16/09/2020
COVID has made us all vulnerable in different ways. We fear losing our health, even our lives, as well as our jobs, homes and the security we have worked a lifetime to create. We all had so many plans and events that we couldn’t have fathomed being canceled when 2020 began. But in this moment of deep personal and communal uncertainty, we have the power to change our inner landscape by engaging in meaningful introspection and acts of compassion and forgiveness.
On Rosh Hashanah, we usually turn inward and focus on our personal goals for the upcoming year. Can I be a better person, a more understanding parent, a more supportive partner? What do I want to change in the coming year?
Most of us take breathing for granted. It's something that just happens on its own. But as we approach Rosh Hashanah and look back at some of the takeaways from the year, there has been a focus on breathing.
This year will be remembered as a year of Covid-19 ventilators and masks that inhibit our breathing. This year will be remembered as the year that we were forced to slow down from the rapid pace of our daily lives and just breathe. And with every breath we learned to humble ourselves, to relinquish control, to take each day as it comes, and to live a little more in the present.
Many of us will remember this year as one that snapped them out of the trance of daily repetitive living, giving a chance to learn how to focus on what matters, to get to know our families and ourselves a little better, a year that taught us how to truly breathe.
On Rosh Hashanah there is a commandment to blow the shofar, a unique mitzvah in that it is fulfilled by using our breath. The shofar blasts mark the birthday of Adam and Eve. God "blew" into mankind's nostrils, giving the "breath of life". Breath is symbolic for the soul, as the two share a common Hebrew root. The word for soul, "neshama", is almost identical to the Hebrew word “neshima”, breathe. It's no wonder that one can become more aware of the higher levels of their soul by slowing down and focusing on their breathing.
Blowing the shofar teaches us how to discover our soul. The shofar is nothing more than a hollow shell, yet it transforms a fleeting breath into a powerful victory cry. When we make ourselves hollow, letting go of our egos and relinquish the false sense of control, only then can we fully experience the spiritual essence that is inside of us.
This past year we learned how to do just that. We saw how quickly our entire life can change, and how the entire world can be thrown into chaos. We saw that most of the external structures that we build are really hollow and powerless. We learned that without breath – without a spiritual connection, without meaningful relationships, without personal growth – our lives can turn very empty very quickly.
As we look back on a year when we learned how to pay attention to our breath, when we saw the hollowness and fragility of our control, when the word corona became a household word, perhaps we can view the entire year as one great shofar blast, one great reminder of who is really in control.
I don’t know how or when the pandemic will end, but I know that the miracle of life is now. Thank You for the gift of life. Thank You for bringing us all to this day. Last Rosh Hashanah none of us could have imagined the year to come; for many of us, it is the first time in our lives that we are grateful just to be alive, healthy, appreciate the relationships, the space and shelter we have.
As I put my hand to my chest, and feel the rise and fall, and my heart continue to beat, I think of the life-force keeping me here, even if I don’t acknowledge it.
Let’s take a moment to appreciate each precious breath, in and out, that’s being given to us.
I am alive. And so are you
Happy New year