Iyunnim

 

Iyyun for Peace

Tonight as we come together this shabbat, we cannot entirely escape a sense of fear and anxiety that pervades our world, a world so broken, still yet to be made whole. As we sit here the fires in Israel planted by arsonists remain smoldering, the ashes of a conservative synagogue, are a reminder that our work is still undone. Swastikas are being scrubbed off more walls than ever in this great country of ours, while knives with the names of our Reform movement’s leaders are picked off of the floor of a synagogue in Rananna. To whom shall we turn? What can we do in the face of such hatred and vitriol, in a new era not seen in our country since the 1930s? We can come together as a Jewish community, as a larger city community and as a country. We must stand together. On this shabbat which reminds us that wholeness is possible, that peace and serenity are possible, let us remember not be complacent in the work that lies ahead. May we put more effort into working with people of other faiths to form bonds of friendship and fellowship, to remind ourselves and others that Never Again is a statement we cannot afford to lose. May we create love and not hate, and work towards creating a more peaceful and whole world.

 

Iyyun: Tallit 

Wrapping

Tightening 

Touching 

Fringes caress fingers 

Words are steady in an uncertain grasp 

Sacred texts reside between eyes and draw arms close

Legs sway

Lips move 

And the Physical gives way to spiritual 

Fabric, leather, binding—Creating

Creating–Spirit 

Creating—Prayer

Finding God. 

 

Baruch Atah Adonai asher kidshanu b’mitzvotav vitzivanu lhitatef b’tzitzit

Blessed are you, Adonai, our God who wraps me in tallit. 

 

Finding Ourselves in the Chaos (3 Iyyunim)

 

Prayer is not about surviving, it’s not about just getting through.

Prayer, this, is about relationships, about care for I and Thou

But, prayer cannot happen between an I and Thou if we are not I’s.

We must have eyes to see and ears to hear, God’s voice and our voice.

Our voices, God’s voice, crying to let us in; to nourish the spirit, and to renew the soul.

We cannot be true selves, true beings, without hearing our still small voices, crying for time, for a moment, for our breath, for one small prayer.

 

 

Let me rest for a while, just a moment, a moment to be still, a moment to be with you, a moment to be no where else but here. Words long gone linger in my ears, “This moment, is the last moment exactly like this one, you will ever have. Savor it. Enjoy it. Then let it go.” God, let me savor this moment. Let these words wash over me, comfort me, and take me in. Help me, if only for a moment, to truly be, nothing else but me, and then to let go.  

 

 

I choose me. I choose to take care of me, to find me, amidst all the clutter in my mind.

I choose my spirit. I choose to find God in the world around me, to take a moment to breath, in and out, and to slow down, to let the breeze brush my cheeks, to feel the notes and the words escape my lips, a tune singing on the wind. I choose to walk amidst trees and to hold a cup of tea, to find myself, love myself, even amidst the chaos of my life.