A few years ago, I took up rappelling, the art of descending sheer cliffs by rope and harness, so that we could explore the red-rock canyons of Southern Utah. After I had begun to learn the basics, Steve, our guide, said to me, “You’re one of those people who wants to speed up when your adrenaline starts to flow.”
Some things in life have to be earned, and some things cannot be. We can earn respect and reputation by our behavior, but sometimes we need help, or forgiveness, or just a break, that we haven’t earned and don’t deserve. And we can also give to others gifts they don’t deserve and don’t have to earn. That sort of undeserved kindness is captured by the word Hesed, often translated as lovingkindness.
The other day I had coffee with Hal, the father of one of our chavurah members. He had just written his second novel, this one based on his amazing experiences as a Jewish-American soldier fighting the Nazis in World War II. We got together to talk about his book.
One of the current terms of religious discussion that I’ve grown to suspect is “spirituality.” I’m tired of hearing people say, “I’m not religious; I’m spiritual,” which often means I don’t have any outward signs of religious or transcendent life, but, trust me, I possess many lofty sentiments.
Chesed or loving-kindness is an essential human attribute, but it’s first of all a divine attribute. If we want to cultivate chesed, we should pay attention to how Hashem exercises it. And God’s chesed is on display at the conclusion of the Haftarot of Comfort, the passages from Isaiah that we read during this period between Tisha B’av and Rosh Hashanah.
I just read an amazing insight into this week's parasha by the renowned Jewish scholar Nahum Sarna. He's commenting on Bereisheet 25:8, "Then Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people."
Sarna says the phrase "gathered to his people" is unique to the Torah and also used of Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Aaron, and Moses (which might get us to re-think our usual portrayal of Ishmael, but that's for another blog).
When Miriam leads the women of Israel at the parting of the sea in praising Hashem with song and dance, she is making her second appearance in the Exodus story. In her first scene, Miriam is instrumental in rescuing the baby Moses after his parents are forced to set him adrift on the waters of the Nile.
“Enthusiasm,” for most of its history as an English word, has had a mixed connotation. The word literally means “being possessed by a god” and by the 18th century had come to mean “ill-regulated religious emotion or speculation.” The Oxford Universal Dictionary gives a 19th century example: “Everywhere the history of religion betrays a tendency to enthusiasm.”
Young children tend to be the most enthusiastic people…ever. With regards to energy, they are also quite well off. Whether the energy fuels the enthusiasm or vice-versa is hard to tell but one thing is for sure, the two are inseparable. A part of it has to do with the fact that life is significantly “newer” for children than adults.
Use these questions to evaluate your day:
What were the seeds that started to affect your enthusiasm today?
Think of matters in which you were successful today, versus ones in which you weren't. Were they a function of your level of enthusiasm?
Do you experience recurring snags in your walk forward or your daily activities? What is affecting your enthusiasm?
If you were on the verge of getting stuck in a rut or wasting time, what did you employ that helped you become enthusiastic again?
Did you use prayer or meditation to help you with your enthusiasm today?
Did you procrastinate in doing something today?
Do you avoid doing certain things because they are not your favorite tasks?
