Tag Archives: shabbat

If Worrying Paid Off

12 Friday Feb 2016

Posted by in Contemporary Sages, Uncategorized

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“If worrying did any good, all the rich people would hire worriers!”

-Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

natur-schutz

When I was in college, someone gave me a set of “trouble dolls”, six little figures in a box. I was supposed to tell them my troubles each night at bed, and let them carry them while I got a good nights sleep. There were only 6 dolls because I was only allowed to have that many troubles and no more! They were “worriers” I could hire for the night.

As Shabbat approaches each Friday night, my family and I review the week; the blessings and the struggles. As we ritually wash our hands before breaking bread, we wash away and release anything we need to let go of that would keep us from entering a state of peace and joy. And then we throw that water out onto the earth to be processed, recycled and renewed! This ritual allows us to put our worries aside for a day, and relax into the NOW. It’s a life saving break from woes. Repeat as needed.

What worries do you need to release right now to enter a place of peace?

Shabbat Shalom!

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Zalman Meshullam Schachter-Shalomi, commonly called “Reb Zalman“, (28 August 1924 – 3 July 2014) was one of the founders of the Jewish Renewal movement and an innovator in ecumenical dialogue and spiritual practice.

Joe Laur is a father, husband, naturalist, executive consultant, and a lowly rabbinic student. He can be reached at joe.laur@godsdog.net.

Kept by Shabbat

30 Saturday Jan 2016

Posted by in Historic Voices, Uncategorized

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“More than the Jewish People have kept the Sabbath, the Sabbath has kept the Jews.”

– Ahad Ha’am

hand_held_sunset_514532

A Palace in Time” is what Abraham Joshua Heschel calls the Sabbath. A day in the week, one in every seven, where we cease from toiling in the creation of the world and simply marvel at the world of creation. Far from being a day of prohibitions and “don’ts”; it is a day where we pause for a moment and see the glass neither has half empty or half full, but just as perfectly filed as it needs to be right now. We don’t work because for today, there is no need to. There is nothing to be done, just to sit back, exhale, and take it all in. A day where it’s ok to put everything off until tomorrow, except maybe love and wonder.

So stop, today, now, even for moment. Notice the vast world around you, that tree, that sky, that perfect glass of water on the table. Taste, and enjoy, permit yourself the pleasure at hand. Tomorrow you can work and worry, but today, let yourself be a kept person. Kept alive by one perfect day.

What can you look at and simply appreciate and bless without change, right now?

Asher Zvi Hirsch Ginsberg (18 August 1856 – 2 January 1927), primarily known by his Hebrew name and pen name, Ahad Ha’am (Hebrew for one of the people), was a Hebrew essayist. He is known as the founder of cultural Zionism. With his secular vision of a Jewish “spiritual center” in Israel, Ha’am strived for “a Jewish state and not merely a state of Jews”.[1]

Joe Laur is a father, husband, artist, builder, naturalist, consultant, and EcoKosher mashgiach. He lives with his wife Sara in western Massachusetts, where he serves as head groundskeeper and resident singer songwriter. Send him your favorite teaching quote for commentary. He can be reached at joe.laur@joelaur.com.

The Door Is Wide Open!

23 Saturday Jan 2016

Posted by in Mystic Voices, Uncategorized

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“Be empty of worrying.
Think of who created thought!

Why do you stay in prison
When the door is so wide open?”

–Rumi

Jalal ad-Din Muhammed Rumi was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufimystic. Rumi’s influence transcends national borders and ethnic divisions; people of all faiths and nations have greatly appreciated his spiritual legacy for the past seven centuries. His poems have been widely translated into many of the world’s languages and transposed into various formats. Rumi has been described as the “most popular poet” and the “best selling poet” in the United States.

Today is Shabbat, the Sabbath in English, a day to be rather than do, a day to bless and praise creation rather than labor at it, a day of rest and renewal. On a day like this, we can let go of our worries, just for one planetary turn; we can live moment to moment, we can be sane today even if our lives are crazy yesterday and tomorrow. Think of it as a long outbreath after a week of sucking it up!

vincent-van-gogh-noon-rest-from-work

Van Gogh, Noon Rest From Work

This quatrain of Rumi is especially perfect for today. Why worry? As Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi once said, “If worrying did any good, rich people would hire worriers!” Reflect on the Infinite Mind behind all thought. We often feel as though we are chained to our lives, our schedules, our jobs, our obligations. Take the radical act of a one day break from burdens, and instead, embrace response-ability, the ability to respond in each moment to what is before us. We are not imprisoned, or if we think we are, we can recognize that just for today, the door is only locked from our side of it!

In what ways can you free yourself to the pure joy of simply being today?

 

Joe Laur is a father, husband, artist, builder, naturalist, consultant, and EcoKosher mashgiach. He lives with his wife Sara in western Massachusetts, where he serves as head groundskeeper and resident singer songwriter. Send him your favorite teaching quote for commentary. He can be reached at joe.laur@joelaur.com.