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Showing posts with label immigration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label immigration. Show all posts
Friday, March 19, 2021
In This Moment, March 19: Not Just Pickles: Celebrating the Jewish Immigrant Experience
Thursday, April 5, 2018
Shabbat-O-Gram for April 6
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Shabbat -
O - Gram
25 years ago, (April 6, 1993, Passover) Daniel Max Hammerman was born.
Here he is at his bris a week later (the "cut heard 'round the world")
Happy Birthday, Dan!
So proud of the mensch you have become!
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Shabbat Shalom and Happy Passover
Passover ends this weekend. On Friday morning our festival service at 9:30 will feature a D'var Torah by Gerry Ginsburg. Shabbat morning's service, the 8th day of Pesach, will include Yizkor prayers. Keep in mind that our office is closed on Friday and that phone calls and emails will be answered after the festival. There is no early minyan on Friday, just the later, festival service. If you are planning that traditional Post-Pesach Pizza, the festival ends at about 8:30 on Sat. night.
On Friday night, I'll be joined by special guest speaker, David Camner. David is a health care expert, who will lead a brief discussion at the end of service, on "Health Care: Jewish Dimensions, Practical Solutions." David, who attends our Shabbat services regularly, has developed healthcare plans at about 100 companies, including Xerox, Olin, Citibank, and Ben & Jerry's. He has also inspired me and others in the courageous way he has confronted his own serious health challenges. I'm very appreciative that David can speak here this Friday night.
Yom Hashoah 5778
Next week is Yom Hashoah, this year we are commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Above is a photo of last summer's TBE group standing at the Ghetto Fighters' monument in Warsaw. Read about the uprising here, and come to two important events this week:
On Sunday at 10 AM, TBE Sisterhood welcomes author, Georgia Hunter, who will describe her family's extraordinary journey out of Poland during WWII, which was the inspiration for her book, "We Were the Lucky Ones."
On Wed. at 7 PM at Temple Sinai, at our annual community Yom Hashoah commemoration, Jeannie Opdyke Smith, the daughter of Irene Opdyke, a Righteous Gentile (and subject of the Broadway play "Irene's Vow") who risked her life to save the lives of Jewish people during the Holocaust, will speak about her mother's legacy, and the power of one person to make a difference.
And Wed night would be the best time to light the yellow candle sent to you by our Men's Club.
The Yellow Candle™ was created in 1981 by FJMC clubs in Canada, New England and elsewhere to keep alive the memory of the Six Million who perished in the Shoah. The Candle is modeled after a traditional Jewish memorial Yahrzeit candle that burns for 24 hours during periods of mourning and on the Yahrzeit anniversary of a family member.
The candle's yellow wax serves to remind us of the yellow arm band which Jews were forced to wear during the Nazi regime. A photo on the candle container shows young people visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. This reflects the importance of teaching our youth the lessons of the Holocaust and of remembering the Six Million. See the Yellow Candle home page for more information, and thank you to all who helped to prepare and distribute the candles this year.
Wandering and Welcoming
 
Photos of the Interfaith Seder at Grace Farms by Adrian Fernandez and News 12
Welcoming the stranger is a key theme of Passover. It was the theme of last week's Interfaith Seder at Grace Farms. Click here to see the supplement we put together for that Seder.
At services on the first two days of Passover, I dug down into the topic of migration, Jewish values and the Exodus. I shared an excellent source packet, "Immigration in the Haggadah and in Jewish Law" created by Rabbi David Siff, which intersperses Haggadah quotes and specific laws from the Middle Ages about migration between communities.
Also see "Loving the Neighbor/Loving the Stranger," a packet by Rabbi David Seidenberg, which includes every Torah law that mentions the stranger. I shared all three of these packets with our board at last night's meeting. Given that the topic of migration is both timely and timeless, and given the clear connection between this topic and Passover, it felt right to discuss it last night.
At services last week I also reviewed the new book by bible scholar Richard Elliot Friedman, "The Exodus: How it Happened and Why it Matters." I highly recommend this book. Friedman analyzes all the literary and archaeological evidence and states that the real question should not be whether it happened but whether it was big. Nearly all scholars recognize that there were Western Asiatic people in Egypt, including Semites. They were everything from lower class and slaves. He states, "Most scholars agree that the biblical narrative has a historical core, and that some highland settlers came, one way or another, from Egypt."
His theory is that the only tribe that left Egypt were the Levites. Only Levites have Egyptian names, main characters are all Levites. He backs up his claim with lots of evidence from biblical and other sources. What's important to know about the Levites is that they were perpetual outsiders, sojourners both in Egypt and then, later on, among the tribes of Israel. They never had land holdings of their own. The word Levi in fact means "attached" or "joined." And it is because of their unique experiences that the Torah speaks of the need to not mistreat the alien 52 times - that's 52 more times than such a claim is made in all other ancient near eastern law codes and texts combined!
Friedman even demonstrates that the command to love our neighbor is speaking less about the guy next door as the sojourner, the alien among us. We should love the stranger because we know his soul, for we were strangers in Egypt.
"The exodus led both to monotheism and toward this exceptional attitude toward others." Friedman writes. "The two, ethics and monotheism, went hand in hand from the beginning....The exodus of a group of people from Egypt happened. It made a difference. It still makes a difference."
If you belong to a book group that might be interested in an accessible biblical who-done-it that is relevant to Jews and non-Jews alike, I recommend this one - and I would be delighted to come and facilitate the discussion.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Joshua Hammerman
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Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Interfaith Seder: "With Open Arms"
Click here to access the supplementary materials used at last night's Interfaith Seder at Grace Farms. Below are the Four Questions we used to base our discussion of the topic, "With Open Arms."
Four Conversations
1. What is the meaning of home at a time when 65 million people are refugees and when the average American moves 11.4 times in his/her lifetime? There are now an estimated 258 million people living in a country other than their country of birth — an increase of 49% since 2000. An unprecedented 65.6 million people around the world have been forced from home. Among them are nearly 22.5 million refugees, over half of whom are under the age of 18. There are also 10 million stateless people who have been denied a nationality and access to basic rights such as education, healthcare, employment, and freedom of movement. The UN reports that nearly 20 people are forcibly displaced every minute.
2. The Five Books of Moses instruct us to love three different things: God; your neighbor; and the stranger. But the command to love the stranger is repeated 36 different times. Why this added emphasis on the stranger?
3. Why is it even more important now than ever that our society become radically inclusive? How can we do that?
4. What are we to make of the following rabbinic commentary on what happened during the night of the Exodus?
The Last Night in Egypt: Knocking in the Night
When Moses said: “I will smite all the firstborn” (Ex. 12:12), some of the Egyptians were afraid and some not; those who were afraid brought their firstborn to an Israelite and said: “Do please allow him to pass with you this night.” When midnight struck, God smote all the firstborn; as for those who took asylum in the houses of the Israelites, God passed between the Israelites and the Egyptians, depriving the latter of life while leaving the Israelites alive.
The preceding midrash (rabbinic story) describes what happened on the night of the last plague, the slaying of the Egyptian first born. Egyptian mothers have taken their first-born children to the homes of Israelites and beg the Israelites to take their children in so they will escape death. What would you have done? What should they have done? Keep in mind that a) these were their oppressors for 400 years, b) God’s plan was to smite them, so they were defying God if they took them in and c) historically, the midrash came from the 10th century (Exodus Rabbah 18:2), a time of considerable persecution. The Israelites tried to save the Egyptians but could not alter God’s plan. Even though it was doomed to failure, they had the courage to try. One wonders whether that was also part of God’s plan all along.
Four Conversations
1. What is the meaning of home at a time when 65 million people are refugees and when the average American moves 11.4 times in his/her lifetime? There are now an estimated 258 million people living in a country other than their country of birth — an increase of 49% since 2000. An unprecedented 65.6 million people around the world have been forced from home. Among them are nearly 22.5 million refugees, over half of whom are under the age of 18. There are also 10 million stateless people who have been denied a nationality and access to basic rights such as education, healthcare, employment, and freedom of movement. The UN reports that nearly 20 people are forcibly displaced every minute.
2. The Five Books of Moses instruct us to love three different things: God; your neighbor; and the stranger. But the command to love the stranger is repeated 36 different times. Why this added emphasis on the stranger?
3. Why is it even more important now than ever that our society become radically inclusive? How can we do that?
4. What are we to make of the following rabbinic commentary on what happened during the night of the Exodus?
The Last Night in Egypt: Knocking in the Night
When Moses said: “I will smite all the firstborn” (Ex. 12:12), some of the Egyptians were afraid and some not; those who were afraid brought their firstborn to an Israelite and said: “Do please allow him to pass with you this night.” When midnight struck, God smote all the firstborn; as for those who took asylum in the houses of the Israelites, God passed between the Israelites and the Egyptians, depriving the latter of life while leaving the Israelites alive.
The preceding midrash (rabbinic story) describes what happened on the night of the last plague, the slaying of the Egyptian first born. Egyptian mothers have taken their first-born children to the homes of Israelites and beg the Israelites to take their children in so they will escape death. What would you have done? What should they have done? Keep in mind that a) these were their oppressors for 400 years, b) God’s plan was to smite them, so they were defying God if they took them in and c) historically, the midrash came from the 10th century (Exodus Rabbah 18:2), a time of considerable persecution. The Israelites tried to save the Egyptians but could not alter God’s plan. Even though it was doomed to failure, they had the courage to try. One wonders whether that was also part of God’s plan all along.
Thursday, March 8, 2018
Shabbat-O-Gram for March 9
Shabbat-O-Gram
Last week, as part of Greenwich High School's Diversity Week, I joined a panel that also included Muslim, Christian and Hindu clergy. We engaged in a spirited dialogue with over a hundred students - it was wonderful! But what was worth far more than all the words...was this picture. Seeing us stand and hold hands together (which we did at the end) spoke volumes about the potential for us - and for their generation - to build a better world.
Mara and I also had the pleasure last Sunday of escorting our TBE teens to Manhattan, where we spent time at the Museum of the Jewish Heritage, then ate lunch at a kosher dairy restaurant and dessert in the Village at the very trendy (and also kosher)
Cookie DŌ for dessert. When at the Heritage Museum, check out a brand new exhibit, where students interact with holograms of actual survivors. It was both astonishing and a little spooky; through this technology, their stories will live forever - in their own words!
CHECK OUT ALL OUR Purim and late winter photos!
#BoycottRussia
Last week I wrote about Poland's new Holocaust Law and why, as troubling as it is, it should not provoke a travel boycott of that country. I believe strongly that Jews need to visit those sacred grounds where our people were murdered. If we want to boycott a nation, we should go right to the source of so much that is wrong with our world today and boycott Putin's Russia. I can't for the life of me imagine visiting Russia right now, not that my few dollars will make that much of a difference in that massive kleptocracy. Putin is pulling off the neat trick of simultaneously menacing American democracy and Israeli security (in Iran and Syria) - and getting away with it. A version of my comments from last week's O-Gram appears in this week's Jewish Week.
Meanwhile, Poland's president apologized today for a campaign of anti-Semitism in 1968. That's progress, but I suppose he had little choice - it's hard to pin that one on the Nazis. I do sense a desire on his part to walk back some of the more damaging implications of the Holocaust Law, like, for instance, that it could land 90-year-old survivors in jail, simply for telling the truth. But I'm surprised that #boycottRussia has not yet become a thing. Americans of
all political views - 72 percent in the latest polls - unite in our outrage at foreign election meddling. We are aghast at what Putin has done to our world. It's never good to come together in hatred, but it is perfectly appropriate to unite to bring a perpetrator of evil to justice - and that the injustice not be allowed to happen again. The least we can do is to not place more rubles in the coffers of the Kremlin.
all political views - 72 percent in the latest polls - unite in our outrage at foreign election meddling. We are aghast at what Putin has done to our world. It's never good to come together in hatred, but it is perfectly appropriate to unite to bring a perpetrator of evil to justice - and that the injustice not be allowed to happen again. The least we can do is to not place more rubles in the coffers of the Kremlin.
Shabbat Across Stamford
On Friday night, Shabbat Across Stamford will take place at the Stamford Athletic Club on Third St. Registration begins at 4:30 and candle lighting will take place at 5:30, followed by two services, traditional and progressive. We'll all get together after that for dinner and a chance to hear this generation's leading scholar of American Jewish History, Jonathan Sarna, who has spoken here before and is always erudite and on point.
For those who want to attend the service only, no registration is necessary. Remember that we will not have a service at TBE tomorrow evening. We will be reciting yahrzeit names at the progressive service on Friday and then back here the next day at our regular Shabbat morning service.
Parking information:
- At the Stamford Athletic Club: Spots are available in the outdoor parking lot and in the indoor garage behind the building.
- On 3rd Street: Parking is allowed on both sides of the street. All posted parking rules are still in effect.
- At the Tully Center: The lower lot is available to park in on 3rd Street. It is a short walk down the street to the Stamford Athletic Club.
Three years ago, when we first came together for a community-wide Shabbat, I wrote about it for a national audience, because what we were doing was so unique - and so difficult. Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald, the original inspiration for the Shabbat Across America program, praised Stamford's effort, writing:
"I would like to commend the Stamford Jewish community for working together to create a beautiful, unified Shabbat Across America event, the creation of which was dramatically described by Rabbi Joshua Hammerman in his op-ed column, "A Shabbat Across the Bow." The Stamford community, which uniquely gathered all the religious denominations together under one roof, was one of several communities that participated this year in NJOP's new CommUNITY Shabbat Across America and Canada initiative. The other communities were in Staten Island, West Hartford, Conn., and Winnipeg, Canada. These special programs were only a small fraction of NJOP's recently concluded campaign, which featured over 40,000 participants at 565 partner locations throughout all 50 states (an NJOP first) and Washington D.C., six Canadian provinces, and abroad in four other countries. We also note that this year we welcomed our one-millionth Shabbat Across America and Canada participant experience.
Rabbi Hammerman deftly described the challenges faced when making sensitive, value-based, decisions that attempt to take everyone's individual practices and religious standards into consideration, which can only succeed when one recognizes the overarching virtue of Jewish unity."
You can see my original column here, where I describe the significant challenges we faced, and how we overcame them, for a higher purpose.
Three years later, we are now doing this for the fourth time. I must confess that after last year's, I felt that Shabbat Across Stamford, while a worthy idea, was beginning to lose momentum, and that maybe we had made our point and it's time to move on to other projects.
But people in the community kept telling us that they wanted to see this again - and so here we are, and I'm glad we'll be back on Third Street tonight. The venue is far from perfect, the logistics are challenging (e.g. the acoustics, with a special Shabbat-ready sound system), the costs are not trivial and there are other risks. There always are, when it comes to family. But I do know that when we start singing and eating and schmoozing and laughing together, none of that will matter. And I also know that Jonathan Sarna is the perfect speaker for an event like this.... If we can hear him ��
My thanks to the UJF professional leadership. The lay committee and my clergy partners for pulling this together.
Passover Preparations - Embracing the Stranger
With Purim behind us, it's time to focus on Passover, which will be here before you know it!
Also, if you need a Sale of Hametz Form, you can find it here.
Next Tuesday, March 13, we kick things off with our Women's Seder, and the following Thursday, March 22, our annual Interfaith Seder will once again be hosted by Grace Farms. Then, the Chocolate Seder on March 23. Due to lack of interest, we will not be doing a Congregational Second Night Seder this year.
At the Interfaith Seder, our theme this year will be "With Open Arms," with tie in to the famous injunction of Exodus, "Love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt." We'll be hearing from a remarkable young man, Stamford High School student Erwin Hernandez, from Guatemala, who was granted political asylum a year and a half ago. His challenges were already daunting, but then came the accident - just down the street at Table 104, that cost him the use of his right leg. Read his story. You likely have already heard it. Meanwhile, please invite your Jewish and non-Jewish friends to register for this Seder. We want as diverse a group as possible - and space is limited.
For those looking for related material to use at your Seder, HIAS has just come out with its Passover supplement.
Here's an excerpt:
Centuries ago, only those who were free enjoyed the luxury of dipping their food to begin a meal. In celebration of our people's freedom, tonight, we, too, start our meal by dipping green vegetables. However, we also remember that our freedom came after tremendous struggle. And so, we dip our vegetables into salt water to recall the ominous waters that threatened to drown our Israelite ancestors as they fled persecution in Egypt, as well as the tears they shed on that harrowing journey to freedom. As we dip, we recognize that, today, there are more than 65 million people still making these treacherous journeys away from persecution and violence in their homelands. As we dip the karpas into salt water tonight, we bring to mind those who have risked and sometimes lost their lives in pursuit of safety and liberty.
I close with some inspiring words from Rabbi Jonathan Sacks:
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Joshua Hammerman
Saturday, September 9, 2017
Shabbat-O-Gram for Sept. 8
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Shabbat-O-Gram
The Shabbat Announcements are sponsored by Elisa Rosner in honor of her son, Jacob, becoming a Bar Mitzvah.
Shabbat Shalom
Shabbat shalom!
Mazal tov to Jake Rosner on his becoming Bar Mitzvah this Shabbat morning. Our Parsha Packet for the portion Ki Tavo discusses Simon Wiesenthal's classic symposium "The Sunflower," a perfect topic for this season of introspection and forgiveness. Preview it here.
Along those same lines, click here to see our prior packet, "Can We Judge Ourselves?"
Something else that came across my desktop this week, a gift from the Hartman Institute and the State of Israel: In the Gates of Jerusalem: Reflections on the Eternal City for High Holidays.
Comings and Goings
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה, בְּבֹאֶךָ; וּבָרוּךְ אַתָּה, בְּצֵאתֶךָ
"Blessed are you in your coming in and in your going out"
Goodbye, Antonio; Hello David and Beth!
The above quote from this week's Torah portion (Deut. 28:6) is perfect for this weekend of comings and goings, After nine years of diligent service, Sunday will make the final day here for Antonio Avilos, who has been part of our maintenance team and TBE family since 2008. He'll be returning to Colombia to open a restaurant.
In a religious institution like ours, anyone on the staff is a a de facto educator, modeling, especially for our children, the values that we all cherish. Antonio has done that to perfection. He, along with Alberto Eyzaguirre (who has been here longer than I have), often faces inordinate pressure to accomplish so much in so little time. Yet Antonio and Alberto pull it off so magnificently, and always with a smile. Their work, so indispensable, is also often underappreciated. It was a pleasure to bring them front-and-center to the bima during this year's cantor's concert honoring the Landers. We had a staff lunch to thank Antonio last week; if you see him this weekend, let him know how grateful you are!
Antonio's successor just began working here this week. His name is David (pronounced the Hebrew way, Da-VEED) Jimenez. Please make sure to give him a warm TBE welcome when you see him in the building. And also make sure to welcome Beth Silver, who is providing administrative support in several areas, including our education department. Of course Beth has been a valued part of the TBE family for many years.
Best of luck to Antonio in his new venture - can't wait to book a table on Yelp!
Hello, 25 Years....
Speaking of comings and goings, it seems like just yesterday that I arrived here. In fact, it was 30 years ago last month. But since I was assistant rabbi for the first five years, my installation as senior rabbi of Temple Beth El occurred only 25 years ago - and the anniversary of that event is this Monday (Sept 11, 1992 - little did we know at that time how significant that date would be).
Here is the program that was handed out that night. Past President Alan Kalter chaired what was a most memorable evening. A feature of the program was when representatives of many different groups within the congregation came up to the bima to present "offerings" of new siddurim that had just been acquired. Part of my "first hundred days" strategy was to finally move on from the old Silverman siddur; that along with not standing for the Sh'ma and ending the practice of having the Men's Club having chicken dinners at Pelliccis. I was very ambitious! In the photo above you can see Jill Rothkopf and Josh Donner, who were to become my "first" b'nai mitzvah as senior rabbi the following day. So yes, Jill and Josh have a 25th anniversary to celebrate this weekend too!
The event was also videotaped, and you can see videos from that evening by clicking here. Some other significant videos from my early years here are also found on that page. Below are some more screen grabs from that evening. See who you can recognize.
   
"Blessed be you in your coming and in your
staying"
About DACA...
At the rally supporting Dreamers
And while we celebrate this week the comings and goings of those who are making choices as to where they will live, many are very concerned about the fate of the Dreamers, those who have lived in America for most of their lives, pay taxes and contribute to this country in so many ways, who are now being callously threatened with deportation to places they have never known. I am proud to have been at Mill River Park on Tuesday to show my support, along with other religious and civic leaders. I will continue to stand up for the defenseless and innocent, as our sources compel us to do, not simply because we are commanded to "love the stranger,' - although the Torah does say that 36 times. But in fact, DACA recipients are, culturally speaking, every bit as American as you and me. They are not strangers. They do not deserve to feel so threatened in their own homes. We should embrace them because, in so many ways, their story is our story too.
Read some statistics about these 800,000 individuals (from Newsweek)
Read "Top Ten Facts about DACA and Dreamers" (from the Bipartisan Policy Center)
Read about the Atlit camp in Israel, where Jews, desperate and homeless following the Holocaust, were rounded up and detained by the British after being caught trying to immigrate illegally to Palestine in the '40s. Many of them were deported to Cyprus (think Ari Ben Canaan) while others were forced to go back to the very places in Europe that had devoured their families.
Read how, back in the '40s, British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin said sarcastically that the United States wanted displaced Jews to immigrate to Palestine "because they did not want too many of them in New York." (It's been rumored that Bevin wanted to build a wall around Palestine and have the Haganah pay for it).
Read how Israel today is facing a migrant / asylum crisis that the government is handling in a controversial manner.
If any group should have compassion for the Dreamers, it is the Jewish people, we who know all about that knock on the door.
Our First Shabbat-in-the-Round
By Irma Ross
At the end of August, we experienced our first Shabbat-in-the-Round, a milestone event described below in this report compiled by Irma Ross, who has been instrumental in spearheading this project. We are so grateful for Irma's positive energy and drive. As we await with deep concern the predicted arrival of Hurricane Irma on the American mainland, be assured that this Irma and that Irma have nothing in common!
TBE's first Shabbat In the Round for 2017 was a wonderful spiritual, uplifting service and experience thanks to the beautiful music of Cantor Fishman with her gentle guitar playing and spiritual insights, the thought provoking teachings of Rabbi Hammerman, and the participation of the 45 people who came to pray together.
The schmooze portion (with coffee and) before services eased us into a warm and inviting space.
The informal setting, including pillows on the floor, allowed everyone an opportunity to be comfortable, and feel "at home." It also allowed for some organic questions and discussion, and probing of the Torah portion.
Even the folks who are 'traditionalists" found the experience to be meaningful and loved the music added to the service.
Some feedback from the participants:
"What a wondrous idea to change things up and keep the Shabbat experience fresh. The more informal setting provided connection and a spirit of community--a sense and a feeling we sometimes take for granted."
"I appreciated the special added prayers--they were refreshing and soul stirring."
"It was very spiritual and meaningful. The readings and music were beautiful and appropriate. I look forward to next time, and plan to tell others and encourage them to come."
"I loved the participatory nature and the communal feeling engendered by the service."
"I enjoyed the informal sitting in the round. It enabled us to see each other and encouraged more participation. I liked the new prayer pamphlet--it was easier to follow.
I also like the group aliyot--it made it easier for people to come up to the bimah. I'd like to see more of this format even with possibly having our traditional service in the round."
"I so appreciate all the work that went into making this service happen. Can't wait for the next one!"
Please join us for our next Shabbat in the Round on Dec. 9th!
As we approach the High Holidays, some guidance on soul searching
From "Reclaiming Judaism as a Spiritual Practice"
by Rabbi Goldie Milgram
For someone to write a sefer, is more than to say they've written a "book." A sefer is an enduring gem of Jewish significance and one such was written in 1812 by Rabbi Mendel of Satanov. He created a new approach to the practice called Heshbon HaNefesh, "Accounting of the Soul." Reb Mendel teaches a 13-step program of journaling, self reflection, and planned personal change. Heshbon HaNefesh is a helpful method for those who choose to take on the Yom Kippur practice of feeling yourself participating in a Divine review of your ethical actions. Being only human, you will have errors on your record, and so it helps to have a sense that you will earn "extra credit" in your examination by showing a record of sincere efforts at introspection and personal change.
In order to be truly free, honest looking is needed into sensitive areas of self. This approach is not one of self-excoriation. Alan Morinis, author of Musar, explains: "We're seeking insight, so in a recording [journaling] practice you are to make note of what ever you see, positive, negative or neutral. That shifts this practice quite a bit towards a healthy pursuit of self-understanding as opposed to bare self reproach."
Dr. Gene Gendlin, author of Focusing, observes that to be able to undertake such a soul journey it is important to have something comforting to hold onto. Most likely, you can be even harder on yourself than others will be and you might want to find something real or conceptual to bring along that helps you be both tender and honest with yourself. What would be comforting for you? Bring it to your heart and let's continue.
Accounting of the Soul
While Reb Mendel and Alan Morinis are teaching the art of spiritual journaling, rather than replicate their work, here is another approach I've developed to Heshbon HaNefesh.
Equanimity. Ability to live in balance.
Tolerance. Growing pains lead to knowing gains.
Orderliness. Allocating time for living life fully with integrity.
Decisiveness. Acting promptly when your reasoning is sure.
Cleanliness. Modeling dignity in your ways and space.
Humility. Know you will always have much to learn and more opinions than answers.
Righteousness. Conducting your life such that you are trusted and respected.
Economic Stability. Safe guarding enough resources for yourself to live without debt.
Zeal. Living with gusto focused on purpose and care.
Silence. Listening and reflecting before speaking.
Calmness. Giving your needs and thoughts gently while being respectful and clear.
Truth. Speaking only what is fully confirmed in fact.
Separation. Focus on each strand in its own time, avoid multi-tasking.
Temperance. Eating and drinking for good health, not dangerous excess.
Deliberation. Pausing before acting, consider consequences, integrate heart and mind wisely.
Modest Ways. Eschewing crude, lewd and boastful mannerisms and practices.
Trust. Living in the spirit of knowing there is abundance in the universe and you are in the flow.
Generosity. Finding satisfaction in making much possible for others.
(Bold type, concepts of Reb Mendel, z"l; Regular type=interpretations of Reb Goldie)
First take any one of these qualities and reflect on its degree of presence and activity in your life.
(Next, you might sit with a friend, partner, class or child and discuss the quality. What are examples for it? Flesh out its meaning to you, find as many nuances of the quality as you can.
(Now, go into yourself and notice where in your body this quality resonates. The mind/body connection creates a short-cut to knowing. Is it lodged somewhere? Rather than thinking about the quality, listen to it, discover what your body knows about it. Then, take the information and gently set it before you and return to see if there is more, something new about this quality you can learn inside yourself.
(What is your desire with regard to this quality? Sit quietly with this question until a clear image forms, til you imagine a real probability. Invite strength and support for this intention from the great dynamic flow of all possibilities in creation.
The Path of Yom Kippur Preparation
Many think of Yom Kippur, known as the "day of atonement," as the annual day of repentance. Actually, each Yom Kippur is the apex of one year's cycle of serious self reflection. Judaism is bullish on humanity, passionate about our in-born ability to change for the better. And, it only makes sense that it would require far more than one day to fine tune your life for rebirth at a more expanded level for the next year.
Accordingly, there are many days in the calendar where incremental Heshbon HaNefeshwork is traditionally practiced: Thursday evenings as part of lifting soul shmutz in preparation for Shabbat; every day (except Shabbat) of Elul, the month which precedes the High Holy Days. Some also observe Yom Kippur Kattan, "Little Yom Kippur," on the day before each new moon, and as Reb Mendel suggests, it is most effective when engaged in nightly.
The high holy day experience is often reported to be intensified in value and meaning for those with a regular Heshbon HaNefesh practice. Why? Because instead of leaping out of daily life and into the holidays, you will arrive prepared.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Joshua Hammerman
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