Why were the enslaved redeemed? Why did grace descend in Nissan? Until then, we were so lost in our enslavement that we could not even speak. But! We could do one true thing. We could groan.

Ex. 6:5 And I have also heard the groaning of the people of Israel, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.

In Jewish mystical circles, this is called awakening from below. The truth of our groans, unexplained and undefined, pierced the heavens and Y H V H “heard” them.

G!D responded with promises of redemption from slavery of the narrow spaces, a fabulous sacred story that we read at the beginning of Passover: This is called awakening from above:

Ex. 6:6. Therefore say to the people of Israel, I am Y H V H, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you from their slavery, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments;

ו לָכֵן אֱמֹר לִבְנֵי-יִשְֹרָאֵל אֲנִי יְהוָֹה וְהוֹצֵאתִי אֶתְכֶם מִתַּחַת סִבְלֹת מִצְרַיִם וְהִצַּלְתִּי אֶתְכֶם מֵעֲבֹדָתָם וְגָאַלְתִּי אֶתְכֶם בִּזְרוֹעַ נְטוּיָה וּבִשְׁפָטִים גְּדֹלִי

I share the feelings of frustration and powerlessness that so many of us have in light of the seemingly intractable problems we face as people of the world. But, remember, we also are going through a propitious time for miracles, and the Haggadah teaches us how to coax heaven, so to speak.

One of the meanings of Pesach, the Hebrew word for Passover, is speaking (sach) mouth (pe). Tell the story of our redemption, then and now. Speak one true thing to Being; one true request for redemption from the narrow places of Mitzrayim. One true groan, cry, or elaborated request opens our hearts so that we can enter into the auspicious time of Passover with some faith and trust. One true tear drop from the depths of whatever reality is confining each of us can be life-changing in our inner worlds and in the world that appears outside of us.

Pray for peace. Pray for redemption for those who others are trying to rob of their freedom. Pray for redemption from our own enslavement to the task-masters of anything that drives us to rely on powers beyond our sense of True self.

I wish each of you a meaningful and transformational Pesach!

Rabbi Devorah Chanah Talyah (Rabbi Deb)

The Passover Seder Plates above prove the Jewish maxim once again; Two rabbis, three opinions!

For our seder plate, I substitute lamb’s wool for the shank bone and add other things to my plate. Historically, I have added an orange to represent women and LGBTQ folks who struggled (and still struggle in some quarters) for acceptance and leadership within organized religion, and an olive as a prayer for peace in the middle east. This year I am adding a Ukrainian Flag toothpick. Add what is meaningful to you!

Please use chocolate and coffee that you are certain is not sourced through child or any other kind of slavery. You can find lists of companies that use and do not use slave labor on google. If it is more expensive, eat and drink less. Fish is more difficult to track.

Loving Blessings for a Beautiful Passover Season,

Rabbi Devorah Chanah Talyah (Rabbi Deb)

Rabbi Zalman Schechter-Shalomi, z”l, died last week and, for me, his departure brought an end to an era of great rabbis who truly care about the people.  This is not to say that there are no longer any great rabbis who care.  Reb Zalman cared for people in ways that seem unique to the rabbis of his generation who came to the United States carrying with them the lights of a Euopean Yeshivah and Chassidic background.

Reb Zalman was not my primary rebbe.  His colleague Rabbi Brod, z”l, whom we all called “Rabbi,” was my rebbe, my friend, the one who subtly taught me how to reconcile my soul to something better, and the one who taught me the heart of a rebbe.  He taught that a rabbi should be driven by the need to find flexibility to meet a person’s needs if traditional avenues are, for whatever reason, closed.  Reb Shlomo, another colleague and friend of Reb Zalman’s, had boundaries so thin that he was able to help a stranger as if his life depended on it.  These are the three rabbis who influence me beyond measure.

Reb Zalman made openings in the Jewish world where spiritually hungry travellers could rest and maybe even take up residence.  The most valuable lesson that I learned from Reb Zalman was a different expression of something precious that I learned from Rabbi Brod.  Reb Zalman taught about retrofitting changes that we make as rabbis and spiritual leaders to traditions and Jewish laws that have developed over thousands of years.

He gave over his analyses of Paradgm Shift through the centuries to anyone who would listen or read.  This enabled me to see that Judaism has been changeable and has to have flexibility if it is to respond to the changing needs of different people at various times in history.  It also gave me a leg to stand on when confronted by unsympathetic others about “what is Jewish.”

I remember reading an article about Reb Zalman that questioned whether he was a tzaddik or a renegade.  I suspect that Reb Zalman might have answered that he was neither, but that he was somewhere in-between.  It was not the only time that Reb Zalman’s teachings or positions raised an eyebrow or a hackle in the Jewish world.  At the last Ohalah he spoke to the group about supporting each other as we develop the newer paths identified by many as Jewish Renewal.  He  commented on how lucky he thought we were to have one another.

It reminded me of Rabbi Brod who had no rebbe after his father who also was a rabbi died.  Rabbi Brod used to say that G-d was his rabbi and his wife Freda would wryly quip that the relationship was very personal.  I imagine that it might have been the same for Reb Zalman.  His courage, his faith, his willingness to loom large in face of criticism and to constrict his presence at times when his students needed to grow all inspire and strengthen me to do work to which I feel called.

Reb Zalman, the founder of Jewish Renewal, made it possible for me to become a rabbi in a number of ways.  The ALEPH rabbinic program allowed me to keep my home base in Tampa with my family and to study long-distance.  He cared about spiritually nourishing his students, not just by feeding us but by showing us how to mine the rich soil of Jewish and other mystical traditions.

He was a prolific writer and I remain a student of his works.  On the day that he drew his last breath I had just received one of his books entitled Fragments of a Future Scroll, Hassidism for the Aquarian Age.   Every time I look at the book’s title, I feel supported in my non-traditional, experiential and experimental work, and feel urged, with mindfulness of so many teachings from Jewish tradition, to study and forge ahead.

I did have a few personal encounters with Reb Zalman.  My favorite memory was probably the least eventful.  As he passed me at an Ohalah gathering, he looked at me and said “G!d bless you!”

Reb Zalman was a rebbe of blessing, whether he uttered it, manifested it through his teachings, or gave it through his generous spirit toward the people.  Reb Zalman involved heaven in his works and taught us to return something with holiness.  During the past few months I noticed that he would sign off on his posts by writing something like:   blessings in the ways that you need them,” or blessings in the ways that will do you the most good.  How awesomely incisive is that!

Reb Zalman’s blessings through his teachings, his friendships and his accomplishments persist with us today.  May his memory and his works always be a blessing in the ways that each one of us needs.

L’shalom for now,
Rabbi Deb    

Two pictures of Linda are posted on the website, one with Rabbi Deb and the other with her husband Colby.  Based on a write-up submitted by Or Ahavah, here is what was written in the program and spoken about Linda as she was called up to be honored:
“Linda has been an active supporter of Or Ahavah for more than seven years.  She was a primary care physician in Dunedin from 1979-2008, and a staff physician at the VA from 2008-2012 prior to her retirement.  Linda’s background as a physician makes her a healing presence at Or Ahavah who embodies the teachings and ethics of Judaism.  Since 1996, she has provided educational seminars on end of life issues for local and international groups including the Association of Death Educators and Bereavement Counselors, Women in Thanatology, and Hospice.  Linda was also involved with the Jewish Film Festival from 2006-2009.  Linda is married to Colby Munger.  She and her late husband, Mel Wexler, have three children and six grandchildren.”

Still, even with the sacred metaphor of “light,” is what I led really “Jewish” meditation?  Do Jewish symbols and Jewish people make the meditation Jewish?  Yes, I think that they work to form the permeable energetic vessel of our meditation.  I think it is Jewish also because it encourages awareness of being in the Presence of G!d, of being present to the Light of G!d.

At the end of the Amida prayer, we find a line from Ps. 19:  “May the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock, and my redeemer.”   During our meditation on Spa Day, we were open to being in G!d’s sight and open to our indulgences being acceptable to G!d.  We were open to Divine Presence within us and surrounding us.  We were living the line from Psalm 19 with hearts moved by deep comfort and enjoyment, and with awareness of being present to One!.

We know that there are many ways to live out this line from Ps. 19, such as doing mitzvot with consciousness and praying with kavannah..  But ordinary pleasures of everyday life can be part of our G!d consciousness too.   With awareness, having spa treatments and eating dark chocolate can lead us into the Light of Gd as well!

Shalom for now,
Rabbi Deb

Was Sarah alone in her suffering that was so debilitating that it took her life? Abraham came to mourn for Sarah says the Torah. From where? ask the rabbis, and again Rabbi Jose answers saying that Abraham came from Mount Moriah, where the binding of Isaac took place In the rabbi’s imagination, not only did Sarah’s grief drain her life, she endured it without her spouse and the father of her child. Perhaps, she was entirely alone.

I work with people who are dying, but in a world different from Sarah’s. Many of the people are dying from or have been confronted with life-threatening chronic diseases. Some fight off the disease’s debilitating effects for extended periods of time, and some go more quickly.

When being present to those who believed that their death was immanent, I witnessed their struggle with sadness about leaving family, friends, pets, their work, the things in life that they love to do and all the dreams that they may not have time to make come true. None of us really knows the time of our death or what we will be able to do within the time on earth left to us. That information is a secret known only to heaven.

Yet, one of the greatest lessons that many of these people have taught me is about using the prospect and process of dying as a doorway to the joy of renewed living. They use the greatest power that G!d gives to us, the power to be free, to be authentic to who they truly are at any one moment, to be true to their purposes in life as they understand them.

A story is told about a great Rabbi whose name was Reb Zusha. Surrounded by his students on his death bed, Reb Zusha wailed and sobbed with all the strength left to him. His students asked why he was so distraught and Reb Zusha replied that he was afraid of how he would be judged in The World To Come. His students replied that he was the most righteous soul they had ever known, like Moses in the Torah. Reb Zusha replied that he was not concerned that G!d would ask him why he was not more like Moses, but that G!d would ask him why he was not more like Zusha!

In the end, these precious souls teach me that it is not about power or wealth, or what you think you should be. Successful living, even when dying, is being who we really are to the best of our ability, receiving ourselves with compassion and acceptance, being vulnerable enough to let love from others in and opening our breaking hearts wide enough to be honest in our anger with the seeming unfairness of life and to the flow of love that need never stop running through us to others.

One more thing the sick and dying teach me is how important it is to not feel alone in our suffering. It seems that those who have faith in G!d seem to fare better through the dying process than those who have nothing beyond the grave to hold onto. As importantly, we need intimacy with another, one who cannot live, suffer, or die for us, but one who can be close and assure us that we are not alone.

And then I remember Sarah who died, and I want to know how and want to know if she was alone, and I cannot think of times much more terrible than dying from grief for a child and going through that pain alone.

We live in different times than Sarah. We have grief counseling and other therapeutic interventions for those stricken with unfathomable loss. We have access to programs that help us through the last of our days when we are in the throes of the process that leads to our death.

And more and more, we are confronted by chronic diseases that one day may be cause of our death.

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Ps. 90:12) How ancient and contemporary is this teaching!

Shalom for now,
Rabbi Deb

*Midrash Rabbah on Chayye Sarah

And for all of this, our withdrawal and our fasts, we receive a sacred gift on Yom Kippur. Our fasting does not take anything away from us. We, in a sense, loosen from our bodies and from the world of physicality and become very very sensitive to the movement and callings from our hearts and our souls.

The rituals contained in the Yom Kippur services offer a prescription for these kinds of experiences. They offer us a road map to a path of discovery of greater awareness of who we really are, what we really need, and what we truly can do to help our world.

We become keenly aware of some of what lies beneath the noisy static of our daily distractions. Our consciousness expands and we begin to listen to ourselves and to others with mind and heart and spirit through which we grow and integrate. We realize that we can be more whole and that the greatest path is the “path of the open heart.” (Rabbi Arthur Green)

Even though we cannot carry this capacity to the same extent once we reenter our daily lives, the heightened awareness and a heart that is open more widely remains with us, just beneath the surface, integrated into the foundation of our being. If we continue to pay attention, even if just occasionally during the day, we also can continue to grow in our integrity and our humanity. And I think that this is a message we are left with from Yom Kippur: Be better and do better. The rituals of the holiday have shown us how.

Shalom for now,

Rabbi Deb