Category Archives: Holidays

Wandering, Romantic Love, Transcendence, and Shavuot

09 Thursday May 2013

Posted by in Divrei Torah, Holidays, Inuyim - Prayer reflections and ruminations, Musings about God/Faith/Religious life, Stories, Uncategorized

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This week’s portion B’midbar (lit. “In the desert”) always precedes the festival of Shavuot that begins on Tuesday evening. Parashat B’midbar is not just a marker that reminds us when Shavuot occurs each year, its juxtaposition joins the season’s themes of wandering, covenant, transcendence, and love.

These themes are amplified in the Haftarah portion from the prophet Hosea. Betrayed by his wife’s promiscuity as another man’s concubine, the prophet perceives in his own tragic personal biography a parallel to the Israelite’s betrayal of God during the period of wandering.

Hosea was a star-filled romantic. He so wanted to forgive his wife her infidelities and welcome her back into his bosom. He prayed not only for personal reconciliation with her but also that God would forgive His own wayward lover, the people of Israel, and reaffirm with them the Covenant they once forged together at Sinai.

The prophet proclaims: V’e-ras-tich li l’o-lam b’tze-dek, u-v’mish’pat, u-v’che-sed, u-v’ra-cha-mim (Hosea 2:21-22) – “I betroth you to me forever; I betroth you to me with steadfast love and compassion; I betroth you to me in faithfulness…”

Love for God, one man’s yearning for his bride, one woman’s passion for her lover, the longing of the soul for the Ein Sof (God), all are joined in B’midbar, Hosea, and Shavuot. 

In a wonderful volume called “We – Understanding the Psychology of Romantic Love,” the Jungian analyst Dr. Robert A. Johnson explores these themes as they played themselves out in the medieval myth of the hero Tristan and his beloved Iseult the Fair. This is a complicated, moving, beautiful, and tragic tale from 12th century Europe from which “Romeo and Juliet” and other great romantic love tales have sprung.

The story focuses upon the emotional and spiritual journeys of two protagonist lovers, and Dr. Johnson explores what came to be called “Courtly Love:”

“The model of courtly love is the brave knight who worshiped a fair lady as his inspiration, the symbol of all beauty and perfection, the ideal that moved him to be noble, spiritual, refined, and high-minded. In our time we have mixed courtly love into our sexual relationships and marriages, but we still hold the medieval belief that true love has to be the ecstatic adoration of a man or woman who carries, for us, the image of perfection.“

Dr. Johnson explains that when lovers fall “in love” they feel a sense of completion as though a missing part of themselves had been returned to them. They are uplifted as though suddenly raised above the ordinary. They feel spiritualized and transformed into new, better and whole human beings.

The connection of theme in the mythic romantic love tale “Tristan and Isault” and the Revelation at Sinai should now be clear. Dr. Johnson writes:

“Here we are confronted with a paradox that baffles us, yet we should not be surprised to discover that romantic love is connected with spiritual aspiration – even with our religious instinct – for we already know that courtly love, at its very beginning so many centuries ago, was conceived of as a spiritual love, a way of loving that spiritualized the knight and his lady, and raised them above the ordinary and the gross to an experience of another world, an experience of soul and spirit.”

“Tristan and Iseult” is a story describing the yearning of the soul. So too is that great and singular event that Shavuot commemorates. Indeed, the wilderness of Sinai stripped the people of pretense. They were more vulnerable than they had ever known, and in that the expansive uninhabited landscape of quietude they opened their hearts and souls in awe and wonder to God.

It was there that Torah was given and received. It was there that God and the people of Israel, even if but for a moment, were One.

Shabbat shalom and Hag sameach!

“Birdsong” – A Child’s Poetry in Terezenstadt, 1941

07 Sunday Apr 2013

Posted by in Holidays, Jewish History, Poetry

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Tonight and tomorrow is Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Memorial Day. The following poem recalls the lives of the 1.5 million children who perished:

“Who stays in his nest and doesn’t go out. / He doesn’t know what birds know best / Nor what I want to sing about, / That the world is full of loveliness. /  When dewdrops sparkle in the grass / And earth’s a flood with morning light, / A blackbird sings upon a bush / To greet the dawning after night. / Then I know how fine it is to live.

Heh, try to open up your heart / To beauty; go to the woods someday / And weave a wreath of memory there. / Then if the tears obscure your way / You’ll know how wonderful it is to be alive.”

Zichronam livracha – May the memory of the righteous be a blessing.

Nachshon Ben Aminadav – A Hero For All Times

22 Friday Mar 2013

Posted by in American Jewish Life, American Politics and Life, Divrei Torah, Holidays, Israel and Palestine, Israel/Zionism, Jewish History, Jewish Identity, Musings about God/Faith/Religious life, Uncategorized

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Nothing in the Seder is as it appears. Each symbol, midrash, vignette, poem, and song evokes layers of meaning that help fashion the Jewish heart, mind and soul. The Seder carries such deep religious, cultural, moral, historical, and political significance that Passover is among the richest and most observed rites in Judaism today.

A little known figure in the Haggadah is worth mention especially in light of the President’s journey to the Middle East this week. His name is Nachshon, the son of Aminadav.

Nachshon is not mentioned in the Biblical exodus story per se (he is cited in Numbers 1:7 as the chief in the Tribe of Judah), yet he looms large in rabbinic literature as a critically important figure in the narrative at the Sea of Reeds.

It is written that as the Israelites fled Egypt they faced before them the impassable Sea and behind them in the pursuing Egyptian army. Terrified, they turned on Moses and cried, “Why did you bring us here to perish?”

“Rabbi Judah says: ‘When the Israelites stood at the sea one said: ‘I don’t want to go down to the sea first.’ Another said: ‘I don’t want to go down first either.’ While they were standing there, and while Moses was praying to God to save them, Nachshon the son of Aminadav jumped up, went down and fell into the waves.’”  Talmud (Bavli, Sota 36a), Mechilta (Parashat B’shalach)

What is the meaning?

First, that Moses’ prayers were insufficient to convince God to split the sea. Only when Nachshon took the initiative and jumped into the waters did God respond.

Second, at a very early stage in Israel’s history there was a basic understanding about the mutual relationship between God and humankind, that though the people might have felt alone and abandoned, God was with them all along.

Nachshon’s “leap” was a significant turning point in the Jewish experience. His willingness to take history into his own hands became a fundamental tenet of Jewish religious activism and a defining element in the character of the Jewish hero.

This past week, J Street, a pro Israel pro peace Political Action Committee in Washington, D.C., published an insert on the symbolism of the Karpas. It was written by my teacher, Rabbi Richard Levy, and intended for family Seders this year. What follows is a portion of Rabbi Levy’s moving text:

“On the nights of Passover we celebrate Israel crossing the …Sea from slavery to freedom. In this light, karpas has other overtones: we remember the heroic example of Nachshon ben Aminadav, who was the first to step into the salty sea. As the Israelites faced the raging waters, Nachshon alone plunged in. Because of his courage, the Midrash tells us, God divided the sea in two so that all the people of Israel could walk across. When our karpas represents Nachshon, …the salt water no longer suggests tears, but the grit of heroes.

Nachshon represents those willing to stand up against the raging waters of intimidation, to state what is right and just and reasonable. In our time Nachshon might say: Israel can be freed of her occupying status and survive as a just, peaceful, and secure state only alongside a just, peaceful and secure Palestinian state… if enough people, ordinary citizens like Nachshon, speak enough to the leaders who represent them, they too will understand that the waters can part, that the just and practical solution – a two-state solution – can emerge out of the depths, and the freedom and peace of two peoples can be assured.”

At this critically important moment when hope flickers still that peace can be achieved, I offer my prayers for the success of American efforts to assist Israel and the Palestinians in arriving at a two-state solution leading to an end of conflict peace agreement.

I pray that President Obama and Secretary Kerry will utilize all their wisdom, resources, strength, and stamina to do what must be done.

And I pray that the Israeli Government and the Palestinian Authority may seize this opportunity together to achieve what should have been done years ago to end this bloody and demoralizing conflict once and for all, thereby allowing two states to flower and thrive side by side in security and peace in a new Middle East.

Ken yehi ratzon – May it be God’s will and ours.

Shabbat shalom and Chag Pesach sameach.

For a Sweet Pesach Seder – J Street Karpas Reading

15 Friday Mar 2013

Posted by in American Jewish Life, Holidays, Inuyim - Prayer reflections and ruminations, Israel and Palestine, Israel/Zionism, Jewish History, Jewish Identity, Musings about God/Faith/Religious life, Uncategorized

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On behalf of J Street, we are proud to send you Rabbi Richard Levy’s stirring meditation on the karpas, the vegetable dipped in salt water during Seder. Rabbi Levy urges us to become as courageous as Nachshon ben Aminadav, the leader of the tribe of Judah and the first Israelite to brave the waters of the sea. The Midrash recalls that he went forward while others hesitated. He demonstrated conviction when others wavered.

Today, our hope for Israel and for peace calls upon us to aspire to Nachshon’s courage. Around us are our many sisters and brothers who vacillate, who hesitate to step forward and act with resolution for peace and Israel’s long term well-being. Deliver Rabbi Levy’s message to your Seder participants and, as they dip their karpas, call on them to act with alacrity. In the year to come may every one of us, in the spirit of Nachshon, eagerly advocate for the end of occupation and the beginning of peace, security, hope and freedom for Israelis and their neighbors. As a supporter of J Street, tell them, “This is our time to lead!”

Click here to download the J Street Seder supplement, Dipping into Salty Waters: A Karpas for Our Time https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.jstreet.org/images/J_Street_PassoverGuide_Flat_0313.pdf

Warmest wishes for a sweet Pesach,

Rabbi John Rosove and Rabbi John Friedman
J Street Rabbinic Cabinet

Is Hanukkah Simply A Jewish Christmas?

14 Friday Dec 2012

Posted by in American Jewish Life, Holidays, Israel/Zionism, Jewish History, Jewish-Christian Relations

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Last year I wrote in this blog about the symbolic importance of Hanukkah for Zionists, American liberal Jews and Habad Lubavitch. I reprint it below.

I also include a link to a study that asks whether or not Hanukkah is simply a Jewish Christmas. (The Economic Journal, Ran Abramitzky, Liran Einav and Oren Rigbi, Volume 120, Issue 545, pages 612-630, June 2010).

http://www.jidaily.com/d949b?utm_source=Jewish+Ideas+Daily+Insider&utm_campaign=ce92f48090-Insider&utm_medium=email

Neither piece is for the purpose of reducing the joy of this festival of lights. Rather, they are to help us understand from the view of the anthropologist and historian the significance of Hanukkah in our contemporary Jewish world.

Reinvention of Hanukkah in the 20th Century: A Jewish Cultural Civil War (first published, December 2011)

Noam Zion, a fellow of and the senior educator at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, spoke before the Board of Rabbis of Southern California last year on  this theme:

   “Reinvention of Hanukkah in the 20th Century: A Jewish Cultural Civil War                 between Zionists, Liberal American Judaism and Habad – Who Are the Children of Light and Who of Darkness?”

Noam offered a comprehensive view of Hanukkah from its beginnings (© 165 B.C.E.) through history and how it is understood and celebrated today by Israelis, American liberal non-Hareidim Jews and Habad. Based on Hanukkah’s tendentious history and the vast corpus of sermons written by rabbis through the centuries, Noam noted three questions that are consistently asked: ‘Who are the children of light and darkness?’ ‘Who are our people’s earliest heroes and what made them heroic?’ ‘What relevance can we find in Hanukkah today?’

Though religiously a “minor holyday” (Hanukkah is not biblically based, nor do the restrictions apply that are associated with Shabbat, Pesach, Shavuot, Succot, Rosh Hashanah, and Yom Kippur), Hanukkah occupies a place in each of the ideologies of the State of Israel, American liberal Judaism and Habad.

For example, before and after the establishment of the State of Israel the Maccabees served as a potent symbol for “Political Zionism” for those laboring to create a modern Jewish state. The early Zionists rejected God’s role in bringing about the miracle of Jewish victory during Hasmonean times. Rather, such leaders as Max Nordau, Theodor Herzl, David Ben Gurion, Chaim Weizmann, Jacob Klatzkin, and A.D. Gordon emphasized that Jews themselves are the central actors in our people’s restoration of Jewish sovereignty on the ancient land, not God.

For 20th century liberal American Jews Hanukkah came to represent Judaism’s aspirations for religious freedom consistent with the American value of religious freedom as affirmed by the first Amendment of the US Constitution. Even as the holiday of Hanukkah reflects universal aspirations, the Hanukkiah remains a particular symbol of Jewish pride and identity for American Jews and their children living in a dominant Christian culture.

For Habad, Hanukkah embodies the essence of religious identity on the one hand, and symbolizes the mission of Jews on the other. Each Hassid is to be “a streetlamp lighter” who goes out into the public square and kindles the nearly extinguished flame of individual Jewish souls, one soul at a time (per Rebbe Sholom Dov-Ber). This is why Habad strives to place a Hanukkiah in public places and why Hassidim offer to help Jews don t’filin. Every fulfilled mitzvah kindles the flame of a soul and restores it to God.

Noam concluded his shiur (lesson) by noting that the cultural war being played out in contemporary Jewish life is based in the different responses to the central and historic question that has always given context to Hanukkah – ‘Which Jews are destroying Jewish life and threatening Judaism itself?’

The Maccabean war was not a war between the Jews and the Greeks, but rather was a violent civil war sparked by intense enmity between the established radically Hellenized Jews and the besieged village priests living outside major urban centers (the High Priest in Jerusalem had already been co-opted by Hellenization). The Maccabees won the war because moderately Hellenized Jews recognized that they would lose their own Jewish identity if the radical Hellenizers were victorious. They joined in coalition with the village priests and together they took the Temple and rededicated it. That historic struggle has a parallel today in a raging cultural civil war for the heart and soul of the Jewish people and for the nature of Judaism itself.

The take-away? There is something of the zealot in every one of us, regardless of our respective Jewish camp. If we hope to avoid our past sins of sinat chinam (baseless hatred between one Jew and another that the Talmud teaches was the cause of the destruction of the 2nd Temple in 70 C.E.) we need to prepare our own constituencies to be candles without knives, to bring the love of God and the Jewish people back into our homes and communities. To be successful will take much courage, compassion, knowledge, understanding, and faith. The stakes, however, are very high – the very future of Israel and the Jewish people.

Is it any wonder that Hanukkah, though defined by Judaism as a “minor holiday,” is, in truth, a major battle-ground for the heart and soul of Judaism and the Jewish people?

 

 

Torah Can Come to Us From Anywhere – Even a Barber’s Chair

07 Sunday Oct 2012

Posted by in American Jewish Life, Divrei Torah, Ethics, Health and Well-Being, Holidays, Jewish History, Jewish-Christian Relations, Musings about God/Faith/Religious life, Social Justice, Stories

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It isn’t often that the Torah portion of the week and my getting a haircut coincide, but it did last week.

For years Susie Polin has cut my hair. She has a huge heart, is a artist who cuts hair for a living and a Sephardic Jew whose family origins are from Greece.

Last week’s Shabbat Torah portion included Exodus 34:6-7 (for Chol Hamoed Sukkot):

“Adonai, Adonai, El rachum v’chanun, erech apayim, v’rav chesed v’emet: notzeir chesed la-alaphim nose avon vafesha, v’chataah v’nakeh”

“Adonai! Adonai! A God compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and faithfulness, extending kindness to the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin…”

Susie has lived in the Pico-Fairfax neighborhood of Los Angeles for many years. Once a Jewish neighborhood, by the time she moved there it was African-American and she was “the only white Jewish girl” in the neighborhood. Nevertheless, she became close to her neighbors, especially the people next door. Five months ago the elderly woman who lived there died leaving her husband Johnny alone. Johnny had worked for many years for the LA Unified School District and had come into contact with asbestos, which sealed his fate.

After his wife died, Susie asked if she could do anything for him as he too was infirm. “Thanks Susie – I’m alright!”

“Do you have enough food in the house,” she asked.

“I’m good every day except Tuesday.”

“You can count on me, Johnny, to bring you dinner each Tuesday,” she generously offered.

So every Tuesday for the past four months Susie brought Johnny dinner that she bought at the local Gelsons take-out stand. When she explained to the Gelsons’ workers that she’d be back every week to buy dinner for Johnny, they gave her double the food at the same price, food that lasted Johnny for days.

One day, Johnny asked, “Susie – is ‘Jew’ and ‘Jewish’ the same?”

“Yes!” she said.

“What’s Jewish?”

Susie explained that to be Jewish means to follow the Bible’s commandments and to do deeds of loving-kindness for others. It’s all about love,” she explained, “because God wants us to love each other.”

“I love you, Susie.”

“I love you too, Johnny!”

Johnny died two weeks ago. When the day of his funeral arrived, Susie drove to the black church in South LA and was the first to arrive. She entered the church and sat down. As his family, many friends and care-takers arrived, those who knew her greeted her like a she was a member of their family. Soon everyone heard what Susie had done for Johnny, and that she was a Jew.

When she told me about her experience I was reminded of the famous story in the Midrash (D’varim Rabba 3:3):

“Rabbi Shimon ben Shetach one day commissioned his disciples to buy him a camel from an Arab. When they brought him the animal, they gleefully announced that they had found a precious stone in its collar. ‘Did the seller know of this gem?’ asked the Master. On being answered in the negative, he called out angrily, ‘Do you think me a barbarian that I should take advantage of the letter of the law by which the gem is mine together with the camel?  Return the gem to the Arab immediately.’ When the Arab received it back, he exclaimed: ‘Blessed be the God of Shimon ben Shetach! Blessed be the God of Israel.”

I told this story about Susie and Johnny on Friday night to my congregation. There were many children present including our 6th grade Day School students and their Israeli exchange student friends from the Tzahalah Elementary School in north Tel Aviv.

I explained to them that we are all more than just individuals. We are part of a family, a people and a religious tradition, and what we say and do outside our homes and immediate communities not only reflect back on us, but also on our families and the Jewish people.

The way we treat others, whoever they are, Jews, Christians, Muslims, blacks, Latinos, Asians, Palestinians, immigrants, the poor, the powerless, strangers, the people with whom we work, the people who work for us, tells more about who we are and what we value than anything we say we believe.

Susie Polin is a special woman who gives of her heart and soul continually to others. Through her loving deeds the good name of the Jewish people and the God of Israel was enhanced in Johnny’s community, for Susie may have been the only Jew that Johnny and many in his community ever knew up close.

Torah can come to us at any time and in any place, even the barber’s chair.

Chag Sameach!

 

My High Holiday Sermons – 5753/2012

30 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by in Ethics, Health and Well-Being, Holidays, Jewish-Christian Relations, Life Cycle

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You can read each of my High Holiday sermons on the Temple Israel of Hollywood Website – www.tioh.org (Go to “About Us” and click “Clergy” then “From the Clergy Study”). Or click http://www.tioh.org/about-us/clergy/aboutus-clergy-clergystudy

“For a Good and Happy New Year” (Erev Rosh Hashanah) –- I contrast the primary life goals of happiness and goodness and discuss why I believe that happiness is a by-product of the pursuit of goodness. It’s my view that our attitude about our life circumstances and the choices we make are the prerequisites to attaining both a good and happy life.

“Intermarriage and the Survival of Judaism and the Jewish People” (Shacharit Rosh Hashanah) –   After more than three decades serving congregations in San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles I announced, to the shock and surprise of my congregation, my decision to officiate at some intermarriage ceremonies going forward. I described my struggle that led me to this change, and include at the end a post-delivery reflection on the response this sermon inspired. The Jewish Journal of Los Angeles wrote about my decision in the September 28-October 4, 2012 print edition “Rabbi Reverses Interfaith Marriage Policy” (by Julie Gruenbaum Fax, pages 27, 42) http://www.jewishjournal.com/los_angeles/article/rabbi_reverses_interfaith_marriage_policy

“The Blessing of Being Wrong” (Kol Nidre) – We are wrong far more often than most people admit thus preventing us from making necessary changes and doing t’shuvah (repentance). I discuss why I believe acknowledging wrongness is a sign of inner strength, courage and good character.

“I wish You Enough” (Yizkor) – This is a touching and insightful story about a father saying goodbye to his daughter for the last time, as first told by the motivational speaker Bob Perk.

The Measure of Our Character – Reflections on Shabbat T’shuvah

21 Friday Sep 2012

Posted by in Ethics, Health and Well-Being, Holidays, Quote of the Day

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During this intense period of introspection we Jews are called upon to reflect deeply about our values as individuals and as a community, our behavior and ethical standards, and the condition of our souls. Much of the process of t’shuvah (repentance) centers on “character.”

Here are thoughts for this Shabbat T’shuvah and Yom Kippur:

“The true measure of a person is how he treats someone who can do him/her absolutely no good.” (Samuel Johnson, 1709-1784)

The measure of a person’s character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.” (Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1800-1859)

“A person of character finds a special attractiveness in difficulty, since it is only by coming to grips with difficulty that he/she can realize his/her potentialities.” (Charles de Gaulle, 1890-1970)

“What you are thunders so loudly that I cannot hear what you say to the contrary.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882)

“Rabbi Ilai said: By three things may a person’s character be determined: By his/her cup, by his/her purse and by his/her anger (koso, kiso and kaaso – this refers to how one holds one’s liquor, spends one’s money, and expresses/controls one’s anger); and some say: By his/her laughter also.” (Bavli, Eruvin 65b)

“Good character is more important than wealth, good looks, popularity and even education. These things do not guarantee happiness and often they become obstacles to developing good character. Character is ethics in action.” (Michael Josephson, b. 1942-)

“It’s not how you come into the world, it’s how you leave it that is the measure of the man/woman.” (Edward Wahl – my late father in-law – 1916-2004)

Governor Romney’s Failure Of Character And Ours

19 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by in American Politics and Life, Ethics, Health and Well-Being, Holidays, Inuyim - Prayer reflections and ruminations, Israel and Palestine, Israel/Zionism, Quote of the Day, Social Justice

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As Governor Mitt Romney’s campaign for President collapses as a consequence of his flawed character, the following quotations help shed light on what plagues him and far too many in this country. They also offer decent people within both the Republican and Democratic parties insight into what is necessary to understand in order for us to transcend Romney’s callousness, self-centeredness, ignorance, and stupidity. Too much is at stake for this country, for peace between Israel and the Palestinians (both of whom yearn for peace!), for wise American leadership vis a vis the Iranian nuclear threat, and for the international credibility and good standing of the United States for us not to do so.

During these 10 Days of Repentance, Jews are called upon to look within themselves and judge harshly where we are flawed as Mr. Romney seems to be. The tragedy is his case is that he has deep religious faith and has been personally generous to many near him, but his open-heartedness does not extend beyond his narrow religious, social and economic circles, nor does it translate into a political philosophy that can help the most people with the least.

Having said this, we need to be careful as we judge him, for none of us is immune to the failures of character that afflict him. If we are honest with ourselves, our flaws are likely significant as well.

The following statements are apt relative to Mr. Romney and important as we gauge who is most fit for our national political leadership:

“To blame the poor for subsisting on welfare has no justice unless we are also willing to judge every rich member of society by how productive he or she is. Taken individual by individual, it is likely that there’s more idleness and abuse of government favors among the economically privileged than among the ranks of the disadvantaged.” (Norman Mailer, 1923-2007)

“Ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.” (James Baldwin, 1924-1987)

“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1929-1968)

“A man is called selfish, not for pursuing his own good but for neglecting his neighbor’s.” (British Archbishop Richard Whately, 1787-1863)

“It is difficult to get a person to understand something when his salary [i.e. income] depends upon his not understanding it.” (Upton Sinclair, 1878-1968)

“The way to overcome the angry person is with gentleness, the evil person with goodness, the miser with generosity, and the liar with truth.” (Indian Proverb)

“The three are really one, for when justice is done, truth prevails and peace is established.” (Talmud Yerushalmi, Taanit 4:2, circa 450 C.E.)

My hopes for each of you and your dear ones:

G’mar chatimah tovah v’t’chateivu b’sefer chayim, l’shanah tovah u-m’tukah, b’ri-ut, asiyah, tikun, uv’chol maaglei chayeinu ha-ishi, hamishpachti, hamiktzo-i, v’hatzibori.

May you be sealed for goodness and written in the book of life for a good and sweet New Year, for health, activism, and restoration in all spheres of our lives, the personal, familial, professional, and public.

A Prayer As We Enter the High Holydays

14 Friday Sep 2012

Posted by in Health and Well-Being, Holidays, Inuyim - Prayer reflections and ruminations, Musings about God/Faith/Religious life, Quote of the Day

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This prayer was written by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, (aka The Alter Rebbe), author of The Tanya:

“Dear God – You commanded us that we should ‘know today, and put it back into our hearts, that You are God – in Heaven above and Earth below – there is nothing else,’ and I’m asking You to help me, to keep my mind really clear, that I might see Your workings in the universe, to feel that You are the life that is invigorating me in this very moment.”

(Cited in A Hidden Light: Stories and Teachings of Early HaBaD and Bratzlav Hasidism, by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and Netanel Miles-Yepez, with a forward by Susannah Heschel, p. 102)