The AishDas Society Charter

iymino AishDas lamo." AishDas is read from the Torah as two words. Aish, the fire of faith, a soul aflame, striving for fulfillment, seeking its creator. Das, ritual, the precision of halachic law, understanding and grasping the details of the mission for which Hashem chose us. It is written as a single word, unique in Tanach, untranslatable. AishDas is the synthesis of the fire and the law, a whole that is greater than its parts.

 

f one to reach this level, Torah must become the whole life. It is not enough to pursue the depths of the soul to reach the fire within. Das must not be limited to the synagogue or the tzedakah box, but an entire lifestyle. Halachah defines our primary relationships – with our fellow man, with Hashem, and with ourselves. To build hislehavus we must reconnect our shemiras hamitzvos to the basic principles of Torah, Avodah, and Gemillus Chassadim.

 

o burn with AishDas means to learn from and grow with the mitzvos. To be observant not merely out of habit or upbringing, but to connect with the deed on intellectual and emotional levels.

 

his is the goal of The AishDas Society: to build a community that supports adding thought to our avodas Hashem through the in-depth study of hashkafah and encourages the heart’s struggle with the mussar issues of our thoughts, decisions and actions.

 

or clothing ourselves in the tif'eres of Torah, to enable us to think and feel as G-d intended:

·  Building a philosophy and world-view through a study of machshavah. An observant life is incomplete without spending focused time thinking about the purpose of a halachic lifestyle and one's relationship to the Giver of those laws.

·  Regular chaburos in mussar – both in studying sifrei mussar, and as a va’ad aiding each other in its practice. True hislamdus and hispa’alus through lengthy contemplation of each thought and of how to apply it to one’s own life.

·  Engaging in hisbodedus to take time to contemplate oneself and one’s relationship with Hakadosh baruch Hu.

·  Contemplating one’s objectives in avodas Hashem and setting oneself at kabbalos at regular times during the year.

s means of kindling a da'as of Hashem a member of the igud should commit to:

·  Studying of the meaning of the words of the tephillah as means of connecting to the ancient words. Kavanos should be prepared in advance, and contemplated during actual prayer.

·  Enhancing tephillah through the use of music that both fits the text of the tephillah, as well as touches the hearts and souls of the mispallelim.

·  Reintroducing tachnunim – informal prayers outside of the fixed text. A personal relationship with Hashem, and a sense of His immediacy as a Provider, is thereby nurtured.

·  Each halachah is to be studied to understand how it fits within one's personal hashkafah. Seeking an emotional center and overall goal for performance of each din and create more profound and fulfilling mitzvah performance.

o fan the spark of rachamim in our relationships bein adam l'chaveiro on personal, communal, and global levels, we must focus on:

·  Increasing the study of practical laws of business and personal finance. Kedushah cannot be attained without bringing it to the many hours we spend in our professional lives.

·  Paying greater attention to personal relationships: proper observance of kibud av va'eim, shalom bayis, proper upbringing and nurturing of our children, and showing warmth and kindness to neighbors and friends.

·  Increasing effort to help build our respective communities, both in the formal sense of communal institutions (the bikur cholim, the chevrah kaddisha, the tomchei shabbos) but also on the personal level where such institutions do not exist.

·  Supporting Ahavas Yisrael and tikun olam on a global level. This would be expressed both in the bitachon expressed by tephillah and tachnunim and in the hishtadlus of active participation in political efforts.

 small army of pioneers in kedushah could be an example for Am Yisrael, as the entire nation should be in its task as a model for the entire world.