Carry It Forward

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Friday, October 28th
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Shabbat, October 29th,
Shabbat Ends 17:53
Torah Portion: Bereishit – Genesis

Carry It Forward

This past month was a Holiday whirlwind: On Rosh Hashana, we revisit individual responsibility. On Yom Kippur, we dig deep into ourselves, resolving to align our behaviors with our priorities and personal potential. On Sukkot, we experience community, and on Simchas Torah we recognize the genuine joy of living a meaningful life.
Four consecutive Holidays.

Solemn moments. Festive meals. Meaningful rituals. A stream of inspiration.

All coming to a close this week.

Now what?

Every morning, we say a prayer which begins: “My G-d, the soul which You gave me is pure. You have created it, You have formed it, You have breathed it into me. And You preserve it within me….”

Chassidic thought tells us that this prayer traces our souls’ journey into the human condition. The various expressions chart how our existence begins with G-d’s ‘choice’ of a specific soul to inhabit a particular baby, and continues with the soul’s descent through a succession of spiritual levels, ultimately finding expression in our bodily lives.

But then the prayer presents a final leg of the journey: “You preserve it within me.” What does that mean? To put the question in context: We wake up every morning and recognize that G-d has gifted us with a pristinely Divine soul, paring down its spiritual intensity – level by level – so that it can animate our physical human lives. The consciousness we feel in the morning is the human tip of a Divine iceberg. But once we have our human lives, what does G-d need to preserve?

Our spiritual sensitivity.

Every morning, we thank G-d for giving us human lives capable of embracing mundanity, yet equally capable of genuine spiritual feeling. Every morning, we recognize natural, physical impulses, and simultaneously acknowledge our profoundly spiritual roots. We take note that our hearts, deep inside, are playing a sublimely Divine chord.

If we only pause to hear it.

A spirituality-filled Holiday season has guided us to the threshold of a wonderful new year. We need to take the inspiration with us.

In fact, G-d helps us to preserve its echo for the year ahead. It’s resonating within you.

Every morning, take a moment and listen.
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Yanky and Rivky Klein

This email is In Loving memory of my dear father
R’ Yerachmiel Binyamin Halevi ben R, Menachem Klein OBM