Conscious living in Judaism is a must!
Rote, passivity and mindlessness the enemy.
How else to recognize the absolute torrent of blessings in our lives and the beauty of the world that surrounds us? How else to see the hand of Gd in every breath we breathe and the miraculous nature of life itself?
I’m amazed at times at how much I miss. Not to speak of technology that’s doing a brilliant job of making the art of mindlessness look like a virtue.
Yet I digress. Perhaps I just fell onto the useless path of complaining about all the problems and challenges that’s inherent in life — regardless of which era we live in. That’s hardly “mindfulness”.
So there you have it. Mindlessness versus mindfulness. One is “less” and the other is “full”.
As in everything in life — it’s a choice… of course there are excuses why it’s not really a choice but that too is a choice…
How did I get into this topic? Well, it’s because in this week’s Torah portion it speaks of the agricultural mitzvah of leaving sheaves of wheat to the poor “if” one forgets to collect them. In other words — it happened for a reason, it now belongs to the poor. This, despite sudden memory that you forgot to reap and collect a portion of your field. Too late…
My bad you may be thinking. But the truth is, it’s actually-- my good..You see, at the end of the day, mindfulness has its limitations because it becomes all about “me”. What I remember. What I observe. How I feel.
Important as that is — life needs to transcend that! There’s a vast universe out there that extends way beyond our control. To tap into it however, we need to let go. We need to recognize that smothering life and trying to control it all holds back the full effect of our lives on the greater world.
In ways that’s what the preparatory month before the High Holiday's is all about — letting go. Leave the sheaves behind don’t try to gather it all in for yourself. It is forgotten and forlorn for a reason.
Torah’s wisdom? Count your blessings and then move on and move forward. Amen!
With best wishes for a Shabbat Shalom & warm wishes for a Shana Tova,
Rabbi Yehuda & Dina Kantor
P.S. High Holidays is a time for Tzedaka / Charity. Many places to give and many causes -- We will be so appreciative if you make Chabad of Westport one of the recipients --Donate Here