“Work is great. It warms us,” declares
the Talmud (Gittin).
Who does not like a vacation? Yet, who
sits around and just that? So many people set withering agendas on
vacation. Sports, adventures, hiking, catching a bus or running for a
plane or boat, parsing on hundreds of miles, and on.
Perhaps we have all learned that keeping
busy, being productive makes us feel “warm.” A good day concludes
when we have exhausted ourselves with sightseeing.
The same is true for life in general. We seek
work that gratifies us, knowing we have expended energy in a constructive
manner. We enter into relationships and know that it will take ongoing
effort to ensure continuity.
An Israeli joke tells of Yossi and Shmulik sitting
at a café in Tel Aviv drinking coffee all day.
Yossi explains, “We have to watch our
caffeine intake. Too much and it interferes with our sleep at the
office.”
The Holy Days are upon us. We will sit
for long hours seeking forgiveness, meting our responsibility as our ancestors
did before us, greeting old friends and looking for God.
In most of those tasks we succeed but there
are times when in the course of seeking God we are derailed. That may be
because no one bothered to ever explain how to look for the holy One.
- Plato
wrote the first sentence of his famous “Republic” nine times before he was
satisfied.
There are different approaches to God.
They do not all work all the time. We must be prepared to try different
avenues. How about sitting still? Try quieting the mind and simply
focus. Or repeat a meaningful word(s) from the prayers like Shma Yisrael, or Hashevaynu Adondai (Return to me,
God). How about moving your body (what we call “shuckling”) as a form of
prayer?
-Noah Webster worked for thirty-six years
on his dictionary, even crossing the Atlantic Ocean twice to gather
information.
Follow his example and read the marginal
notes for inspiration. Or bring an inspiring book with you to shul to
resource during the service. We keep books for reference in the bookcases
at the rear of the Sanctuary for this purpose.
-Milton rose at 4 am
every day so he could finish Paradise Lost.
Don’t give up.
If one form does not work, try another. Singing is a way to cast your
soul outward. If it is, sing louder.
-
Cicero practiced speaking in front of his friends every day
for 30 years to perfect his elocution.
Why not read up on
the Holy Days before you arrive at shul? There are loads of books in the
library and innumerable sources on line. Come prepared.
-
Byron rewrote on of his poems ninety-nine times before he
was satisfied. Only then was it declared a masterpiece and has become a
classic.
When we put effort
into work, vacations, the yard or whatever we come away with a feeling of
accomplishment, a rewarding sense of success. Since it happens in every
sphere on our lives why not shul too?
- Gibbon spent twenty-six years writing The
Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire.
I do not think you will be
in services that long but come prepared, dedicated to search for your
Maker. As Torah says, “Seek Me and you will find Me.”
