Liturgy – embodying a conversation with God

Divre Harav – October, 2023

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A Hasidic teaching I studied recently suggested that God is represented by words. God is found in the words of the revelation at Sinai, the words of Torah. But it also suggested that when we live our faith fully, that we not only hear God’s words, we also actually hear God’s voice, a more powerful connection.

The difference between words and a voice is this: Words might be seen as an artifact of an ancient world, the dusty remnants of a previous generation. A voice, on the other hand, is an active presence, something alive and vibrant. Faith, commitment, spiritual energy, belief, is what transforms the words on the page into a living, contemporary, compelling, tradition.

I have been on a quest to learn how to transform words into a voice and to teach others how to take the words of Psalms or words of the Siddur and derive transcendent meaning from a single sentence, verse, or phrase. It began with a four year journey reading Psalms and writing reflections which appeared in columns in the Voice and in posts on our ahavasisraelgr.org website. In the past year, I have collected those reflections and published them as “Reflections on the Psalms,” a demonstration of the process of contemplative reading in order to see what word, phrase, or sentence draws the reader’s attention, and discerning a larger message by connecting that passage with Jewish wisdom.

Our prayer books contain many words. Our services are rivers of words, in which you dip your consciousness like a fishing line to see what comes out. I like to think that the words that stick with me after a service are a message from God. God’s voice is in those words. My job is to figure out what God’s voice is trying to say to me.

I want to help you find God’s Voice in the words of our tradition, in Torah, in the Bible, in the Siddur, in Rabbinic literature. I’d like you to join me for our many Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret and Simhat Torah services, for my Zoom Torah study, or for my Sunday morning survey of Mishnah classes. 

And if you’d like to purchase the book, you can find more information and a link to Amazon here, https://embodiedtorah.com/reflections-on-the-psalms/, or search for the title on Amazon.com. Discover how the Psalms can inspire you to engage significant contemporary issues. This is not a commentary on the meaning and message of the Psalms; rather, this book considers the Psalms as a collection of phrases and images that invite us into brief meditations using Jewish wisdom for spiritual development.

Hebrew Words of the Month:

  • Tehillim – Psalms
  • Hit’bon’nut – Contemplation (from the word bina, understanding)

Divre Harav – October/2021

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Jewish Prayer 103 – Framing the Shema

Jewish prayer 101 and 102 covered the Shema (November, 2020) and the Amidah (March, 2021). You can find the articles on my blog, EmbodiedTorah.org or on AhavasIsraelGR.org by searching or scrolling down to the older articles.

Once you are comfortable with the words of the Shema (English or Hebrew), the next step is to enrich the Shema with some context by adding framing prayers. The frame places the Shema in the context of a daily prayer practice and forms a bridge between engaging with God and Torah through study (the Shema) and engaging with God directly through prayer (the Amidah).

Gratitude is central to a prayer practice. The quality of thankfulness doesn’t necessarily come naturally. It is something which needs to be practiced, day in and day out, to remind ourselves to be grateful. The morning and evening Shema provide two touchpoints in the rhythm of our day to practice gratitude. We are grateful for creation, we are grateful for God’s love, we are grateful for Torah and mitzvot, leading to tikkun (repair) and redemption, and we are grateful for peace and security. The outline of the entire Shema unit is as follows:

  • Blessing of creation – Yotzer or  (morning) or Ma’ariv Aravim  (evening).
  • Blessing of God’s love towards us – Ahavah rabah or Ahavat olam.
  • | Three paragraphs of the Shema:
  • | Shema/Ve’ahavta – Command of our love for God/Tefillin/Mezuzah.
  • | Vehaya im shamoa – Theodicy/Tefillin/Mezuzah.
  • | Vayomer – Tzitzit/Mitzvot
  • Blessing of Redemption – Ge’ulah.
  • Blessing of peace and protection – Hashkivanu.

As you build your own prayer practice, you might draw upon the words of the Siddur to offer some words of gratitude to focus your thoughts before the Shema and to reinforce the message of the Shema afterwards. Leading into the recitation of the Shema are two blessings. The first connects us with nature. The version preceding the morning Shema focuses on the light of the rising sun. The version before the evening Shema, as we watch the sun set, focuses on the darkness.

Praised are you, Adonai our God, King of the universe, creating light and fashioning darkness, ordaining the order of all creation. You illumine the world and its creatures with mercy; in Your goodness, day after day You renew Creation. …. The good light God created reflects God’s splendor; radiant lights surround God’s throne. … Praise shall be Yours, Adonai our God, for Your wondrous works, for the lights You have fashioned, the sun and the moon which reflect Your glory …. Praised are You, Adonai, Creator of lights.

Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, King of the Universe, who word brings on evening, who alternates the seasons, and arranges the stars… God creates day and night, rolling the light away from before darkness, and darkness from before light …. Blessed are You, Adonai, Who brings on evening.

The second blessing before the Shema  is based on the central idea of the Shema, the instruction “You shall love Adonai your God ….” The blessing just prior to this passage asserts that the loving relationship is mutual, that it is because of God’s love for us that God gave us Torah and mitzvot.

Deep is Your love for us, Adonai our God, boundless Your tender compassion … Praised are You, Adonai who loves God’s people Israel.

Following the Shema is a blessing connecting the mitzvot embedded in the Shema to redemption. In the morning there is no break between blessing God the Redeemer and engaging with God in prayer. In the evening, as the day is ending, there is an additional blessing for peace and protection.

Your teaching is true and enduring. Your words are established forever. Awesome and revered are they, eternally right; well ordered are they, always acceptable. They are sweet and pleasant and precious, good and beautiful and beloved …. Praised are You, Adonai, Redeemer of the people Israel.

Lie us down, Adonai our God, in peace; and raise us up again, our Ruler, in life …. Shield us; remove from us every enemy, pestilence, sword, famine, and sorrow …. Blessed are You, Adonai, who guards the people Israel forever.

Hebrew Words of the Month:

  • Yotzer Or – Creator of light
  • Ma’ariv Aravim – the One who makes the evening 
  • Ahavah Rabbah – A great love
  • Ge’ulah – Redemption
  • Shomer – Guardian

Psalm 81

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“For it is a law for Israel.” (81:5)

What makes us Israel is a shared sense of law, of obligation. We are Israel when we clean our homes and celebrate Passover. We are Israel when we are conscious of the contents of the food which we put into our bodies. We are Israel when we rest from creative acts on Shabbat. We are Israel when we join a Jewish community for prayer. We are Israel when we celebrate a boy’s birth with circumcision, celebrate puberty with bar or bat mitzvah, celebrate marriage with a huppah, and commemorate a death with Shiva.

Divre Harav – October, 2016

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“Connect with your Jewish neighbors through Ahavas Israel”

The word havurah derives from the Hebrew denoting connection. Hibur means to make a connection; A haver is a friend. A Havurah is a group of people who come together because of shared interests, age, life experience, or geographic proximity. Sometimes a havurah functions as a synagogue, meeting every Shabbat, and sometimes havurot are formed within synagogues as a means to create a variety of small group programs and experiences.

A Havurah group might have a theme, such as:

  • Book discussion
  • Torah Study
  • Hebrew conversation
  • Yiddish conversation
  • Shabbat dinner
  • Havdalah
  • Game Nights
  • Garage sale for tzedaka
  • Sports event watching
  • Movie watching
  • Picnics
  • Other activities

Alternatively, a Havurah might meet as a group of people who live in proximity to each other who want to do a variety of the above activities. Ahavas Israel wants help you connect with your Jewish neighbors. We want you to find two friends with similar interests and let us know about your Havurah. We have a map of synagogue members so if you would like a list of people within a mile or two (or five) to invite, we can provide it. Meet monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly – the schedule is entirely up to you. We’d like to put your event on the calendar so others can see what you are doing and join you (although you may limit the group size, if you wish). We can provide you with study materials, book suggestions, instructions and booklets for Shabbat dinner rituals and Havdalah ceremonies. Just ask me for what you need.

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High Holiday Preview: I typically begin serious work on my messages for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur about a month in advance. Here are some of the topics I’ve been working on:

Repentance – the power of teshuvah. Teshuvah can mean radical transformation, but sometimes the person who needs to do teshuvah is trapped in bad patterns of behavior. What might it mean to extend yourself beyond your comfortable boundaries to consider what it means to give others the chance to do teshuvah?

Sacrifice – What are we willing to sacrifice in order to support our most closely held beliefs?

What is the function of beating ourselves on the chest during the recitation of lists of sins? How might we reconsider the practice and turn it into something that leads to positive growth?

I wish you a happy and healthy new year and look forwarding to greeting you during this holiday season.

Hebrew Words of the Month:

  • Teshuvah – repentance
  • Korban – sacrifice
  • Vidui – confession
  • Yamim Nora’im – Days of Awe

Psalm 126

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January 11, 2016

 

When Adonai restores the fortunes of Zion, we are as dreamers. (126:1)

To be a Jew is to be an optimist and a dreamer. We don’t say “if God gives Zion back to us,” we say “when.” For nearly 2000 years of exile during which there was a Jewish presence but no Jewish control over Jerusalem, we introduced Birkat Hamazon, the grace after meals, with this Psalm on Shabbat. Our optimism asserts that our loss of sovereignty was only a temporary setback that could be corrected at any time. The Sabbath in Jewish tradition is celebrated as taste of the world to come, a day on which we experience the beauty and peace of messianic era. Shabbat embodied the optimism of the Jew. No matter how much time has gone by, no matter how much evil or hatred we experience in the world, Shabbat takes us back to the perfection of the garden of Eden.

In order to improve yourself to the greatest extent possible, you must have goals that are slightly beyond your reach. If your goal is to lose five pounds and you succeed and stop trying to lose weight, you miss the opportunity to lose ten pounds. If your goal is to increase your strength and endurance by taking a 50 mile bike ride, you might stop at that point and lose the opportunity to ride 60 miles. If your goal is to increase sales by 10%, you might lessen your efforts when you reach that mark and miss the opportunity to increase by 25%.

Optimism teaches us to celebrate our accomplishments even if we haven’t reached our goals. After setting the mark higher than you expect and losing only nine pounds instead of ten pounds; riding only 58 instead of 60 miles; or increasing sales only 20 instead of 25%, you can then notice with pride in accomplishment that you lost nine pounds instead of five pounds; rode 58 instead of 50 miles; and increased by 20% rather than 10%.

To be a Jew means to be an optimist and a dreamer.