Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on September 2, 2021

This year seems to have traveled at warp speed. It seems like just yesterday that I was focused on the Days of Awe, both professionally and personally. And I cant help but experience a bit of dj vu, to be faced with the confusion and quandary of mask or not, in or out, all over again.

Which one of us isnt slightly disarmed, even acutely disturbed, anxious, or fearful as COVID remains our collective and universal nightmare? Yet despite this constant threat to our health and future, we need to navigate life while attending to what the High Holy Days demand of uspersonal accountability, inner awareness, and movement toward change. Taking action to heal our pain, guilt and shame, as well as our relationships (familial, personal and collegial) we must acknowledge the bigger picture that often brings out the worst of who we are: tense, snippy, and impatient, or just plain out of sorts.

The connection between national, environmental and political crises and our own personal behavior is often more pronounced than we realize. The demands, restrictions and unknowns become internalized stressors, often leading us to behave in unrecognizable ways. The lens through which we see the world becomes foggy or negatively tinted. As we take account (Cheshbon HaNefesh) of our inadequacies, bad behavior, and errors of judgments, we must see the context of this past year and its overriding impact. The decline in mental health, including sleep and eating disorders, is alarming. Perhaps a little more rachmunos, compassion, is in order this year.

It is easy to fall prey to hopelessness when confronted with difficulty or a powerful adversary like COVID. But Proverbs teaches, Hope deferred sickens the heart.

Celebrating the Birthday of the World affords us new eyes to see ahead. It gives us a pathway that generates optimism, Judaisms core ingredient for sustainability, strength, and resiliency. It gives us, most of all, the possibility of hope. It is easy to fall prey to hopelessness when confronted with difficulty or a powerful adversary like COVID. But Proverbs teaches, Hope deferred sickens the heart. We need this medicinal tonic to guide our fragile souls and hold us in trying times. In fact, the root for the word tikvah, hope, (koof-vav-hay), is the same root for mikvah, ritual bath. They both bring healing for the spirit. And the two letters, koof-vav, signify a measuring line. It is the Kabbalistic description of the direct line from the Divine into the vacated space (tzim tzum) where G-d emanated and birthed Creation. What we all need right now is to be immersed in the healing waters of mikvah, the radiant light of Tikvah, while reconnecting to the One, the kav of renewal, rebirth and imagination.

What we all need right now is to be immersed in the healing waters of mikvah, the radiant light of Tikvah, while reconnecting to the One, the kav of renewal, rebirth and imagination.

How do we find hope when reality seems bleak and unrelenting? I asked this question frequently when trying to understand my parents, and other survivors of the Shoah, who held on during the worst pandemic of all, hatred of the Jew. With nothing to clutch, something within pulled these souls forward. This is as extreme as it gets, but we, too, grieving the comfort and familiarity of our past, need to find ways to enjoy the present and see potential for a future.

Both Jewish tradition and the growing field of Positive Psychology instruct us. This new discipline reflects a change from traditional psychology, which focuses on mental/emotional illness and fixing deficits, to emphasizing thinking patterns and behaviors that move us ahead. Circumstances may not change, but how we see them determines our response. Professor Carol Dweck teaches that we have either a fixed-unchangeable mindset or a growth-developing mindset. One holds us back while the other moves us forward. Our own thinking can undermine our capacity for hope.

Dr. Dan Tomasulo teaches that we can learn hopefulness by shifting perspective, since perceptions impact outcomes, the self-fulfilling prophecy. Seeing obstacles and setbacks as opportunities for growth repurposes reality. Hope is activated when we reduce our negativity bias. The name G-d gave the Israelite slaves was a transformative verb, Eheyeh Asher Eheyeh: I will be that which I will become.

Hope is believing in ourselves, our capacity to transform and influence the future. Charting our strengths and moments from our past when we overcame the impossible reminds us of what we are made of. Judaism offers a new start every morning when we say, Modeh Ani Lfanecha BChemlah Rabba Emunatehah, Thank you G-d for returning my soul with your great mercy and faith in me. We frame the day from strength and optimism.

What if this Rosh Hashana we not only focus on deficits and sins, but also create a Cheshbon HaHoda-ah, an accounting of gratitude? There is a reason the tradition teaches us to say 100 blessings a day. The rabbis understood this would keep us hopeful. List the moments over the past year that were positive, growth-full, nurturing, and accomplishing; examine your qualities and strengths and use them as agency for change and creative solutions. Go to those you treasure and say, Thank You! Focus not only on apologies and mending the pain youve caused, but also forgive and let go of anger and disappointment, freeing up energy for good.

There is hope for a tree; if it is cut down it will renew itself; its shoots will not cease. The Jewish people have been repeatedly cut down and yet stubbornly renew themselves. Every catastrophe has brought regeneration. We must choose to see possibility and renewal: not just survive, but thrive.

Mask in one hand, sanitizer in the other, we share the journey in a room together or smiling across a screen. Our world has changed, yet truly expanded. We study with people across the ocean or share wine with friends across the country. Our homes are our sanctuaries and nature, solace for the soul.

During the first exile, the Prophet Jeremiah sent a letter to the people in Babylonia telling them to make the best of every moment. Build houses gardens multiply seek peace, while G-d says, Seek Me I will return you. In this exile, within our own land, find the strength to lift yourself, see the beauty and grace in unexpected moments, see light and hope through optimistic eyes, and seek G-d. Reconnect to the kav, the umbilical cord of the Divine, and find hope.

Eva Robbins is a rabbi, cantor, artist and the author of Spiritual Surgery: A Journey of Healing Mind, Body and Spirit.

Link:

Finding Hope When We Can't See Much of It - Jewish Journal

Category: Judaism
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