Jewish Ritual as a path to joy and connection
Teachings by Rabbi Malkah Binah Klein about Jewish ritual, Torah, spiritual practices for thriving in these times
Sackcloth is a traditional symbolic clothing of lamentation and repentance. There are a number of Biblical references to wearing sackcloth at times of grief or impending doom, both by individuals and by the whole community.
Read MoreAs I imagine is true for many of you, I have been feeling depleted two years into the pandemic. A challenge I am embracing is how to reconnect with the joy of preparing for Pesach that I experienced as a child. I loved helping my Mom to empty the pantries and wipe the shelves clean and bring out the dishes we used just once a year, some of which were from my grandmother Ethel. Cleaning for Pesach is about both connecting to tradition and ancestors and preparing to start anew.
Here is the chant that came to me this morning, which I look forward to singing as I engage in cleaning for Pesach. The phrase is from Exodus 12:15, as part of the instructions given in Egypt for future generations to celebrate Pesach.
My friend Geela Rayzel Raphael gifted me with my first outing to a recording studio, Sal Centola’s Angel Studio. Here is what Geela Rayzel, Sal, and I co-created. Geela Rayzel is singing back-up vocals, and Sal is the producer, engineer, arranger, and composer of the music, based on my chant. The words are from a poem by Deena Metzger, which I discovered in Joanna Macy’s chapter on Despair Work in her beautiful book World as Lover, World as Self. This recording is dedicated to my friend Anael Atara, who celebrates her 70th birthday this month, with deep appreciation for the light and love she shines into the world.
I offer this chant as a prayer for our courage—for each and every human being, including those with political and financial influence— to act from a spirit of love and nurture.
Thank you to Deena Metzger for her permission to share this recording of her words here on my blog. I encourage you to visit Deena’s website. She is a poet, novelist, storyteller, teacher, healer, and medicine woman, and I look forward to learning more about her work. Deena shared with me that in 1984 she collaborated with singer-songwriter Charlie Murphy and musician Jami Sieber (whom I am proud to support through Patreon) to create a chant based on her poem. Their recording, Time to Love (Album: Canticles of Light), can be heard here.
We are in a Sabbatical, or Shmita, Year, the 7th year described in Torah when the fields are to lie fallow. I have been developing practices for deepening into this year of rest and renewal.
Read MoreSharing my latest version of the story of Jonah, telling the story with select Hebrew words from the Biblical text woven in as chant. This is about 14 minutes long. The painting of Jonah, whose name means “Dove”, is the first in a Jonah series painted by my friend Ronnie Weyl.
I am writing this message the morning before Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement/At-ONE-met, the most sacred day in the Jewish calendar). My community has a daily morning minyan (prayer service), now on Zoom, and I am subscribed to the What’s App group that informs us whether more people are needed to make the minyan (ten people are needed to say certain key prayers). My son went off to school and I got the message that more people were needed, and I felt called to show up. Today, I was the 10th person. I was moved to experience that my very presence made the difference for this communal moment.
When we got to the daily Amidah (a set of 19 blessings that are central to the service), I found myself drawn to the words of the 6th blessing — mochel v’soleach atah— which essentially means that “You are a forgiving God”. I started chanting these words. Tears came. I also added the final words from the blessing— chanun hamarbeh lisloach— You are gracious in Your forgiveness. I have prayed these words many times. Today they found a deep place in my heart, a deeper knowing that God forgives, God loves, that I am loved in my imperfections and mistakes and misjudgments. The message is both personal and universal— God loves everyone, each of us, including those whom we judge and those whom we fear.
I have been working on a performance piece telling the Biblical story of Jonah (stay tuned for a recording), which is traditionally read at the end of Yom Kippur, and have been sitting with how hard it is for Jonah to accept God’s forgiving nature towards the people of Nineveh, who had been acting in wicked ways. It’s so hard for Jonah to reconcile that God would forgive this community that he declares that death would be better than life. This story touches on a deep truth about human nature— we can get stuck in our limited perspective. The words of this chant, and so many of the prayers of Yom Kippur, challenge us to crack open our perspective, to see through God’s loving and forgiving eyes— both towards ourselves, towards our loved ones, and even towards those whom we might consider enemies.
Gmar hatimah tovah. May you be sealed in the Book of Life and Forgiveness!
mochel v’soleach atah chanun hamarbeh lisloach מוֹחֵל וְסוֹלֵֽחַ אָֽתָּה חַנּוּן הַמַּרְבֶּה לִסְלֽוֹח
Download chant here