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Creating Bridges: Spirituality & Philosophy:
Kabbalah: "Letters from Heaven:"
Spiritual Guidance from the Hebrew Alphabet
Rosh HaShannah:
a time for renewal
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by Avigayil Landsman |
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There are two cycles of holidays in the Jewish cycle: solar and lunar. The holidays of Passover (that celebrates freedom from slavery), Shavuot (that celebrates God giving the Torah (Bible)), Sukkot, (a harvest festival) and Shmini Atzeret, (that commemorates the arrival to the Promised Land) commence with the beginning of spring, summer, autumn and winter. The second cycle is done to the rhythm of the moon. The month of spring, according to the Torah is the first of months—and according to this counting the seventh month is Tishri-- in the fall, after the hot winds of summer in Israel have ceased. Seven is a most holy number. In the Torah, the Five Books of Moses, the seventh day and the seventh year mark a time for rest and renewal. Jews celebrate the Sabbath on the seventh day of the week, after six days of work. The seventh year in the Torah is known as the Sabbatical year when the earth is given a rest. The seventh month of Tishri is therefore a holy month; the only month in the year where there are four festivals.
Rosh Hashanah is traditionally the anniversary of the birth of Adam—the birthday of the human race. It is a time to begin renewing ourselves spiritually. It is also the moment of the rebirth of the moon. This is the time of year for humans to think of how to turn towards God and each other.
Our relationship with God is a challenging relationship to define. Traditional Judaism would say that our relationship with God requires us to strictly adhere to the Jewish way of life, including observing Jewish holidays, times to pray—even how to dress and eat according to hallachah, or prescribed practice. In a broader context we could say that our relationship with God is tied to finding time to pray, or cultivating an attitude of gratitude for the many gifts life offers. Do we maintain enthusiasm for the wonder of just living? Abraham Joshua Heschel, a twentieth century hassidic rabbi who was known for his work in the civil rights movement said, “Just to be is a blessing; just to live is holy.”
Turning towards God, or return is the Jewish concept teshuva, which begins with the Hebrew letter tav. We looked at the letter tav last month. Tav, the last letter of the aleph-beit has a “leg” that kicks out. I said that once we reach the last letter tav, its leg kicks us back to the beginning of the aleph-beit, to begin again. At this time of the approaching new year, what do we return to? In this month’s offering, let’s look at where we’ve been and direct our thoughts to what direction we want to point our internal compass.
Over the year, we have slipped from our resolves, have failed to meet our goals, we have perhaps said hurtful words, lost patience and have become somewhat disenchanted with where we find ourselves. It is human nature to slip from our intentions and so we seek to take time to reflect on where we succeeded and where we missed the mark over the past year; where we need to improve and how we can go about making amends to those we care about, including ourselves. We need to pull back from our routines to give us new perspective, the space to reflect and come up with a new way of relating to ourselves, to our loved ones, to our environment and to God.
Teshuva also means respond. Responsibility, a related word literally means “the ability to respond.” When we have fallen short of our goals, are we capable of responding, or do we try to cover up our mistakes? At this time of renewal, we seek to start the year with a clean slate. There is a wonderful quote that says something to the effect that it is not the falling that is bad, but the failure of getting up to try again when we have fallen that is the problem. There is no word in Hebrew that means sin. The closest word we have is “cheyt,” which means missing the mark. Teshuva does not demand perfection; instead, teshuva asks us to remember our essential goodness and to act from that place to the best of our ability. This may mean swallowing our pride and asking forgiveness from someone we have hurt. We can focus on the past hurts of the previous year or any other time in our lives that continues to haunt us. The purpose of teshuva is to generate clearer awareness of how we interact with others so that we can avoid making the same mistakes in the future. We can get a sense of our patterns when we look back at past actions. Rosh Hashanah is a time to examine our motives, our needs and look for new, healthier ways to communicate and act.
We also are asked to remember loved ones who are no longer alive. The feelings attached to their memories are still alive inside us. We may regret something we did or did not do with them. Rosh Hashanah give us the chance to ask for their forgiveness in our hearts. Several years ago I did not call an older relative when I had the opportunity. Not long afterwards, she died and I sorely regretted that I did not keep in touch with her. From then on I have made it a practice to keep in touch with the people I love, to let them know how much I love them and how much they mean to me. My daughter and I have a custom of hugging and kissing each other good-bye every time one of us leaves the house. My parents and I end each phone conversation with a kiss and an “I love you.” On Rosh Hashanah, we focus on the fact that we have no way of knowing what moment is going to be our last; that our lives are fragile, requiring gratitude and attention to making each moment as full as possible. The fact that we can remember a misdeed indicates that it is still alive in us and needs repair.
People often associate hurtful acts with people other than ourselves. Teshuva also asks us to look at how we are treating ourselves. Are we eating healthfully; finding satisfaction in our profession; taking time to exercise and enjoying life through hobbies and other leisure activities? Do we treat everyone with respect, or do we have an attitude that some people are unworthy of respect. The Talmud (a commentary on the Bible)says that a truly wise person “learns from all (wo)men.” Rabbi Hillel, a Talmudic rabbi said, “If I am not for myself who will be for me; and if only for myself, what am I; and if not now, when?” I believe this provides the perfect context for this reflective time of year. If I don’t make sure my basic needs are met, what will become of me? This line can be read another way. “If I am not for myself” can also mean, if I don’t let my voice be heard. One example of letting our voices be heard is the democratic process. Firstly, do I vote? Do I vote for the candidates I believe best represent my values, or do I vote for the candidate my spouse tells me I should vote for? Do my actions truly reflect my values? Do I stop to help a dog who just got hit by a car or do I drive past at the insistence of my indifferent friend who is driving with me? “If only for myself, what am I?” asks, “if I focus exclusively on myself, what kind of person am I?” Such a person is selfish and offers nothing to his or her community. Part of being a part of a community is to give back so others’ needs are met. Procrastination is the theme of the final line, “If not now, when?” And if I keep putting off taking action, when will my life change? So often we tell ourselves that once we lose twenty pounds we’ll find a lover; we’ll quit smoking cigarettes after just one more pack. The reality is that the only time we have is in this moment. If we don’t take action when we think of doing something, chances are that we simply won’t do it.
The key question we are asked on Rosh Hashanah is the same one posed by God in the Torah on several occasions to important characters: “Where are you?” The column my readers see has never come straight from my mind to the computer. It takes many drafts and much editing. As I read the first draft and find careless errors, I find myself asking, “Where were you?” because the mistakes are often so obvious to me once I go back over the material. Then there are the errors I miss even after I reread the article ten times. It’s only when one of my devoted friends read it through that more mistakes are shown to me. This reaching out to trusted friends for their honest opinion is also part of teshuva. We humbly ask a trusted friend for his/her assessment of what he/she observes in us. There is a Rosh Hashanah tradition of asking a friend to tell us if we have harmed them in any way and if they can forgive us. Sometimes we ask this question knowingly because we already know about a miscommunication and at other times we honestly do not know that we unwittingly hurt our friend’s feelings by some omission or action. If the friend is truly dedicated to the relationship, he or she will tell us in a non-blaming, non-judgmental way what we did and how our behavior affected his or her feelings. This information can help us become more aware of how to change and improve.
Responsibility for caring for the earth is another important aspect of teshuva. Do we recycle as much as we can? Do we look for ways to reuse our old computers? Do we make sure when picnicking that we clean up after ourselves, leaving nothing behind that might injure wildlife or pollute? Do we demand that our representatives write laws to protect and clean our environment? Again, the words of Hillel resound. We need to understand that the environment is an extension of ourselves; how we care for it will affect how it cares for everyone. Rosh Hashanah is a good time to review our personal habits that affect the environment as well as a time to contact our elected officials concerning environmental concerns.
Rosh Hashanah is a beautiful and rare opportunity to uncover the riches of relationships, as well as the richness of the deep well of potential that waits to be revealed, redeemed and nurtured in each of us. May this time be one of growth, love and healing for all! Amen!
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Avigayil Landsman,
Torah Scholar, Calligrapher, Teacher & Creator of the "Letters From Heaven" Deck
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Avigayil has been a serious student of Torah for the last ten years and has written many d'vrai Torah(Torah lectures). She is the creator of Letters from Heaven, a Jewish divination system that incorporates the mystical meanings of the Hebrew letters, her chiddushim (new insights into Torah) and their application to the challenges of daily life. Her LFH readings offer seekers of all persuasions spiritual direction in finding one's authentic voice.
Avigayil is a multi-media artist who is best-known for the beaded breastplate that adorns the Woodstock Jewish Congregation's Torah. She creates personalized ketubot, beeswax Shabbat candles, shiviti plaques and other judaica as well as secular art in Sculpey, paint, and shadow boxes that combine disparate objects such as feathers, beads and wood.
Her Judaica (beeswax Shabbat and havdallah candles, havdallah spice boxes, shiviti plaques) and calligraphy cards are available for purchase at the Woodstock Jewish Congregation's judaica shop, Miriam's Well and her home. She also does private commissions.
Avigayil has taught enrichment classes in calligraphy for the Woodstock Jewish Congregation's Hebrew school. She prepares children and adults for becoming Bat/bar-mitzvah with humor and deep wisdom that come from her own unique way of living through the lessons of Torah. She has also given workshops and lectures on the spiritual meaning of the Hebrew letters and Letters from Heaven at Omega.
"Avigayil Landsman's interpretations of the Hebrew letters are original, witty, steeped in scholarship, and above all a genuine opening to our own spiritual wisdom." Rachel Pollack, creator of Shining Tribe Tarot Deck
www.rachelpollack.
com
Avigayil is available for art commissions and LFH readings in person or on the phone. She may be contacted by e-mail at:
Avigayil1@earthlink.net
Website:
www.jewish-wisdom
-and-art.4t.com
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