Jewish Musings Monday (for real), Jan. 30, 2017

[hollygail]

What’s on your mind — how to make kugel? This week’s Torah reading? Life goals? Prayer? We are all engaged in weight loss/weight maintenance journeys and we are all Jewish or at least interested in Judaism. We like to eat, we like to discuss. It is our goal here to provide each other support on our journeys, to share experiences, to call on our rich cultural heritage and texts, and to help each other grow spiritually.

Some of us take weekly turns starting the thread:

Angelika
Holly
Lee
Louise
Lynne
Peachy

And for those of you that stop by to read this thread without posting — you are welcome to do that but you are also welcome to chime in!

[hollygail]

(Did anyone notice that the Sunday thread was dated Monday, Jan. 29?)

I read a d’var Torah I’d like to share part of with you.

Body And Soul Religion

Thought and internal spirituality still require physical action in order to deepen one's religious experience.

By Rabbi Neal J. Loevinger

Rabbi Neal Joseph Loevinger is currently the rabbi of Temple Beth-El in Poughkeepsie, NY. A former student at Kolel, he served as Kolel's Director of Outreach from late 1999-2001. He was ordained in the first graduating class of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies of the University of Judaism, and holds a Master's of Environmental Studies from York University in Toronto.

…

Drash

The exchange between Moses and Pharaoh at the end of chapter 10 is, on the simplest level, a battle of wills between political opponents, each trying to get the best deal for his side. Not unlike other famous negotiations in the Middle East, the two parties don’t trust each other, and each tries to give up as little as he can to the other.

The Hasidic master Rabbi Yaakov Yitzhak from Pshi’scha, also known as the Yehudi HaKadosh (The Holy Jew), proposes a reading of the story far removed from the realm of political revolutions. The Yehudi imagines Pharaoh challenging Moses over his understanding of spirituality in worship:

Pharaoh said: “It is possible to worship God [only] in thought and in feeling. So if, in truth, you really desire to worship God—what do you need your flocks and herds for? ‘Go, worship God’—with an upright heart and pure intentions, and you won’t need to make any physical offerings, so ‘only your flocks and herds will remain.'”

Moses answered him: “Intentions alone, without any actions connected to them, aren’t important, aren’t anything! The main thing is real action, and thus intentions depend on actions and are deepened through them. Therefore, ‘our cattle will also go with us,’ (v. 26) because ‘we will take from them to worship Adonai our God.’”

From actions one is aroused to worship God with great feeling and to embrace the Divine. (Source: Itturei Torah, translation mine.)

Clearly, the Yehudi doesn’t think that Pharaoh was all that concerned with the Israelite’s spirituality — this is a parable about contemporary concerns. I understand the Yehudi to be addressing those people who want a purely internal spirituality, going deep inside themselves, spurning the physical world. The Yehudi, speaking through the character of Moses, seems to be suggesting that the proper way to deepen one’s inner life is to align it with your physicality, your embodied being.

An example that comes to mind is ritual action, something often derided by those who seek a purely internal, detached kind of spirituality. (Think of the negative connotations of the word “ritualistic.”) A simple ritual is making a blessing before eating, which can help bring us to feelings of awe and gratitude.

One might think that the best thing is to go directly to the proper feelings, and bypass the ritual, but I think it doesn’t really work that way. The action of the blessing can bring us to a depth of emotion and spiritual understanding unreachable by thought alone; sometimes we don’t even understand, on a spiritual level, what the ritual is all about until after we’ve done it many times.

I think I’ve quoted before one of my favorite teachings from another tradition: “It’s easier to act your way into right thinking than think your way into right acting.” Of course, a certain amount of intellectual preparation is crucial for Jewish practice, but I think the Yehudi reminds us that religious growth can’t happen only “from the neck up.” It happens when we bring physical and spiritual together, when we bring our whole being into the quest, when our actions in the social and religious realms become entirely aligned with our higher goals.

- - -

(The bold emphasis is mine.) What actions are you taking to achieve your goal weight (or whatever your goal is)?

I follow the Simply Filling Technique. I don't have to count any points of any kind for foods that are listed on the SF list (or sometimes called the "no count" list). I don't get any daily points allowance, only the weekly allowance. And I find it SSOOOOO much easier to follow than having to count each and every bite I swallow all day every day of my life. I recognize that for some people, being "accountable" MUST include writing down absolutely everything that goes into their mouths, so please don't think I'm telling all of you to stop following the plan you're following and switch to the one I follow. Oy! But it works for me, and that's what counts (for me). I've been able to maintain Lifetime at Goal since I first hit my goal by following SFT.

[peachymom1]

Hello everyone, and no, Holly, I did not notice the date for Sunday at all!

Thank you for sharing this text, Holly. I think the negative connotation of the word "ritualistic" is unfair, myself. In fact, if people thought really seriously about it, they would realize that there are some rituals common to most of us that we would not want to do without. The decorum and ritual of the courtroom, for example, or the order and vows of a marriage ceremony, however diverse they may be. These kinds of rituals help us feel comfortable in a setting that has serious elements as well, so that we have some common expectations even in our uniqueness.

I remember when my kids went to Jewish nursery school (starting at age 3), on Fridays they dressed up a little and brought coins for the tzedakah box and a can of food/box for the food bank. They had no idea about hungry people or needing to take care of others, or even that tzedakah is a mitzvah; they just knew it made them feel special and important to do what the whole school was doing. By the time they were old enough to understand the concept of tzedakah, they'd been doing it for years. So the internal lessons and resulting spirituality followed the actions rather than preceding them, and by then, the habit was in place. As it was explained to me once, hungry people need to eat even while we're busy figuring out the spirituality behind feeding them. (I'm pretty sure it was Rabbi Harold Schulweis [z"l] who said that.)

As for your question, Holly, I am changing up my eating and rearranging my workout schedule. With only one kid at home now, and an adult at that, I have more time for myself. Also, DH is getting around much better these days from his hip replacement surgery last summer, and I'm hoping in a few months to take a few dance lessons together. He wants to be able to dance at DD's wedding in December. We took dance lessons many years ago and could do a mean rhumba, but I'm sure he's forgotten by now, and besides, it will be fun. I plan to dance my shoes off at the wedding, and if DH can't keep up with me, I'm sure my sons can! Gotta work off that wedding cake, y'know!

[lee058]

Good morning everybody. Hope you are all well. My stomach is upset again today, but this is a common side effect of one of my medicines. Coincidentally, I have a doctor's follow-up visit scheduled (re something else) for this afternoon, so I think I will just mention it to him as long as I am going to be there anyway.

Re today's question: I am working on eating fewer processed foods, thinking more positively, and avoiding mentally going around in circles, among other actions.

I'll be back later. Have a peaceful day, Lee

[savtele]

Boker Tov All! I am always amazed at people who believe it is possible (and perhaps for them it is) to have deep spiritual experiences without a physical "tie." (I do realize that we are all different.) Yes, I often have deep spiritual experiences that don't have an immediate physical ritual attached - but they were preceded by years of ritual learning & understanding, which now "bridge" the gap.

My brother's heart attack was certainly a wake-up call to me - he is the 2nd of my siblings to have a heart attack. (no new word on him yet today - but it is only 7:45 AM here) I have to assume that the family history is part of my personal physical make-up - and I should act accordingly! Gym & pool, certainly. But also, lower carb & lower sugar eating (we're having salmon today). Small, mindful changes. And less stress. (I can hardly wait for hammock-weather!)

I need to get ready to go to the pool.
Have a good day ladies!

[savtele]

Ingo is awake, BH! They have taken the tube out, he is breathing on his own, talking & joking with the nurses. He talked to mom on the phone. Still has some confusion & short-term memory loss - not surprising. They are not allowing visitors yet, too much stimulation. But we are so encouraged!

[louise]

This is right up my alley for day one of the delivered food - I am making a statement to myself by starting it again, even if for only 9 days. I am also making sure to value it because the program is so expensive! If eating these meals is akin to a ritual (at any rate an action) I am hoping that repeating this behavior for the next 9 days will help me start back on the habit of healthy moderate eating. I'm looking for an analogy here to performing a ritual with or without kavanah (or perhaps mindlessly or not) because building that habit will serve you in your spiritual quest. Should work for my WLJ as well.