Spiritual Homework

I am fortunate enough to take many interested, inspiring, and difficult classes at Pardes. Two of these classes involve "spiritual homework." Here is a taste of my spiritual homework from Chasidut from the past two weeks:

-Try and think of the central personalities in our lives. Not the people who are distant from us (celebrities, etc.) Think of the concentric circles within our reach. Who are the people who serve as focal points. Who are they? What is their message? How do they relate to us and the world? Shouldn't we be spending more time with these people?

-The רז'נר rebbe knew what his function and role was and how to do it. Do I know what my function is in this world? Do I know how to play that role? Am I moving in that direction? Do I need to refocus? What is my function in this world? What wavelength am I broadcasting on? What are my strengths?

-Sit down and examine our potential. Am I fulfilling my potential? Am I doing everything I can? Learning? Mitzvot? Am i expanding my borders and then filling them? Do I have the spiritual strength to expand my borders? Can I sustain my expansions? If I do have it, or don't have it, am I moving on? Which sorcers of spirituality do I need to tap into? What will be the sources of my spiritual strength next year?

-Look at the two kinds of Chasidic stories. Think about your expereince and discern which stories in your life are like mircale stories and which were more like real stories. Which ones moved us subtlely? Which are the ones that made us who we are?
Come back to the stories: am I walking around with our hands over our eyes? Why don't we take our hands off our eyes? Am I one of the people whose vitality and light disappears when I leave a specific place of spirituality? Can I take that light with me?


It's a lot to think about.
Happy learning.