Arba Yesodot

The four core areas where we should place our attention to live a balanced and meaningful life

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ARCHITECTURE OF THE SOUL

ARBA YESODOT

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“A centuries-old system that helps each person
embark upon a path of personal growth.”

Arba Yesodot

FOUR FOUNDATIONS FOR A FULFILLING AND HAPPY LIFE

The Arba Yesodot, or Four Foundations, is a centuries-old system that helps each person to organize their life, set and achieve goals, and embark upon a path of personal growth. It is very practical, and surprisingly intuitive, to the extent that you might even wonder why you never thought of it yourself (or maybe you already did!). The system has come to us through Rabbi Yosef Singer zt’l, the Pilzno Rav, who himself received it through a tradition going back to the Ba’al Shem Tov, zt’l. At the turn of the century, Rabbi Singer taught Rabbi Gerzi the system and entrusted him with teaching it to our generation, in language that we can understand and appreciate. Each foundation corresponds to one of the letters of the tetragrammaton, and Rabbi Gerzi teaches them from the most tangible to the most esoteric, despite the fact that it is in reverse order of the actual Yud-Kay-Vav-Kay

THE ARBA YESODOT ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1. THE FIRST YESOD

Physical and Financial Health

Eating healthily, exercising, being financially responsible.

PHYSICAL HEALTH involves maintaining a proper balance in our physical bodies, corresponding to the second ה in Hashem’s name and to our physical and financial state of being. The activities that are the foundation of physical health are called the Five Pillars – breathing, drinking, sleeping, movement and eating. A person who is working on all of the pillars will experience physical and emotional wellness, and will be more effective in everything they do. People often incorrectly isolate one aspect of their physical health, thinking “my sleep needs to improve” or “I need to get rid of this belly fat”. In reality, our physical system functions as an integrated whole.Moreover, our physical health has a direct impact on our more lofty “spiritual” or “ideological” goals. The more we treat our body as an integrated organism that needs our full care and attention, the better we will fare in all areas of our lives.

FINANCIAL HEALTH involves developing a mature mentality in regards to money, discovering your career path, and carrying out your job with fulfillment and happiness. The goals of Torah are to amass wealth and use it properly, as well as having a healthy relationship with one’s work habits and money. Financial stability and maturity can give a person the peace of mind to think about life, to clarify priorities, and to pursue higher goals.

2. THE SECOND YESOD

Relationships

Nurturing and developing our connections with family, friends, and community.

RELATIONSHIPS are the prime arena to develop our powers of giving, receiving, and communication, corresponding to the ו in Hashem’s name and to our social and emotional state of being. People who invest in building and maintaining friendships, connections to family, community, business networks, and support systems are generally happier than those who do not, and also feel more fulfilled. While it may appear to be a simple subject, there are many nuanced insights as to how to build relationships, as well as many mystical understandings of the significance of the various relationships in our lives.

Each partner in a relationship shares the basic needs of feeling seen and heard, feeling safe, feeling satisfied, and feeling respected by the other. The skills and perspective necessary to listen and communicate effectively, to respect and appreciate personal differences, and to grow within and from a relationship can be learned and practiced. By taking these steps, every relationship, including  the one you have with yourself, can be improved.

3. THE THIRD YESOD

Wisdom

Acquiring both Torah and relevant secular knowledge and using creativity to express and apply that knowledge.

WISDOM consists of three facets: acquisition, application, and creativity, corresponding to the first ה in Hashem’s name and to our mental state of being.The Jewish people always prioritize acquiring Torah wisdom. However, secular wisdom is also important, and can be used in order to build skills for a job or a career, to help others, or to complement Torah learning.Successful application of wisdom entails developing a system for living your learning. Too often, wisdom remains in the realm of the mind, never making its impact on the patterns of our daily lives.
The final aspect of wisdom is creativity, which is using our own divinely endowed sensibilities to develop new understandings of the world. This is a particularly important, and often overlooked, aspect of wisdom, which the Pilzno Rav very much emphasized.
4. THE FOURTH YESOD

Guidance

Finding and learning from one or more mentors in the various arenas of our life.

FINDING A MENTOR OR GUIDE corresponds to the י in Hashem’s name and to our spiritual state of being. Mentorship is essential for finding our general direction in life, for emotional issues, spiritual matters, and halacha, as well as for when one is learning or seeking to pursue a specific goal. The Pilzno Rav often said, “If you want to be successful at something, find the people who have already been successful and learn from them.”There is a relationship aspect to mentorship, so a good mentor is not just anyone knowledgeable or experienced, but one who will see and hear you, appreciate your uniqueness, allow you to feel vulnerable, stretch and challenge you, and hold you accountable. A person with a good mentor or mentors will often have greater stability in all areas of their lives.

More than any of the Yesodot, this one can “make or break” how we live our lives.

Holistic Growth
Implementing the Arba Yesodot appropriately will help individuals, families, communities, cities, nations, and the world to live and grow healthily. While there are milestones that a person can reach in all four of the Yesodot, bear in mind that “Growth is Ein Sof.”

There is no limit to how high and how deep you can go in fulfilling your mission in this world.

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THE BIG PICTURE

DIVINE PLAN

ARCHITECTURE OF THE SOUL

ARBA YESODOT

FLUID INTEGRATION