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Photography by Susannah Stubbs: Artist in Residence, Open Horizons
Thirty Six Lures for Feeling
Invitations for Reflection
Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson
1
Death is not so much "passing on" as it is "passing in." Our loved one relocates inside the heart of our heart, there to abide forever. They live in us and through us every moment of our lives. They are, in the words of the Sages, "bound up in the bond of life.” (December 30, 2013)
2
A sunset only appears as a sunset from our particular perspective and location. In fact, though, the sun hasn't stopped exerting its healing impact on our world, it is just no longer visible to our limited vision. So it is with life and death: appearing to vanish or to cease, our loved ones continue their gravitational pull on our hearts, still shining life-giving love that makes our own flowering possible. (December 22, 2013)
3
The worst depth of human degradation is to forget that you are descended from royalty, the emissary of the divine, a child of the cosmos. Your dignity and your uniqueness are bequeathed to you from your Source. Remember who you are, rise up, and shine! (December 18, 2013)
4
Fear hires tomorrow's challenges to kidnap today's reality. In our fright, we become prisoners of the worst possible outcomes and weaken ourselves for the fight ahead, making the optimal solution harder to attain. The key, as the Bible reiterates, is "Fear not, for I am with you. ” (December 16, 2014)
5
Greatness is never measured in comparison to others. Real excellence shines when we exceed our own previous limits, extend our ability to serve, enhance our own knowledge or skill. Who is great? One who focuses on becoming self-surpassing. (December 15, 2013)
6
Courage is needed not when we are confident of success, but when we realize that we will not accept any alternative. It is the world-transforming affirmation that, come what may, we will rise to the challenge for the sake of those we love, for the sake of all we value. It is the timeless inspiration, "Be strong, and of good courage!” (December 9, 2013)
7
The miracle of Hanukkah isn't ancient history, it occurs every time someone celebrates its story. Keeping freedom alive, honoring sacred traditions, telling the inspired tales --living moments of faith and commitment despite the glitter and glare of the present, that is the miracle! (December 3, 2013)
8
The sun shines. Whether the planets spin here or there, it shines. Whether or not the asteroids flash, it shines. Regardless of whether or not there are meteors, the sun shines. Persistence, purpose, constancy, focus. Be like the sun - shine regardless! (November 25, 2013)
9
In a world always plugged in, always on, always connected, our frenetic busyness threatens to rob us of the chance to savor our lives. Now, more than ever, we need the pregnant pause that is Shabbat, the breathe in that fills our lungs and makes it possible to sing. As we enter the Sabbath, pause, gather your breath, join the glorious harmony. (November 22, 2103)
10
The universe arcs, imperfectly and haltingly, but arcs nonetheless toward freedom. If we maintain sufficient resolve and clarity, Pharaohs are brought down and a wandering people are welcomed home. (April 8, 2013)
11
Curiosity reflects the human capacity to be self-surpassing, the striving for greater experience and connection. We seek to grow, so we explore and inquire and discover. We give ourselves in relationship, so we look and taste and test. The drive to ask questions and to expand knowledge is the noblest expression of the Divine Image within. Be like God: ask! test! explore! reflect! (November 18, 2013)
12
Every achievement — great or small — begins with two realities, (1) fear at the challenges blocking the way, and (2) refusal to let fear prevent success. "This is the day God has made!" Transformation starts today, and it begins with you. Pack up your fear, roll up your sleeves, and muster the courage to face the work. (November 13, 2013)
13
If you won't be yourself, then who will you be? If you define yourself as separate from the world and others, then you will never know home. We thrive and flourish when we integrate our unique integrity with an awareness of all we are rooted in, with all we belong to. Rejoice in yourself and dare to belong. (November 11, 2013)
14
The Sabbath offers two grand opportunities: zakhor/to remember and shamor/to observe. We are a combination of where we have been, kept alive in memory, and what we choose to do with our lives in the present. Thought and deed, past and present, unchangeable and open - like the universe itself, we fuse these two into novelty and hope. Shabbat Shalom! (November 9, 2013)
15
Today offers challenges which will test just who you are, requiring your resolve, wisdom, and courage. You don't control what life brings, but you do control your own spirit as you move forward! Isaiah throws a lifeline: "Be firm and be calm. Do not be afraid and do not lose heart.” (November 7, 2013)
16
Family — selected or inherited — are the circle of people who warm us by the blaze of their resilient love and persistent forgiveness; in the words of the Book of Job, "Your tent is in peace." Amidst family we are welcomed with love and our flaws are forgotten. Take a moment to share gratitude to those loved ones today. (November 4, 2013)
17
Our love is a cascade of caring that splashes from those who came before us to those who will follow after. As we swim in the love of our parents, friends, family, faith, we bathe those in our care for their journeys yet ahead. Love flows; pass it on. (October 30, 2013)
18
Sometime it is a religious act to remember, and sometime the lure of wisdom calls us to an act of holy forgetting. Knowing how to distinguish between what to retain and what to release threshes the grain of meaning from the chaff of distraction. (May 22, 2013)
19
Let us recommit ourselves to lives of passion and joy, not as distractions from a religious life, but indeed as God's greatest hope for us, just as we wish for our children that they should know life's delights, that they should know the beauty of love, that they should know a good laugh, sweet humor, a caring community. Let us also know that the harvest of true spirit is joy and let us share that joy with each other and the world from this day forward. (October 22, 2103)
20
We all have a need to be seen for who we truly are: not our appearance, not our style or our status, but our core. Each of us is unique, each of us reflects a distinct spark of the divine. Today, I bless you to see your fellow human beings clearly through eyes of appreciation, and I bless you that you are truly seen! (October 21, 2013)
21
The future is ours to make, which means there is an unprecedented tomorrow awaiting us, provided we rise to do our part. The Medieval Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra writes, "Going free is comparable to the renewal of the world." If we embrace our freedom, we are, each of us, capable of renewing the world. Tomorrow begins with us. (October 20, 2013)
22
Our challenge (and opportunity) is to mobilize Torah and sacred sources to heal those wounded by cultures of brutality and violence, by the crass commercialization of life's most sacred relationships, by the endless dehumanization of poverty, the workplace, family, identity. We must become again bearers of the light, beacons of hope. (October 15, 2013)
23
Every beginning entails risk. We risk failure today in order to make space for a more expansive future. The price of perpetual safety is stagnation and slow decay. Moving forward may not be for the timid, but girding ourselves to leap opens us to inner growth, to sharing our impact with the world, to contributing to the world of our children's children. (October 8, 2013)
24
It is possible to be paralyzed by principle. Perhaps that is why the Talmud teaches, "Justice, justice shall you pursue — the first [mention of justice] refers to a decision based on strict law, the second, to a compromise." It takes wisdom to know what can be waived, what is essential, and when to grow to include the perspectives of others for the sake of a greater good. Sometimes it is a mitzvah to compromise. (October 7, 2013)
25
It takes effort to be authentically ourselves. Most of the week we stray to be with what others expect, what our job demands, what colleagues impose. The Torah offers a return home, "Let everyone remain where they are: let no one leave their place on the seventh day." At least on this day, return yourself to your center, to the fullest expression of your heart. Instead of struggling to wander, mask, and drift, recall your truth and dwell there openly. (October 4, 2013)
26
God is not only the Source of Breath, but also breath itself. Our breath—like our God—is something we cannot see or touch, but is our very essence. Our connection to life is through this intangible but constant presence. With breath, we can run, learn, love and live. Without it we become mere corpses. Taking in and breathing out, we share with other living things in the visible participation in the rhythm of life. God is never farther away than the next breath. And never less reliable than the air that we breathe. (June 1, 2013)
27
Like any way of life, Judaism surfaces in the deeds and actions of Jewish bodies - it breathes an embodied way of life. And like all embodiments, it dynamically expresses and generates ideas that can only be fully experienced in the doing. This “knowing” bubbles up from our experiences, an almost intuitive harvest from our doing: Hitbonenut in Hebrew. Whitehead called it “prehension.” (March 10, 2013)
28
Our life is, itself, a sukkah, a tabernacle. All of the pieces must fit together for the booth to stand. We weave mitzvot of goodness and holiness into a consistent web that forms the walls of the tabernacle of our deeds. And our roof is a thatch work of our loving relationships, intersecting and mutually reinforcing each other. (September 22, 2013)
29
Our God is a God of broken crockery, a God of shattered hearts, who despite the challenges of life, invites us to pick ourselves up and continue to move forward. And we, an ancient, broken people, we have journeyed on our way across the millennia bringing a message of hope to a broken planet. Do not despair, do not surrender, do not stop. (September 13, 2013)
30
Rather than viewing God as an unchanging monarch and humanity as the passive recipient of whatever happens, the Jewish view of God and people is much more that of mutual lovers -- both of whom desire the other to take an active role in developing their relationship and in making their house a home. Judaism understands that we human beings have an active role in making our house -- this earth -- a home. (March 13, 2013)
31
God creates the universe not by inventing it from nothing, but by taking the mess of swirling stuff and creating patterns and order so that life can grow and advance. God creates by inviting the messy possibilities into a universe that we can count on, us and the rest of nature can too. That takes all of God's effort and care, and God asks us to join in the work of bringing order, justice and love into the world too. We get to be God's partners by making the world a better place for everyone. (July 26, 2013)
32
Hating people because of their label or their group is a never ending addiction and a sure portal to self-destruction. We are created by a God who loves diversity (and made us all unique!). "How varied are your works, God, you have made them all with wisdom!" Rejoice in everyone's differences; it's the only way to make room for your own! (July 21, 2013)
33
When the world tries to make you small, stand tall. When some try to push you to the side, hold fast. When they act as though you are invisible, beam your light all the more. "The candle of God is the human soul." You were made to shine, and we all will glow in the warmth of your radiance. (July 18, 2013)
34
Love is always a risk. We risk being hurt. We risk being unmasked. We risk being known. But it is a glorious risk: to expand yourself to include another, to know a joy so sweet it almost hurts, to find your sentences finished in someone else's mouth, to bask in the light because there is no possibility of hiding. "Love is stronger than death," we learn in the Biblical Song of Songs. Love is our door to truly connecting, and in that connection, to really matter. (July 2, 2013)
35
Honesty - can be a cudgel, a dagger, or a doorway. We can abuse honesty to batter each other with the cruelty of vicious truth. We can bleed each other with petty honest critiques that wound and sting. Or we can turn to honesty as a doorway to let in the light and encourage human growth and greatness. Like all human values, how and when we apply honesty makes the difference. Speak honestly when it will help, but always insist that your speech reflect love and compassion. (June 13, 2013)
36
In a busy, frenetic world, the way to encounter others is to remain still. As others swirl and spin around you, your constancy will draw them to you, as calm attracts chaos, as breathe invites wind. Shabbat, the Sabbath, is our weekly portal into the rich, fertile stillness of rest - not simply the absence of work, but our chance to come closer to the One and our own oneness with all. (May 24, 2013)
Death is not so much "passing on" as it is "passing in." Our loved one relocates inside the heart of our heart, there to abide forever. They live in us and through us every moment of our lives. They are, in the words of the Sages, "bound up in the bond of life.” (December 30, 2013)
2
A sunset only appears as a sunset from our particular perspective and location. In fact, though, the sun hasn't stopped exerting its healing impact on our world, it is just no longer visible to our limited vision. So it is with life and death: appearing to vanish or to cease, our loved ones continue their gravitational pull on our hearts, still shining life-giving love that makes our own flowering possible. (December 22, 2013)
3
The worst depth of human degradation is to forget that you are descended from royalty, the emissary of the divine, a child of the cosmos. Your dignity and your uniqueness are bequeathed to you from your Source. Remember who you are, rise up, and shine! (December 18, 2013)
4
Fear hires tomorrow's challenges to kidnap today's reality. In our fright, we become prisoners of the worst possible outcomes and weaken ourselves for the fight ahead, making the optimal solution harder to attain. The key, as the Bible reiterates, is "Fear not, for I am with you. ” (December 16, 2014)
5
Greatness is never measured in comparison to others. Real excellence shines when we exceed our own previous limits, extend our ability to serve, enhance our own knowledge or skill. Who is great? One who focuses on becoming self-surpassing. (December 15, 2013)
6
Courage is needed not when we are confident of success, but when we realize that we will not accept any alternative. It is the world-transforming affirmation that, come what may, we will rise to the challenge for the sake of those we love, for the sake of all we value. It is the timeless inspiration, "Be strong, and of good courage!” (December 9, 2013)
7
The miracle of Hanukkah isn't ancient history, it occurs every time someone celebrates its story. Keeping freedom alive, honoring sacred traditions, telling the inspired tales --living moments of faith and commitment despite the glitter and glare of the present, that is the miracle! (December 3, 2013)
8
The sun shines. Whether the planets spin here or there, it shines. Whether or not the asteroids flash, it shines. Regardless of whether or not there are meteors, the sun shines. Persistence, purpose, constancy, focus. Be like the sun - shine regardless! (November 25, 2013)
9
In a world always plugged in, always on, always connected, our frenetic busyness threatens to rob us of the chance to savor our lives. Now, more than ever, we need the pregnant pause that is Shabbat, the breathe in that fills our lungs and makes it possible to sing. As we enter the Sabbath, pause, gather your breath, join the glorious harmony. (November 22, 2103)
10
The universe arcs, imperfectly and haltingly, but arcs nonetheless toward freedom. If we maintain sufficient resolve and clarity, Pharaohs are brought down and a wandering people are welcomed home. (April 8, 2013)
11
Curiosity reflects the human capacity to be self-surpassing, the striving for greater experience and connection. We seek to grow, so we explore and inquire and discover. We give ourselves in relationship, so we look and taste and test. The drive to ask questions and to expand knowledge is the noblest expression of the Divine Image within. Be like God: ask! test! explore! reflect! (November 18, 2013)
12
Every achievement — great or small — begins with two realities, (1) fear at the challenges blocking the way, and (2) refusal to let fear prevent success. "This is the day God has made!" Transformation starts today, and it begins with you. Pack up your fear, roll up your sleeves, and muster the courage to face the work. (November 13, 2013)
13
If you won't be yourself, then who will you be? If you define yourself as separate from the world and others, then you will never know home. We thrive and flourish when we integrate our unique integrity with an awareness of all we are rooted in, with all we belong to. Rejoice in yourself and dare to belong. (November 11, 2013)
14
The Sabbath offers two grand opportunities: zakhor/to remember and shamor/to observe. We are a combination of where we have been, kept alive in memory, and what we choose to do with our lives in the present. Thought and deed, past and present, unchangeable and open - like the universe itself, we fuse these two into novelty and hope. Shabbat Shalom! (November 9, 2013)
15
Today offers challenges which will test just who you are, requiring your resolve, wisdom, and courage. You don't control what life brings, but you do control your own spirit as you move forward! Isaiah throws a lifeline: "Be firm and be calm. Do not be afraid and do not lose heart.” (November 7, 2013)
16
Family — selected or inherited — are the circle of people who warm us by the blaze of their resilient love and persistent forgiveness; in the words of the Book of Job, "Your tent is in peace." Amidst family we are welcomed with love and our flaws are forgotten. Take a moment to share gratitude to those loved ones today. (November 4, 2013)
17
Our love is a cascade of caring that splashes from those who came before us to those who will follow after. As we swim in the love of our parents, friends, family, faith, we bathe those in our care for their journeys yet ahead. Love flows; pass it on. (October 30, 2013)
18
Sometime it is a religious act to remember, and sometime the lure of wisdom calls us to an act of holy forgetting. Knowing how to distinguish between what to retain and what to release threshes the grain of meaning from the chaff of distraction. (May 22, 2013)
19
Let us recommit ourselves to lives of passion and joy, not as distractions from a religious life, but indeed as God's greatest hope for us, just as we wish for our children that they should know life's delights, that they should know the beauty of love, that they should know a good laugh, sweet humor, a caring community. Let us also know that the harvest of true spirit is joy and let us share that joy with each other and the world from this day forward. (October 22, 2103)
20
We all have a need to be seen for who we truly are: not our appearance, not our style or our status, but our core. Each of us is unique, each of us reflects a distinct spark of the divine. Today, I bless you to see your fellow human beings clearly through eyes of appreciation, and I bless you that you are truly seen! (October 21, 2013)
21
The future is ours to make, which means there is an unprecedented tomorrow awaiting us, provided we rise to do our part. The Medieval Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra writes, "Going free is comparable to the renewal of the world." If we embrace our freedom, we are, each of us, capable of renewing the world. Tomorrow begins with us. (October 20, 2013)
22
Our challenge (and opportunity) is to mobilize Torah and sacred sources to heal those wounded by cultures of brutality and violence, by the crass commercialization of life's most sacred relationships, by the endless dehumanization of poverty, the workplace, family, identity. We must become again bearers of the light, beacons of hope. (October 15, 2013)
23
Every beginning entails risk. We risk failure today in order to make space for a more expansive future. The price of perpetual safety is stagnation and slow decay. Moving forward may not be for the timid, but girding ourselves to leap opens us to inner growth, to sharing our impact with the world, to contributing to the world of our children's children. (October 8, 2013)
24
It is possible to be paralyzed by principle. Perhaps that is why the Talmud teaches, "Justice, justice shall you pursue — the first [mention of justice] refers to a decision based on strict law, the second, to a compromise." It takes wisdom to know what can be waived, what is essential, and when to grow to include the perspectives of others for the sake of a greater good. Sometimes it is a mitzvah to compromise. (October 7, 2013)
25
It takes effort to be authentically ourselves. Most of the week we stray to be with what others expect, what our job demands, what colleagues impose. The Torah offers a return home, "Let everyone remain where they are: let no one leave their place on the seventh day." At least on this day, return yourself to your center, to the fullest expression of your heart. Instead of struggling to wander, mask, and drift, recall your truth and dwell there openly. (October 4, 2013)
26
God is not only the Source of Breath, but also breath itself. Our breath—like our God—is something we cannot see or touch, but is our very essence. Our connection to life is through this intangible but constant presence. With breath, we can run, learn, love and live. Without it we become mere corpses. Taking in and breathing out, we share with other living things in the visible participation in the rhythm of life. God is never farther away than the next breath. And never less reliable than the air that we breathe. (June 1, 2013)
27
Like any way of life, Judaism surfaces in the deeds and actions of Jewish bodies - it breathes an embodied way of life. And like all embodiments, it dynamically expresses and generates ideas that can only be fully experienced in the doing. This “knowing” bubbles up from our experiences, an almost intuitive harvest from our doing: Hitbonenut in Hebrew. Whitehead called it “prehension.” (March 10, 2013)
28
Our life is, itself, a sukkah, a tabernacle. All of the pieces must fit together for the booth to stand. We weave mitzvot of goodness and holiness into a consistent web that forms the walls of the tabernacle of our deeds. And our roof is a thatch work of our loving relationships, intersecting and mutually reinforcing each other. (September 22, 2013)
29
Our God is a God of broken crockery, a God of shattered hearts, who despite the challenges of life, invites us to pick ourselves up and continue to move forward. And we, an ancient, broken people, we have journeyed on our way across the millennia bringing a message of hope to a broken planet. Do not despair, do not surrender, do not stop. (September 13, 2013)
30
Rather than viewing God as an unchanging monarch and humanity as the passive recipient of whatever happens, the Jewish view of God and people is much more that of mutual lovers -- both of whom desire the other to take an active role in developing their relationship and in making their house a home. Judaism understands that we human beings have an active role in making our house -- this earth -- a home. (March 13, 2013)
31
God creates the universe not by inventing it from nothing, but by taking the mess of swirling stuff and creating patterns and order so that life can grow and advance. God creates by inviting the messy possibilities into a universe that we can count on, us and the rest of nature can too. That takes all of God's effort and care, and God asks us to join in the work of bringing order, justice and love into the world too. We get to be God's partners by making the world a better place for everyone. (July 26, 2013)
32
Hating people because of their label or their group is a never ending addiction and a sure portal to self-destruction. We are created by a God who loves diversity (and made us all unique!). "How varied are your works, God, you have made them all with wisdom!" Rejoice in everyone's differences; it's the only way to make room for your own! (July 21, 2013)
33
When the world tries to make you small, stand tall. When some try to push you to the side, hold fast. When they act as though you are invisible, beam your light all the more. "The candle of God is the human soul." You were made to shine, and we all will glow in the warmth of your radiance. (July 18, 2013)
34
Love is always a risk. We risk being hurt. We risk being unmasked. We risk being known. But it is a glorious risk: to expand yourself to include another, to know a joy so sweet it almost hurts, to find your sentences finished in someone else's mouth, to bask in the light because there is no possibility of hiding. "Love is stronger than death," we learn in the Biblical Song of Songs. Love is our door to truly connecting, and in that connection, to really matter. (July 2, 2013)
35
Honesty - can be a cudgel, a dagger, or a doorway. We can abuse honesty to batter each other with the cruelty of vicious truth. We can bleed each other with petty honest critiques that wound and sting. Or we can turn to honesty as a doorway to let in the light and encourage human growth and greatness. Like all human values, how and when we apply honesty makes the difference. Speak honestly when it will help, but always insist that your speech reflect love and compassion. (June 13, 2013)
36
In a busy, frenetic world, the way to encounter others is to remain still. As others swirl and spin around you, your constancy will draw them to you, as calm attracts chaos, as breathe invites wind. Shabbat, the Sabbath, is our weekly portal into the rich, fertile stillness of rest - not simply the absence of work, but our chance to come closer to the One and our own oneness with all. (May 24, 2013)
These sayings are posted by Rabbi Artson on his Facebook page, and he has kindly given us permission to reprint them here. We chose these from among more than a hundred; the others were just as good. We encourage you to go to his page for more. Here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rabbi-Bradley-Shavit-Artson/428113837273452