Rabbi's Blog

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Words to Live By

Welcome to this online Elul spirituality retreat, written by Rabbi Marcia Plumb and sponsored by Congregation Mishkan Tefila. Every day during the month of Elul, you will receive a ‘Word to Live By’. The words will be in alphabetical order, similar to the Ashamnu prayer during the Yamim Noraim. The Ashamnu lists our sins from the past, but our Elul words contain hope for the future.

You can use the word, and the teaching that comes with it, to set an intention for your day, to help you live your day based on the word. You may want to share it with a friend, who has need of just that word. You may be busy, and simply notice the word in the subject heading, then, skip to the next email….and that is fine too. Noticing can be enough.

At the end of the month, at Rosh Hashanah, I hope, because of our Words, our hearts will be softer, our minds more open to new ways of thinking, and our actions more compassionate.

With prayers for healing and renewal,
Rabbi Marcia Plumb, Congregation Mishkan Tefila, Brookline MA.

Looking for the Good/Hakarat Hatov

If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it fall, has it made a sound?  George Berkeley posed this question, and Albert Einstein followed up with a different question to  Neils Bohr: If no one is looking at the moon, does it still exist?
 
For us at Elul, the question is:  If there is goodness in the world, but no one sees it or appreciates it, does the goodness exist? 
 
According to Rashi, the 9th c. commentator, the answer is no.  The good, and the thing itself, do not exist without recognition. There can not be a continued realization of creation without a creature to recognize. 

If we don’t notice and appreciate the good around us and within us, then the good doesn’t exist.   In the book of Genesis we know that God's orientation from the beginning was to recognize the good.  The Garden of Eden existed because Adam and Eve appreciated its beauty  and acknowledged it by naming the good things they saw. 

Spiritual Practice
​​​​​​​Today, actively look for goodness from others, good things in our day, and the good in ourselves.  Create goodness by noticing it.  Create the Garden of Eden on earth today. 

Elul @ Mishkan Tefila

ELUL Offerings: To Prepare Our Souls for High Holy Days

Silent Supper, September 17:  Silent Supper

All Congregants and Guests Are Welcome

Using texts and 20 minutes of silent reflection on our eating, we will practice paying attention to what goes in our mouths (food) and what comes out (positive or negative language).  After our text study and 20 minutes of silence, we will enjoy a lively (chatty) meal together.  Register here .
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Teshuvah Workshops hosted by CMT, led by Rabbi David Jaffe, incorporating Mussar and Spirituality.  Mishkan Tefila members should click here to register. 

Mussar @ Mishkan Tefila