Shalom everyone. It’s so good to be here to celebrate the High Holy Days together and take a deep dive into the process of teshuvah, to exame where we have missed the mark and how we can get back on track, and to acknowledge what we have done well and what we want to conDnue doing in the coming year.
Rosh Hashanah, is an opportunity to recalibrate, to renew. AFer blowing the shofar on Rosh Hashanah we recite: hayom harat olam, “today the world is born.” Through teshuvah, we birth a new world; we have a fresh start.
What kind of world do we want to create this year? What kind of inner life do we want to create? What kind of worlds do we want to co-create with others?
The truth is that we create worlds all the Dme, with our thoughts, speech and acDons. The difference is that during the High Holy Days, we try to be more conscious of that and reflect on what we need to correct and how we can make the most of what we have to offer in this world. We also are to take note that teshuvah is not just a solo acDvity as we are social beings who do not live in isolaDon. We are connected to one another and affect one another.
Full disclosure, I think about this idea of connecDon, of interconnecDon, a lot, especially when I am leading services, and so I have come up with a kavanah to help me feel the room, which I am going to share with you this evening. My kavanah is a short visualizaDon that is based on science believe it or not, on quantum foam. You may have heard of it.
At the tiny quantum level, empty space isn’t really empty. It’s actually a vibrant place, with tiny subatomic particles appearing and disappearing, in constant motion. It is a dynamic space that bears some resemblance to the effervescent behavior of the foam on the top of a freshly poured beer, with bubbles appearing and disappearing and for that reason, scientists call it “quantum foam.”
So now I will share my quantum foam meditation/kavanah with you.
Before I start a service, I look around the room and take in all the faces. Join me and take a look around and see who’s here (the familiar and unfamiliar faces, the people streaming on youtube). Now close your eyes or soften your gaze and hold all the people in the kahal in your mind’s eye and imagine dynamic beer bubbles between all of us in constant motion. We respond to the foam and it responds to us as individuals and as a group. As we move, the foam moves. As the foam changes, we change. Each of us are involved in all the subtle changes. Each of us affects the other.
Let’s breathe into that awareness.
And now for the next step. Let’s visualize the foam lighting up. Imagine light streaming through the bubbly space between us, streaming through us, lighting up all of us, weaving us together into a giant tallit of radiating light.
Breathe into that. Can you feel the person next to you? In your row? Can you feel the room?
Now take a few moments to concentrate on the breath and center yourself and bring your attention back to just you. Feel your feet on the ground and your hips on your chair, still paying attention to the breath, inhaling and exhaling, and when you are ready, open your eyes and look around the room and take in all the beautiful neshamot, all the beautiful sparks of light held together as ONE.
