RABBI ZELIG PLISKIN

"Change is hard work. Modifying our attitudes is something that takes persistence, but my premise is that everyone can develop and improve their state of mind – if only they are given the proper tools," explains Rabbi Zelig Pliskin, author of many books on various areas of self-development.

If anyone would know about hard work and persistence in the area of personal development, it is certainly Rabbi Pliskin. His entire life has been devoted to helping people to help themselves. From his popular lectures at Aish Hatorah to his innumerable counseling sessions to his wide selection of books, Rabbi Pliskin is involved in providing those "proper tools" to countless numbers of people.

Even as a young boy in Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim in Baltimore and then in Telshe Yeshivah in Cleveland, Rabbi Pliskin was interested in the way people interacted with each other and how their own attitudes and characters impacted on those relationships. As he got older, he began to read extensively on various aspects of human emotional development.

After their marriage, Zelig and Raizel Pliskin moved to Israel, where he learned in Brisk for five years. It was then that he realized that if he wanted to articulate his ideas to others, he would need to improve his own communication skills and his vocabulary. And so it was that he began using his spare time to read – and memorize! – the English dictionary.

Apparently his efforts were successful because, when Aish HaTorah, a world renowned institution that caters to newcomers to religious Judaism, was first opening and looking for knowledgeable, charismatic lecturers who would ensure the success of their fledgling institution, they turned to Rabbi Pliskin. He began to speak on various topics of human emotions and interpersonal relationships.

"Through my interaction with the thousands of people who come through the doors of Aish HaTorah, I have been able to pinpoint the areas in which people need to improve, and the Torah concepts they need to incorporate, in order to achieve a high quality of life," Rabbi Pliskin says.

He began to develop a way of thinking based on his concept that there are four basic aspects that make up who we are and who we are becoming: our goals, our personality traits, our self image, and our state of mind. Thus, he explains, in order to be successful in life and in our relationships with other people, we have to set worthwhile yet, realistic goals. We must work on our middos at all times and we must maintain a healthy self-image. But, in his opinion, the most important thing is that we are in a positive state of mind.

"A positive state of mind is any state that is resourceful – happy, courageous, kind, or any other state that allows us to be productive and reach our full potential, achieve our goals and bring out the best in others," Rabbi Pliskin elucidates. "Because if someone is in a non-resourceful state, such as sadness or anger, he is held back from being successful by his own self."

While he continued lecturing, he began attending lectures, workshops and international conferences on human emotions and communication. Eventually, people were so impressed with his classes and the expanse of his knowledge and understanding that they began approaching him for personal counseling. Now, he spends much of his time providing marriage counseling and guidance on individual growth.

"Much of my counseling and advice is based on the idea that if people take Torah concepts such as happiness or kindness and work on incorporating them into their attitude and state of mind, they will really be able to make an impact on their own lives and the lives of those with whom they come in contact every day," Rabbi Pliskin says.

In 1974, the Jewish Observer published an article by Rabbi Pliskin entitled, The Profile of an Oheiv Yisrael. That article brought him to the attention of a broader public, and he was asked to write a book that would explain the writings of the Chofetz Chaim. Although he had never written a book, he undertook the challenge because the subject was very dear to him – his father had been a student of the Chofetz Chaim in Radin and had written the first biography of his rebbe. The result was the still widely read and ever-popular book, Guard Your Tongue.

Rabbi Pliskin's style of writing, which includes many real-life examples to illustrate his ideas, was very helpful to many people. "Seeing the impact of my writing made me want to continue sharing my ideas with others," explains Rabbi Pliskin.

And, fourteen books later – those others are certainly glad that he did. The first book that he wrote for ArtScroll, entitled, My Father, My King, describes the concepts and ideas that our Father, our King wants us to internalize and integrate into our being. The book is written from the Almighty's perspective, as if Hashem is speaking to us.

Rabbi Pliskin's second book, Anger: The Inner Teacher, is a nine-step practical program that shows how Torah principles can be used to conquer one's anger, better understand one's emotions, and gain self-mastery through patience and serenity.

Next he wrote Marriage, a synthesis of Torah ideas and practical insights that give the reader the inspiration and tools to create a more joyous marriage through the development of his own character.

ArtScroll most recently suggested that he begin a series of pocket-sized, self-development books. To date, he has written three books for this series: Happiness, Kindness, and Courage.

In Happiness, Rabbi Pliskin suggests that our thoughts and actions can create emotions that enable us to increase the level of joy in our lives, and thus to live a positive life. In Kindness, he gives formulas and insights, including what we can say or do to integrate kindness into our everyday actions to make a real difference in our lives and that of the people with whom we come in contact. In his most recent book, Courage, he posits that this state of mind is one of the most valuable inner resources, because it is necessary in order to accomplish anything – to begin a task, to continue a job, to grow – nothing will happen without a significant amount of courage.

Rabbi Pliskin is currently working on the next book in the PocketScroll™ Series to be called, Patience. "My hope is that by reading these books people will be able to take the little bit of happiness, or kindness, or courage, or patience that they have – because everybody has a little bit within himself – and be able to focus on it and see how it can be integrated into more and more situations, until eventually it will become a part of him and the way he interacts constantly."