CANTOR’S NOTES Cantor Stoehr
Martha Postlewaite writes: “Create a clearing in the dense forest of your life”. The month of Elul is exactly for that purpose. It is time to reflect and focus on our innerself rather than worrying about being productive and always staying busy so as to achieve our monetary, academic or social goals. When do we ever really get a complete break from it all (and I hope you didn’t answer “when I die”). Yes, we as a People did respond to the commandments at Sinai with the words We Shall DO and We Shall Listen and maybe that’s where this busyness all got started, however the Commandments were directions for our spiritual selves so as to direct our physical selves.
Tara Brach writes in her book, The Sacred Pause that “...We are just completely habituated to activity... We are in a kind of doing-trance… and they talk about human-doings versus human-beings…”
‘Doing’ gives us a sense of control of our journey and makes us feel less the victim of happenstance (fate). The more we can do, the more we can control the happenings in our day. The more we can schedule and govern our day, the less chance we will be caught off guard by something unexpected. It doesn’t always work of course but it seems we are hedging our bets that our decisions for where we are at any point, or what we do, will allow us to be the captain of our own destiny. An important and healthy part of being a human-being is just being. Meditation, yoga or prayer time are wonderful ways to snatch some of that ‘being’ every day. Have you ever submerged yourself in a pool or ocean and enjoyed the dense silence that frees you from the cacophony of the world above the surface? Maybe for you it’s biking, playing an instrument or enjoying a another activity of your choice which is your escape. The month of Elul reminds us that now is the time to take what is rightfully yours, time to be. ‘Being’ is also a manner by which we surrender to God in our lives. It expresses that we believe God will be the shomer, guardian, over us even during the day such as while we sleep. As an aside I offer for you a lovely not well known song by Harpo Marx and Gerda Beilenson called Guardian Angels which reflects this sentiment of being watched over as we sleep. The opening lyrics read – Guardian angels around my bed joining me in my prayers. They hush the shadows when they dance about. They shoo away the bears… We often manifest what we think and put out into the world. Isn’t it worthy of a “sacred pause” in your day, or week, or this month, to explore yourself so as to emanate into the world positive and healthy energy? Judaism refers to this month’s process of self-examination as Cheshbon-HaNefesh, the “accounting of a soul”. Just like your computer, every so often you have to purge unnecessary data. So too, in your mind and soul, it is good to purge, to rid yourself of the clutter which impedes your essential self from growing. This is the time of year to do this, to be alone with yourself, to examine yourself, so that you can be your best self. If you allow yourself to clear a path through the ‘dense forest’ and embrace the ‘sacred pause’ you may find yourself finally in a state of just “being” the essential you that you wish. You are what you allow yourself to believe, so just Be. Shana Tova https://www.theshabbosproject.org/en/resources/the-shabbat-map (See points 13 - 24)
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