Kavvanah: Thanks For All Those Micro-Miracles

Miracles may be divided into two categories: macro- and micro-. The Torah speaks of macro-miracles. But micro-miracles are those that maintain the equilibrium of the universe, and they indeed attend us daily, hourly, and may even be measured in infinitesimally small bits of time and space. The laws of thermodynamics, of subatomic particle physics, of gravitational attraction, of the entire range of mystical, seemingly-magical forces that guarantee the consistent functioning of our world in a predictable, safe and comforting way, those are the points where God's fingerprints may be found. These tiny miracles sustain all of us from moment to moment, but even our greatest human thinkers struggle to explain them. Yet they add up to the macro-reality of our world. So breathe, jump, and watch the sun “rise”: for all these micro-miracles, we are grateful.

~
Rabbi Seth Adelson

(written for the Conservative movement's forthcoming Siddur Lev Shalem, anticipated publication date in 2015)

Wrestling with the Big Questions

In virtually every class that I teach, I encourage students to ask questions, and all my students know that a good question can easily toss the lesson plan out the window.


In his recent column appearing in The New York Jewish Week, Rabbi David Wolpe pointed to the centrality of questions in Jewish life.  They are so intrinsic to Jewish practice and learning that we ask a series of them every day in the warm-up passages of Shaharit, the morning service:


?מָה אֲנַחְנוּ? מֶה חַיֵּינוּ? מֶה חַסְדֵּנוּ? מַה צִּדְקֵנוּ? מַה יְשְׁעֵנוּ? מַה כּחֵנוּ? מַה גְּבוּרָתֵנוּ
Mah anahnu?  Meh hayyeinu?  Meh hasdenu?  Mah tzidqenu?  Mah yish'enu?  Mah kohenu?  Mah gevuratenu?
What are we?  What is our life?  What is our piety?  What is our righteousness?  What is our attainment?  What is our power?  What is our might?


The siddur, the prayerbook, reminds us on a daily basis, even before our morning coffee, that we must ask questions, that we must probe the depths of our understanding and relationships from the very moment that the day begins.  


This passage also serves as a reminder that, as Rabbi Wolpe put it, questions drive us deeper than answers.  As such, much of the Jewish experience surrounds asking good questions, and I would not have it any other way.

Wednesday Morning Kavvanah, 1/5/2011 - A little praise goes a long way; a lot puts you in the mood

There are five modes of Jewish prayer:

1. Shevah - praise

2. Baqashah - request

3. Hodayah - thanks

4. Selihah - seeking forgiveness

5. Tahanun - supplication

The vast majority of any given service is the mode of shevah / praise. In fact, in this morning's service, virtually everything from page 6 up to page 37 in our siddur (Sim Shalom for Weekdays) was shevah .

And this begs the question: why so much praise? Wouldn't a little be enough? After all, when we praise others, a little goes a long way, and too much sounds dishonest. And furthermore, God surely does not need human praise, right?

Perhaps the answer can be found in the meditative quality of tefillah, Jewish prayer. The praise, although descriptive of God, is not for God's ears - it is for ours. And what better way to "get in the mood" for tefillah than to meditate on the praiseworthy qualities of God?