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.
Untie
In our Friday night service, we sing a beautiful powerful prayer that begs G!d to help free us from the internal knots that bind us.
Here is a chant by Shefa Gold that accompanies the prayer, and, below, a poem by an unknown source.
.אָנָּא, בְּכֹֽחַ גְּדֻלַּת יְמִינְךָ, תַּתִּיר צְרוּרָה “If you would, may Your mighty right hand undo the knot that ties us up."
Poem: Untie Dear G-d, Please untie the knots that are in my mind, my heart and my life. Remove the have nots, the can nots and the do nots that I have in my mind. Erase the will nots, may nots, and might nots that may find a home in my heart. Release me from the could nots, would nots and should nots that obstruct my life. And most of all, dear G-d, I ask that You remove from my mind, my heart and my life, all of the am nots that I have allowed to hold me back. And most of all, dear One, release me from I am not enough. Source Unknown
Spiritual Practice
Today, choose one ‘not’ that appears in our mind. Imagine it is a knot in our minds that blocks our flow of creativity or our energy. Ask G!d to help untangle the ‘not’, to let it go. Let the ‘not’ go today.
Mussar @ Mishkan Tefila
Congregation Mishkan Tefila 384 Harvard St. Brookline, MA 02446
