The pandemic's crushing weight

Jul 24

Written By

I have a vision of moving this blog to a new URL. A few weeks ago, I gained clarity into how off-putting my blog title really is. Considering how terrifying reality can be, does anyone want to learn spirituality from someone who claims to be broken? Isn't there enough brokenness without bringing that into your religious life?

Brokenness and repairing the world within

Accepting brokenness as an innate part of the human condition was a huge step forward on my own spiritual journey. It is part of Luranic Kabbalism as explained by Rabbi Mordecai Finley of Ohr HaTorah. Yet, I also recognize how disconnected most Jews are from Jewish mysticism specifically and theology more generally. So I want to provide a URL that does not require a metaphysical leap. With HaShem's help, that URL transformation is coming soon.

Real talk on life with kids

Now, I just want to be frank. Parenting two small children while basically being locked at home for the foreseeable future is a heavy weight. My four year-old is afraid to touch the floor. That makes it quite difficult to get him to pick up the mess he makes on a daily basis. My six year-old cries over the vagaries of playing video games. And refuses to meet with people via Zoom. So I'm not entirely sure how virtual TK and second grade will happen alongside my fifth year of rabbinical school. I've already put off my synagogue internship to allow myself time to be primary parent four days a week. (My classes meet on Sunday and Monday.)

Ways forward

I can't tell you that scheduling time to attend minyans daily will help make your life feel more meaningful. Zoom services are fundamentally different from in-person davennen. We need space to find our own way into prayer and our own way into the structure needed to make prayer a daily part of life.

Another option is daily study. In 2020, I have tried Daf Yomi and reading through the psalter. I have not finished either of these projects. Yet, I can say with certainty that allowing space for deep reading-- even if you never finish the book --is soul nourishing.

Ibn Pakuda's Duties of the Heart

This summer, I am doing an independent study on Medieval Jewish Philosophy. Currently reading Bahya ben Joseph Ibn Pakuda's The Book of Direction to the Duties of the Heart. I purchased the book in 2011 and deeply remember how long it took me to read the academic introduction by the translator, Menahem Mansoor. Desperately wanted to connect with the book, as it is the first comprehensive treatment of Jewish ethics. At the time, I stopped reading in the chapter about the importance of keeping the commandments. My progressive, antinomian ego could not accept moving through the logic of a different time. The book is revolutionary for three main reasons: its focus on the inward space of religious practice, its thorough description of repentance / teshuvah, and its statements on ethics.

Simultaneously, it is also a book of Jewish theology. Being a Jew born post-Shoah (after World War II and the Catastrophe), I wonder how to make Jewish spiritual practice relevant to people who are so jaded by our communal and individual experiences. Yes, absolutely, Jewish civilization and ethnicities are important in their own right. And yet, there is something deeply powerful -- both in these received texts and in contemporary religious conversations, that should resonate with modern Jewish souls and the souls of seekers.

I have 200 pages more to read before offering more thoughts on Ibn Pakuda's magnum opus. After that, I might dabble back into the Talmud or the psalter. I might also start another series of books -- Daniel Matt's translation of the Zohar. I have to constantly remind myself that it is okay not to read everything. That there's no way for me to read everything. And yet, sometimes I think my books are gossiping about me and making snarky comments about how few I've read cover to cover...