Counting the Omer Day Nine: Gevurah of Gevurah
Gevurah of gevurah. “Discipline of discipline.”
It may seem a little strange to ask if your discipline is disciplined, but it’s actually an important question.
When you criticize someone, do you do it in an appropriate manner? Are you able to keep any anger or negative feelings in check?
Gevurah is also “strength.” Can you control your strength, or does it sometimes get away from you?
A lot of problems happen when people lose the ability to control their critical side. The Talmud tells us that just as one is obligated to rebuke someone when you see him doing something wrong (it’s in the Torah, “you shall surely rebuke your neighbor…”) one is also obligated to REFRAIN from rebuking when you know the rebuke will not be heeded. Are you able to do that? Are you able to remember that your rebuke should come from the side of chesed, love, and if the other person isn’t ready to hear it, it won’t help him? In that situation you must have the discipline to refrain from disciplining the other person. Sometimes it’s hard. We can get so caught up in our sense of righteous indignation that we can’t stop our criticism from bursting out. That approach is not always helpful…
