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By Tamar Elad-Applebaum At the opening of Avot we find an ancient mythic picture of transmission, a portrait of a Jew in one generation or another, being handed a treasure made of words, foundational questions and thoughts, and passing it on across time to generations that he or she will never meet, yet he or she feels close to them and responsible for them. . This treasure, passed from one generation to another, always comprises two complementary components: a body and its clothing. The body is the Written Torah—the sacred Scriptures assembled by the ancients. The clothing is that Oral Torah—the people's responses echoing at the encounter with this Scripture. In that encounter the voice of every generation weaves itself into the fabric of conversation, that came before it or is yet to come after. All of those generations are constantly at work deciphering the Holy One's ongoing revelation to humankind. This first teaching of Pirkel Avot provides us with a mythic picture of continuous transmission and participation . In this state of soul called Sinai we encounter a spiritual continent in search of meaning, inspiration, and purpose. This continent, where God and people meet, is called Torah.
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70. On a Yahrzeit To my astonishment, my father returns, sometimes daily, with a power that is revelatory.. In the immediacy of grief, the idea that he would be “only a thought away” or “always with me” seemed a not-believable comfort. Now, four years later, my sisters and I are amazed by his presence. We use his expressions. We laugh at his voice in our heads, for we can hear exactly what he would say. Nesea Kapoport 69, Transcendental Forms Shri Krishna said, "Wherever and whenever there is a decline in spiritual consciousness, an extreme violation of the laws of Nature and widespread harm to innocent beings, a that time I descend in one of My many Transcendental Forms." Bhagavad Gita, Ch. 4. v. 7 68.
The Year of Kaddish Loss steals language: you have nothing to say. A loving community buttresses you, feeding you, telling you when to stand and sit, thrusting into your slack hand the prayer book containing the chanted words that, untilnow, only other people knew by heart. Nessa Rapoport 67. Returning the Torah Returning the Torah to the ark may be a bittersweet moment. On the one hand, we may feel satisfaction that we have been instructed through the Torah service, that we have read its teaching and engaged with it; on the other hand, we may feel that we have not had enough, that a friend is leaving us, as if returning home after having spent just an hour with us. Perhaps that is why so many of the verses chosen for this moment are those of longing—longing for redemption, longing for a time gone by. Equally, there is the knowledge that the Torah is a scroll, that there are chapters now hidden that have yet to be unrolled. What we have glimpsed is only a partial view of the Teaching, more is yet to come. Editors 66.
Just a few words You have to get to the point where only God's voice aligns you and sets you back on track. This is the only centering that seems to work for these times. It's the only way to get any peace. All else frays and disrupts and doesn't fully satisfy. It's okay to do the hard work and try to figure and balance things out. However, you will struggle and forget. The only way to return and accept in a harmonious way the hard pit you've carved out is to have a few words from God putting everything in proper perspective. The reminder to seek his words is when you are lost and overwhelmed or overly anxious. It is at these times you will seek peace and only find it with his words. If one is pursuing a dream the next steps become clarified. If one is letting go of a dream one is reconciled and balanced. Steven B. Nussdorf 65.
The Miracles that Accompany Us (Commentary on the prayer of the 'sixth B;rakhah: Gratitude for Life and its Blessing) The prayer talks of the “miracles that accompany us each day.” Our lives are made up moments that are quite special, at which times it is easy to express gratitude moments of great joy, the birth of a child, graduations, weddings. Recovery from life threatening illness. But there is also the miracle of the everyday-- which, because it is commonplace, we often fail to recognize;the ability to use our limbs for what we desire, the warmth of the sun, the plants around us that sustain our breathing. When the moon is hidden, we can see the stars in heaven more clearly. When our lives are made up of “nothing special,” we might acknowledge how special our lives are. But even more importantly: some of our greatest blessings initially present themselves to us concealed within disappointment, uncertainty, loss, or pain, the aspect of blessing within unfolds slowly, over time – and often only in retrospect. We might realize later that the job we didn't get was not appropriate for us and we were saved from a disastrous misfit; a serious illness may become a turning point in our life when we appreciate what is important for us, or it may be a moment of discovery of how much we are cherished by others. In expressing our gratitude of Kulam ('for all these blessings”), we approach our lives with humility and faith, recognizing that with the benefit of hindsight, what seems like darkness in our lives may contain with it a blessing only later to be revealed as a shining light. 64.
Saying Kaddish Beyond language, Kaddish is more than the sum of it's words. First and foremost, it is an experience of the senses. Like music, there is no understanding Kaddish without hearing and feeling it and letting go of the words. One of the great ironies of Kaddish is that it was written in a vernacular language so that it could be understood and led by scholars and laborers alike. Today, of course, Aramaic is far more obscure than Hebrew. That the recitation of words long dead can remain a source of consolation testifies to the fact that Kaddish transcends language. Its comforts are rooted in proverbial ways of knowing. Like a mother's heartbeat against the infant ear, Kaddish makes an elemental sound—natural as rain on a wooden roof and as human as a lullaby. In addition to being a profession of faith and a doxology, it is also mantra and meditation. In rhythmic repetition of syllables and sounds, the list of praises (glorified, celebrated, lauded) builds into a kind of incantation. .. On some level, the words are pretext. The real meaning, the subtext, is embedded in the repetition....perhaps another reason the rabbis were so insistent it be recited within a minyan. Only with a collective voice is there enough energy to lift up the lonely mourner, the angry mourner, the mourner too hurt to even say “Amen.” The minyan chorus implicitly reassures the wounded soul, “You are not alone.” Anita Diamant 63.
Shalom Rav Spread Your peace over us like a vast quilt crafted by strong and patient hands. Plant it deep within us like a million seeds claiming life in the heart's moist soil. Grant it now. To those born Your people, to those who have walked winding paths to become so; to those still burdened by history, to those who have walked winding paths to become so; to those still burdened by history, to those with no memory of want or fear; grant a generous peace, To those who reach for it through the steady breath of the body; to those who grasp for it in a child home from the reserves; to those on the streets for the rights of others, to those on guard for the safety of their own; with abundance gentle blessing, Master of Peace, kiss all of us goodnight. Tamara Cohen 62.
Those Who Sleep in the Dust God keeps faith with us even if we are spiritually asleep; our souls can awaken at any time. Who Brings Death and Life Every moment of despair can become a moment of renewed spiritual life and new directions. After Shneur Zalman of Liadi |
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