Tuesday, June 21, 2016

2016 - An Invitation To Connect

Listen to the moan of a dog for its master.
That whining is the connection.        
---  Jelaluddin Rumi

Like most of you, my life is hectic.  And yet, I find myself pushing off the one thing that I know would help put it all in perspective – my spiritual practice.

For some of us, this is praying, for others it is meditation, or yoga, or running, or mindfulness or going to synagogue, or church, or mosque, or temple, regardless of what our spiritual practice is or where it takes place it is something that we do that allows us to connect.

My teacher Rev. Diane Burke often says that spiritual practice does not guarantee moments of GRACE, or moments of connection. Rather we are gifted with those and they come sporadically. The more we do our spiritual practice the more we allow these precious moments to gift us with their presence.

I know this to be true. For me stopping and connecting changes everything– whether I find grace in that moment or not. My life becomes a bit more spacious, and my mind stops racing. But much like a friend who is “looking” for a job but doesn’t send out resumes or apply for jobs yet complains that he is or she is unhappy in his or her present job – I sometimes avoid the very thing that will facilitate the results I want.

A story is told of Rabbi Zusha of Anipoli.  Every day he would sit in his study and when he was hungry he would call out, “God, Zusha is hungry.”  Then his servant would come with a tray of food and Rabbi Zusha would eat and thank God for the meal.

The servant grew tired. He asked himself, “Why does the Rabbi always say – “God, Zusha is hungry?  Doesn’t he realize that I am the person that prepares it and brings it to him?  

So Moshe took the day off. He showed up on the following morning and found the remnants of a banquet on the Rabbi’s dining room table.

He was shocked and asked around town. Who was at the Rabbi’s house? Who brought him all this food? He learned a wealthy merchant had come to town. He had been trying to get an audience with the Rabbi, but after knocking on the door numerous times, the only sound he heard was the rabbi’s chanting and studying the holy texts.

 “The Rabbi must eat sometime”, the merchant thought, and so he went out and brought all kinds of foods.  He stood outside the Rabbi’s window, and when he heard the Rabbi say, “God, Zusha is hungry.” The merchant opened the door wheeling in all the food he had bought. During the meal the merchant and the Rabbi spoke, and the merchant took this time to ask for a blessing that he and his wife be blessed with children.

After hearing this Moshe returned to the Rabbi and told him how he had left the Rabbi to fend for himself and how the merchant showed up just in time.

“Ah…” the Rabbi said. “Of course the food comes from God. It would be incredible if I just thought that I was hungry and the food would appear, but we all have to do hishtadlut (exert effort) in order to be fed, for some of us it is to go out to work, for others it is to plow the fields or to cook, for me, Zusha of Anipoli, I need to call out –"God, Zusha is hungry" and the food appears.”

So too it is with the spiritual practice that feeds my soul. I want to be like Rabbi Zusha who merely calls out and is answered by God almost immediately every time. In reality, I am more like the merchant who has to put in little effort and exercise a little patience to get the connection I want.

I invite you to join me, to connect deeper this Friday night. I invite you to unplug, to chant, to pray, to stop and do something that allows you to connect.

TEHOM el Tehom Koray (from the deep I call to you- Psalms). Let us make time to create the space for the connection that we yearn for.
This Friday - June 24, 2016
6:30pm
The Fair Lawn Jewish Center
10-10 Norma Ave
Fair Lawn, NJ 07410