Multicultural Intergenerational Jewish Journal

We are in a moment that is challenging our resolve, and it is hard to hold hope that any effort is making any difference. We are emotionally exhausted from the barrage of harm that exists in so many pockets of our lives, magnified in an information age that expands the brokenness we have access to. I am often asked what I do to stay in the fight, and I realized that my Jewish practices are what keep me going. Though it may not be apparent, our Judaism gives us tools for rest, recharge and resolve. Shabbat is one that many of us have built practices around every week, but there are practices hiding in plain sight that are built to get us through the day-to-day.

• My ritual begins at night when I am finally lying down and processing my day. Along with the words of the bedtime Shema, this is also a moment of reflection. The days are often challenging, and I end my day thinking about what went right (we lose hope when we cannot recall those moments especially on the hardest days), where I might have failed to stand in my own values, and what I might need to do in order to get closer to the best version of myself. My hope is that my soul will be returned to me in the morning so that I can do better tomorrow.
• When I arise, the words of thanks in Modah/eh Ani are there to greet me. I take this time to bring my senses into conscious awareness. I give gratitude to my senses in this moment, taking note of the sensations in my body and the first sounds I hear. As I arise, I even give gratitude to the ache in my knee and the stiffness in my feet because they are there to carry me through another day.
• Kitzur Shulchan Arukh 1:3 gives a spectacular mantra that gives me the emotional fortitude to physically face another day: “Be bold as a leopard, light as an eagle, swift as a deer and strong as a lion.” To me it means that I should not be ashamed of who I am, and what I believe in. I get to be resolute in my values even if that means standing proudly with my spots when the world around me demands stripes. It means trusting my intuition as being Divinely granted. It helps me discern that when something doesn’t feel right, I get to pause and question and not blindly follow without thorough investigation. It means leaning into my strengths and talents to do good things to the best of my ability, and it means to move through my world with courage and with compassion. It means that the world was created for me to take care of, for I will one day return to it, nurturing it with my ashes and unfinished dreams.
• I wash my hands and am mindful of the sensation of the water on my skin. I take in deep breaths and am conscious of what I can smell and the feeling of oxygen entering my lungs. As the water runs over my hands and fingers, I flex them and remind myself that they too will help me do the work of building and shaping as they have for my ancestors before me.
• Getting dressed is my last grooming ritual. The clothes I choose to wear on a given day reflect the energy that speaks to me in that moment. It is my armor and reflects the side of me that will be presented to the world that day. I have gone through phases where the presentation I chose was to fit the image that I felt others expected, and none of them fit me any better than the packaged Purim costumes. I lean into the Sefirot and the idea that my attraction to certain colors is a way for my neshama to signal where she is drawing her power. With that insight in my toolbox, I am ready to face my day.

I offer this cycle in hopes that it aids you in centering yourself. We have the tools to help us go against the grain, day in and day out. As you stand apart in your truth, remember that we do so because we are giving others permission to break from their echo chambers and do the same. We are the mixed multitude; people have always believed in our vision, and by aligning ourselves with who we are put on this earth to become, we are inviting others to come with us on our journey.