Music, Dance, and Story Keep us Human

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Early tomorrow morning I return to the East Coast, leaving the majesty of the Rockies behind no less than four straight days without getting into a car to go anywhere. The days spent here have not been a vacation, but they have been rejuvenating and inspirational. There is first and foremost time spent surrounded by people who've chosen to dedicate a good part of their lives to consciously seeking out ways to bring joy, understanding, insight, and hope into the world. They put their various talents, experiences, values, and passions to this effort. Some are artist-rabbis, musician-educators, poets, cantor-song-writers, liturgists, story-tellers, community builders, spiritual directors...There's a judge who spent six years after work studying and now continues to be a judge while helping to co-lead a small congregation. Self-worth is not tied up with how much money is earned (in fact, many of the folks here are most likely vastly underpaid, more often than not working in small congregations, sometimes part-time, juggling more than one job, or being chaplains, or entrepreneurs trying to get new ventures up and running) so much as with the work that is being done is in some ways creatively contributing to building a more loving and open society, one where Jewish life becomes a creative life-affirming practice.

One of the most striking facets of being connected to Jewish Renewal as a network is the number of artistically talented people that are part of its leadership. Throughout the four days, whether in learning workshops, prayer services, or in the evening after dinner by the couches in the foyer, music, dance, storytelling abound, and are integrated organically into the activity. Whether planned or spontaneous I found myself hour after hour immersing myself in a village of individuals for whom various art forms are fundamental to their being, and its expression weaves its way into their roles as Jewish spiritual leaders and teachers. On one occasion as I joined in with the singing (yes, I did, frequently), I recalled that in a card I recently wrote to Hannah I told her about the response that Abraham Joshua Heschel (the great Jewish philosopher and spiritual leader) gave to an interviewer only a few days before his death. In response to a question about advice that he would give to young people, Heschel responded (I'm paraphrasing), that he believed young people should try to live their lives as if they were works of art. What might that mean in reality, if we were to take those words seriously? It's not an easy charge to assume. Over these past couple of days I felt as if I'd met many individuals who quietly but persistently are doing just that, and modeling for others the richness of such a path.

Along with hearing the chanting of Martin Luther King's words as the haftarah on Shabbat morning, two memories stand out for me from these intensive days. Last night late into the evening I sat listening and singing to several of the musical rabbis playing guitars, mandolins, and drums and singing various songs from American, Jewish and original sources. I heard them play Phil Ochs' song "Power and the Glory" together. As we arrive at a dangerous crossroads in this country, those words and music seemed to echo into the night for me (see link below). The second moment was during services on Monday morning - MLK Day - when the Torah portion for this week, from the opening chapters of the book of Exodus, was chanted. In it we read that the new Pharaoh who arose after Joseph's death enslaved the descendants of Jacob's children who, according the the narrative, had prospered and multiplied in number. In an attempt to reduce the population, Pharaoh orders two midwives, named Shifra and Puah (who the rabbis later say were none other than the mother and sister of Moses) to kill any of the Israelite male babies by drowning them in the Nile River. But the midwives defy Pharaoh. They resist his orders, lying to him when the Pharaoh confronts them about the matter. What forms does resistance to evil, always and ever present a danger in the human condition, take? How do we know when to be brave and how to be brave? These are not easy questions; there are hardly ever simple answers to them. But through the ritual of listening year in and year out to this ancient narrative about two women who choose to disobey and protect life over death (and it's Benjamin's bar mitzvah Torah reading!) I felt the claims of my ancestors beckoning me to stay connected to their moral life and death struggle and to refuse to yield or be cowed by the dangers facing our country now and in the future days to come.

https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-mozilla-003&hsimp=yhs-003&hspart=mozilla&p=phil+ochs+power+and+glory#id=3&vid=115d4549b4e66d2936d6954a9a0a7e83&action=click

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Photos

Learning Partners by the Fire
My study partner Elca

Sunrise Swim
Yes, I went swimming outside every morning no matter the air temperature (somewhere in the 20s). Pool was 85 degrees and steam rose off of it. Delicious morning exercise!