Soar to Places Unknown

With one foot in a world where there is no room for the Elohim and with the other foot where one is searching for the Kingdom of Peace offered by the Creator, one must dare to make the right decision in a world where individualism and consumerism are paramount.

After not being deliberately separated from everyone else, we may look forward to times that we shall be allowed again to gather, finding again some precious time to feel a unity to worship the Elohim.

After a time when isolation seemed to be the priority, we as human beings will now have to make the choice whether we want to bond with others in the community before the Most High.

During the long months when we could not meet in the shul and were assigned to celebrate all the Feasts of Hashem in our own little living room among house-mates, it became clear how important the meetings are for the community, to keep them alive but also to give them enough spiritual food to grow.

Now that the lockdown periods seem to be over, let us not be deterred by the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, but let that also be one of the reasons to come together now more than ever, for prayer and reflection, looking forward to a time when our people will enjoy an everlasting peace under Hashem’s blessings.

 

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Related

1. How has lockdown affected your relationship with those you live with?
2. Dystopian Reality
3. “We all had friends and relatives who tragically died from Covid” – Lichfield MP
4. Planet Chaos
5. Lockdown
6. Of mice and men essay loneliness and isolation
7. When is TOO much isolation a problem?
8. The world is crashing
9. Close covid contacts in NSW no longer required to isolate
10. ‘NSW’s COVID close contact rule change is the good news I wasn’t expecting’
11. Close Contacts No Longer Have to Isolate in NSW and VIC Under New COVID-19 Rules
12. Household covid contact rules to loosen in ACT
13. The trauma of war and the war of trauma in family life.
14. The Invisible Community
15. Feeling Connected
16. The World of the Generous
17. Going back to shul

SRQ Jew

We humans live with one foot firmly in the physical world, and yet we have an inexplicable urge to dip a toe in the spiritual world. However strong or tentative that impulse may be, we all have our moments when we long to transcend our physical being and soar. Where to? That’s the mystery.

Today I shared a moment with a woman whom I had only just met. It was time for her to take the last step in her conversion to Judaism, and I had the privilege of walking into the Gulf of Mexico with her while she prepared to submerge three times.

The Gulf is a beautiful place to use as a mikvah. It is living waters, mayim chayyim, as required of a mikvah, but instead of being surrounded by the walls of a building we were surrounded by sand and sky, white clouds and soft breezes. …

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Times of seclusion, restriction, liberation, connection, religious affiliation and conversion

In Corona time many people got time to think about which way to go with their faith. Now more people feel the need to go back to the shul after all the lockdowns.

Three Weeks of sadness but also of hope

From June 27 until July 18 2021, thinking of exiles, misfortunes and calamities for the Jewish people. Mourning for sad events but also looking forward with the hope of God's promises.

Spring bringing new life to the earth and mankind

In these dark times of Covid-19 we have a remembrance day of coming light and a new world.

Balancing Home and Prayer

For four months CoViD-19 has brought many people in chains and because of lockdowns unable to go to their regular prayer-meetings.

Some believers wonder if they can meet up with worthy prayer only at home. Some need to be convinced or given advice on how to make sure to have a worthy service for the Elohim, even when in a closed private or personal space like the living room.

Those who went on to their balcony for singing out loud, and got the police at their door, avoid such public witnessing now. Many of our and other congregations still think on certain days we cannot make use of electronic tools like television and computers, and as such cannot take part in our weekly e-streaming. It would be nice if some other solution could be found for those to give them still a feeling of unitedness and gathering in prayer.

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To remember

• all experienced a number of sweeping changes to our lives > financial, logisitical, medical > one overarching difference in our now normal routines = blurring of any boundaries that we once took for granted.
• locations between wor/school + home = same.
• we once entered the synagogue to pray, reflect, read Torah, say Kaddish
• routinely took online classes or even home schooled their kids > no one ever thought congregational life would be possible without actually gathering as a congregation.
• praying as individuals at home = omitting communal prayers like Kaddish.
• Can one experience the same connection – the same kavannah — at home as when in the sanctuary?
• experience in being a congregant or participant on the Facebook Live screen or  Zoom
• once awkward task of leading prayer into a computer screen
• Shabbat services or Zoom minyan > do you set aside a dedicated space at home that you know is your worship spot? Or sit with your laptop anywhere that’s convenient?
• How much of the service has become passive for you?
• Do you make services a family experience?

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Preceding

In a time when we must remain in our place

Even in Corona time You are called on to have the seder

Israel celebrates Purim amid Coronavirus outbreak – ILTV Israel news – Mar. 9, 2020

2020 A Passover seder meeting limited to members of the family

Eykhah – How can it be?

Thinking about the happiness by the Torah reading

9 Av: Tisha B’Av 2020

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Additional reading

1. The offspring from a tortured generation finding the Word of God again
2. Social Distanced but Spiritually Close
3. Turning Your Home into a Sacred Space
4. Hineni for our Virtual Services
5. Voor het eerst in jaren weer een Pesach in isolatie
6. Isolatietijd vrij te nemen voor jezelf
7. Opdracht niet na laten om over de belangrijke Uittocht te praten
8. Oplossingen gezocht voor Joodse dienstvoorziening
9. Ontnomen van een gebedshuis #1 Doodveroorzakers
10. Ontnomen van een gebedshuis #2 In de greep van een coronavirus
11. 9 Av 2020 en Dagen van droefheid

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Related

1. LockedDown because of a Virus
2. Locked Down and Distanced
3. Life Lessons from a Pandemic
4. Lessons learned during the lockdown
5. E-learning – a way of studying during this covid-19 pandamic
6. Pandemic Response: From Containment to Mitigation
7. When Peculiar Becomes Normal Then More Peculiar
8. Behaviour insights: How has lockdown effected Voice and Connected TV usage?
9. Gaslighting
10. Communication as we open up [Part 2]
    Why?

Cantor Matt Axelrod

Over the last few months, we’ve all experienced a number of sweeping changes to our lives–some financial, some logisitical, some medical–but the one overarching difference in our now normal routines is the blurring of any boundaries that we once took for granted.

We used to make a separation between work and home. Now those locations are the same.

We used to make a separation between going to school and being in the house. That too is no longer the case.

And even more than those examples–we once entered the synagogue to pray, reflect, read Torah, say Kaddish, and shmooze over black and white cookies. While some people had already worked from home before all this started, and others routinely took online classes or even home schooled their kids–pretty much no one ever thought that congregational life would be possible without, you know, actually gathering as a congregation. Sure, some people…

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Eykhah – How can it be?

For security reasons our country came into lockdown and after some easing measures it looked like we soon could come together. Yet by having again a rise in the infections we shall not be able to gather in one place and as such shall have to fulfil our worship duties at home in private. Let us remember that our liturgy is really about engaging God and therefore it is not bad to take some time to consider how you want to build up your service for God.