Yes, you are decent people, but that is not what I had in mind

The words are from a poem written by a Hassidic mystic as he was adressing his disciples. So many times we confuse the call of religion with the call of society, to become decent, functional people.

If our idea of following the spiritual path is to become successful or to fit in to today’s society we are not following the voice of spirit but rather the spirit of the world.

The goal is not to become nice, or decent in fact if we turn to the Judeo-Christian texts it seems the opposite. The Navi...