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hat do you find to be the most inspirational Jewish teaching on preparing yourself for spiritual renewal in advance of the High Holy Days? Theodoe Bikel (actor, musician, activist): I find the most comfort, solace, and thought-provoking source of renewal in the teachings of Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. From him I learn about forgiveness, about how to forgive myself before I know how to forgive others. Reb Zalman knows that this does not come easily to us, that anger must become sorrow, and sorrow become shared suffering before it can become love.
Cantor Susan Caro (president, American Conference of Cantors): Every day during the month of Elul I read two texts. The first is from Ben Sira (28:2): “Forgive your neighbors [their] transgressions, and then when you pray, your sins will be forgiven.” This reminds me that opening my heart to others allows them to see me in a new light and enables them to open their hearts to me. When I am attuned to healing the hurts of others, I can find healing in my own heart. The second is from Reb Nachman of Bratzlav: “O God, help me avoid every abuse of speech. Let no untrue word escape my lips. I pray that I may never speak badly of others, or speak empty words of flattery. Help me stay away from profanity. Teach me, dear God, when to keep silent and when to speak; and when I speak, O God, save me from using Your wonderful gift of speech to humiliate or hurt others.” Our words hold power; they hang in the air long after we have uttered them, like a cloud which can bring either comforting shade or a terrible storm. Each day I consider the kind of clouds I wish to create around me through my speech and my silence.
Rabbi Rachel Cowan (director, Institute for Jewish Spirituality): The teaching I most often turn to comes from This is Absolutely Real and You are Completely Unprepared, the late Rabbi Alan Lew’s brilliant guide to spiritual preparation for the holidays. Some background: When I converted to Judaism, Tisha b’Av was very meaningful to me; I would fast and study Lamentations as I contemplated the horrors of the destruction of Jerusalem. But when I began to visit Israel regularly, I decided Tisha b’Av was irrelevant, now that the state had been reestablished and rebuilding the Temple in a hostile political environment would pose grave danger. Since reading Rabbi Lew’s book, I have resumed observing Tisha b’Av. He taught me that the destruction of the Temple is a metaphor for examining one’s inner life—to find the structures that no longer serve us. This is an important way to begin the reflection of the High Holy Day season, for we cannot change ourselves until we clearly see the structures that constrict reform judaism
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our spirit and keep us attached to small-minded, selfcentered ways of mind and heart. In my case, these may be stories in which I have made myself the victim, the hero, the martyr, the failure. They may be habits such as eating too much, not exercising enough, taking on too much work. Or they may be cravings for material possessions or experiences that in the end will not make me happier. To do the subtle work of teshuvah, we must free ourselves from these structures and instead manifest the attributes of God that we chant over and over in the High Holiday liturgy: compassion, grace, patience, loving-kindness, and truthfulness. So I begin my High Holiday practice on Tisha b’Av by re-reading Alan Lew’s book, and then during the Hebrew month of Elul, I sit in meditation to begin identifying the structures that no longer serve me.
fall 2012
7/18/12 10:37 AM