may be a reflection of internal disarray,” as Alan Morinis reminds us.1 Now, as I’m writing thi... by rabbi russ resnik on Mar 31, 2013 turn aside to order Moses said, “I must turn aside to look at this marvelous sight . . .” (Ex. 3:3). All of the middot are practical, and order might contend to be the most practical of all. ... by rabbi russ resnik on Dec 30, 2012 both inner and outer order When I began to focus intently on the Shema earlier this year, I realized I’d have to make some changes to line up with what I was reading, three in particular: I’d have to real... by rabbi russ resnik on Nov 19, 2011 a good place to start This week, in the order of the Jewish calendar, we have the first haftarah of admonition (Jeremiah 1:1─2:3). The Rabbis instituted the reading of special haftarot in the... by rabbi benjamin ehrenfeld on Jul 15, 2011 omer and order Of all the biblical holidays, only Shavuot – the time of the giving of Torah – lacks a specific date. Instead of giving a month and a day as with other holidays, the Torah tells... by rabbi russ resnik on Apr 20, 2011 order of leaving egypt It is no small thing that the middah associated with the beginning of Pesach this year is seder (order). Drawing from insights I have heard and read from great scholars of... by rabbi benjamin ehrenfeld on Apr 14, 2011 order from above G-d must be an engineer.  Well, at least I try to tell myself this.  We all look at Hashem through the lenses of our own experience.  I like to build things, and h... by rav rafael on Oct 14, 2010 order from below Every system in the universe has many forces acting on it that have the potential to disrupt and disorganize the original intended order.  In the beginning, God pulled His �... by rav rafael on Oct 14, 2010

besorah

 self-triage first Why is it that you see the speck in the eye of your brother, but the log that is in your eye, you do not notice? How can you tell your brother, “Permit me, and I will remove the s... by rebbetzin malkah on Jan 15, 2011 order as peace For Rav Shaul, “order” was a communal necessity. The gifted congregation in Corinth was instructed to conduct their meetings orderly (1 Cor 14:40). There is a very short phra... by rabbi benjamin ehrenfeld on Oct 14, 2010 steady maintenance In my own pursuit of Mussar, I find myself returning to Order more than any other middah. I can think of three reasons for this. ... by rabbi russ resnik on Sep 17, 2010

mesorah

 order and priorities "Whatever sacrifice is offered more regularly than its fellow takes precedence over its fellow, and whatever sacrifice is more holy than its fellow takes precedence over its fellow"... by rav carl kinbar on Nov 19, 2011 Shema: 4D approach to life Do you like to make choices?  Whether you do or not, it seems as though for each of us there is a never-ending stream of options that place demands upon our time and threaten t... by rabbi paul saal on Apr 15, 2011 the most natural order Not surprisingly, the name for the collection of blessing and davening texts for the Jewish people is the siddur, which comes from the word, seder (order). ... by rabbi benjamin ehrenfeld on Jan 13, 2011 from the rising of the sun until its setting On going to bed one says from ’Hear, oh Israel’ to ‘And it shall come to pass if you hearken diligently.’ Then he says: ‘’Blessed is He who causes the bands of sleep to f... by rebbetzin malkah on Sep 13, 2010

meditation

 order through the body The Hebrew word for order is seder. This same Hebrew root also gives rise to words like sederah which means a "row", and siddur which is a "prayer book." Order brings stability, co... by rebbetzin malkah on Oct 11, 2010

stories

 the long and short path Said Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananiah: "Once a child got the better of me." "I was traveling, and I met with a child at a crossroads. I asked him, 'Which way to the city?' and he an... by rav rafael on Oct 16, 2010 marked pages of the siddur As we consider our prayerbook, the siddur, as a crucial component of an ordered and prayerful life, remember that it is also the simple prayer of a contrite heart and the proper int... by rav rafael on Oct 16, 2010

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