Consider This
By RABBI GREG ALEXANDER
How much our worlds have changed since Rosh Hashanah last year – how much the whole world has changed. When a lot is going on in our lives, when we experience stress or even fear and anger, depression and helplessness, there is a temptation to just ‘get on with it’, just ‘get it done’. Judaism (and most spiritual and psychological systems) suggest that it is the opposite that is most needed – to bring our fullest selves to those moments, aware that they are difficult but need our whole attention and time.
Thankfully, we have a toolkit of helpful Jewish tech to provide support at these times, and here are two good places to start.
The most obvious is t’filah, prayer. Finding moments of mindfulness, whether privately “as we sit in our home or as we walk upon our way” or in shul, is the most intuitive and immediately accessible strategy for coping in challenging times. There is a siddur filled with options, but if you need one to pick for right now, I would say go for hashkiveinu. It begins, “G*d, let us lie down in peace, and wake up to enjoy life”, and is meant to be said each day in the evening and at bedtime, the time of night that we are most in need of trust and a feeling of safety. Just before we close our eyes and really put our faith in The Holy One of Blessing to guard us, we ask for shelter, protection.
The second most accessible tool is your community. All shul communities are powerful structures to hold people through change. “But I don’t want to bother anyone with my worries, Rabbi…”. Please do – sharing what bothers us most is the first step to connecting with others who might share those worries and, together, we can find ways forward.
There are many stories in the Talmud about Rabbi Yochanan, famed for, among other things, his power to heal. When he heard of another rabbi who was sick, he would visit and speak with him about his suffering. After speaking, Yochanan would hold out his hand, and the other rabbi would rise. One day Yochanan fell ill. He was visited by Rabbi Chanina, who, after speaking to the stricken sage, held out his hand, and Yochanan ben Zakkai stood up. “Why couldn’t Yochanan raise himself?” the disciples asked, as he was known to be a great healer. The answer: “Because the prisoner cannot free himself from prison.” (BT B’rachot 5b)
We are not made to be alone, and connecting to the One Who Hears Prayer or the person next to you at shul are immediate and effective ways to look for support and to help one another heal. May we take these and other opportunities for bringing wellbeing to ourselves and those we love, and may this year be a good and sweet one for everyone.
Temple Israel www.templeisrael.co.za
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