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, loving kindness, in Yesod, a balanced foundation - when building we can begin with kindness.
This may not seem intuitive. Still, a building, a structure, a project, all begin better when we start them with generosity in mind.
This is for yesterday's...
Malchut, where theory hits practice, in Hod, humble smallness - the doing of modesty requires care.
How can we follow a path of humility without making others feel guilty? How can we inspire without being immodest? These form some practical questions about humble aims.
Let's try to be humble without assumptions, modest without judgements.
Yesod, a solid foundation, in Hod, humility in the face of grandeur - finding that solid place allows us to see what's around us, what gives us perspective and humility.
We must ground ourselves in order to appreciate the wonder of the world.
Awesome grace, Hod, in itself - a day on which we recognize that even humility requires stepping back from pride - we aim for humility for its own sale not for any reward in reputation.
And today is LaG b'Omer - the 33rd day of the Omer counting, on which restrictions ease and celebrations take place.
The Omer Counting marks the time between Passover and Shavuot - two important agricultural holidays that also became two important theological holidays in the Jewish calendar.
On the agricultural front, we mark this time as when winter planted grain ripens on the stalk, and is thus vulnerable to being destroyed by heat waves. In an attempt to not disrupt this fragile natural balance, some Jews observe a minor mourning period for the first 33 days of the Omer - from the Second Night of Passover until May 10 this year - and refrain from trimming hair or shaving, as well as abstaining from celebrations. There are multiple traditions about when this period ends, either the 33rd day as the last day, or merely a respite before the true end of the period, on the holiday of Shavuot, or weeks, which is the 49th day of the Omer, 7 weeks after we began, when the grain harvest is in and we can make an offering.
On the theological aspect, these days mark the movement from Passover, when the Israelites were freed from slavery, to Shavuot, when we received the Torah on Mount Sinai - freedom leads to revelation. In that spirit, recognizing that we must prepare ourselves for revelation, the Kabbalaists used the 7 by 7 structure - 7 days of 7 weeks to incorporate the lower seven sefirot of the Tree of Life. This model lays out important pricniples, many of which are paired with their complementary ideas (Chesed, loving kindness, with Gevurah, rigor, for example), and others are their balanced resolutions (like Tiferet, balanced beauty, and Yesod, balanced foundation). Jewish mysticism (Kabbalah) identifies these principles as elements essential to living, thinking, and feeling in a way that leads to inspiration and creativity in appreciation of the gift of existence.
So for 16 more days I will continue to count and reflect - questions?
Eternity and ego, Netzach, in humility and awe, Hod - so as not to lose ourselves in awe we must hold on to a sense of self.
Even in the face of eternity, we can only find meaning when we hold onto the "we".
Tiferet, balanced harmonious beauty, in Hod, awe-inspired humility - to appreciate one's smallness takes balance.
Looking up and out into the vastness of the universe may lead us to topple backwards, disturbing our moment of awe. Laying on our backs for the view may allow us to slip into slumber.
Noting our relationship to infinity and appreciating it takes presence, and presence requires balance.
Gevurah, power and structure, in Hod, humility and awe for grandeur - the greatness of the universe, a grand structure indeed, offers us plenty of reason to have awe and be humble.
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.