Reasonable, spiritual, authentic Judaism
Exploring a reasonable and relevant Judaism - authentic and current, inclusive and welcoming - Rabbi Jonathan opens and develops discussions delving into Jewish life, learning, and meaning. “Jewish and...” means Judaism enhanced because today's Judaism is: multi-faith, multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, pluralist, pro-LGBTQ+, feminist, and multi-generational. “Jewish and…” starts with Jewish sources: Torah, Midrash, Talmud, Commentaries, Israel, Yiddish, Hebrew, Food, Klezmer, and anything else that connects us to our Jewish selves.
Chesed, kindness, in Hod, humble grace - our week exploring smallness informed by awe starts with merciful compassion.
Accepting our powerlessness creates grace, and we must be kind to ourselves to avoid self-negation.
Being practical, using Malchut, our active presence, in thinking about the longest view, Netzach, requires stopping and thinking, breathing before doing.
When we see our impact on the big picture played out in even the smallest of our actions, we may reach thoughtful engagement with life. We should be careful to not be crippled by thought as well.
Yesod, a balanced foundation, in Netzach, the long view of ourselves - building for the long term requires a strong basis, thinking and feeling for the long term do too.
Relationships work out better when we look at ourselves as in them for tomorrow, and many tomorrows, as well. Evaluating our feelings and thoughts down to their foundations helps us towards that longer term view.
[From yesterday's Omer count]
Hod, the grace of smallness and humility, in Netzach, the enduring sense of ego in the long term - two ends of a spectrum asking us to find one in the other.
The comfort of seeing our contributions from a wider view may be that even the smallest input may make a lasting difference.
Yesterday already has passed, and I didn't get to eternity in eternity - sometimes the long view is out of sight.
Still, in reflecting on a crazy day gone by we can see the strands of enduring worth in all the things we did - and making it through the day in any sense of wholeness creates ripples that continue on forever.
Balanced beauty in endurance - grinding it out over the long haul seldom feels balanced. We may find beauty in things that last, even sustained efforts.
Gevurah, the strength and power of structure, in Netzach, the enduring long view - what makes something enduring and strong?
Thoughtful strength may last when applied slowly, and even a quick use of force may serve a strategic purpose. Calculating useful power requires thought of the big picture.
A week contemplating Netzach, enduring victory and individuality, starts with Chesed, kindness and generosity.
In order to make a lasting impression we can start by seeing how it effects others and what kindness it might accomplish.
Malchut, the dwelling presence of the divine, the area where thought meets action, and Tiferet, balanced completion - all of our internal work must include plans of doing.
As we ponder sublime and gorgeous theory, the scaffolding needed to build it must be included too.
Yesod, a solid foundation on which to balance, in Tiferet, a harmonized whole in equilibrium - two fundamental elements of resolution at the same time.
Building on something solid may see mundane, and still we need firm ground in order to accomplish loftier beauty. Good ideas are built on solid reasoning.
Hod, the grace of being tiny, in Tiferet, balanced harmony - even our smallest efforts contribute to a beautiful whole.
In the same way, attention to details, however small, may contribute to a grand vision.
Often to make progress we need to both see the forest for the trees, and see each individual tree as contributing to the forest.
Netzach, enduring victory, in Tiferet, balanced beauty - perhaps we can see another element of the deeper understanding of beauty. In order to achieve harmony we must think beyond immediate needs. True beauty never fades.
Tiferet, balanced harmony in itself - a day of contemplating what qualities of beauty make things beautiful.
Finding beauty in difficulty, in the everyday, in the undesirable, these paths help us create an inclination towards more harmony and balance within ourselves.
Gevurah, strength, rigor, and restraint, in the area of Tiferet, balanced and harmonized beauty - we seldom identify strength as a pass towards balance, perhaps in the same way that we identify beauty as an emblem of strength.
When we recognize beauty as something far more powerful than whatever society trends towards as "hot" at any given moment, we may see the power in realizing something beautiful as something well-crafted that can stand in the face of resistance.
Chesed, compassion and loving mercy, in Tiferet, balanced beauty - the first element of creating harmony may start with a sense of compassion.
Perhaps perfection may only be reached when we mercifully excuse ourselves from an unattainable standard.
Malchut - the practical, the real, the grounded, in Gevurah - the restrained structure.
The strength behind our structures works best when supported by tested and pragmatic methods. Fanciful thoughts may be beautiful, strong structures must be grounded.
Yesod, a solid and balanced foundation, in Gevurah, rigid and organized strength - let us not be lulled into the notion that these are simple ideas.
Most strong structures are supported by complexities - interlocked beams and joints with inner failsafes.
Let us embrace the finer details needed to make a strong foundation.
Hod, grace, smallness and humility, in Gevurah, rigorous structure and restraint - all of our strength and all of our strivings to contain things must be placed in the context of the infinite.
No matter how great our aspirations and pressures, they are tiny when seen from a global or universal perspective.
This shift in view offers us a key to our strength, for from such a view all of human accomplishment may be seen as small, and perhaps in our reach. Similarly, we can see our strength as connected to everyone else's, and maybe greater than we thought.
Netzach, enduring victory of the self, in Gevurah, rigorous structure - building a structure that endures is a great achievement.
What is such a thing?
Strength that endures may best be seen in ideas and not physical things. Enduring concepts may be built out of complex and layered thoughts more than elevator talks and sound bites.
Let's find the strength and fortitude to see, and aim for, the long view.
Tiferet - beautiful, harmonious, balance; in Gevurah - power, strength, and rigor.
The use of balance enhances our application of rigor. Whether pursuing justice, holding a strict line, or pushing hard through a difficulty, finding just the right amount of force creates motion without breaking things.