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by Rabbi Eli Mallon, M.Ed., LMSW
The subject matter of the Advaita Vedanta of Shankara (the non-dual branch of Indian philosophy) is the true, real unity of all apparently diverse things; “from the one comes the many,” but the “many” only seem to “come from” the One. In truth, there is always, only the One. As Maharishi Mahesh Yogi wrote in “The Art of Living and the Science of Being,” “The whole of creation is the field of consciousness [expressed] in different forms and phenomena.” (p. 29) In Vedanta, it’s often summed up in the statement: “All this is That.” In Kabbalah, this process of the “One becoming the many” is called the “Seder Hishtalshelut,” often translated into English as the “process of emanation.” Things are said to “emanate” from their Divine source, like lightrays “emanate” from the sun. In fact, the rays have no separate existence from the sun itself. This emanation proceeds by “degrees,” called the S’firot (or Sephiroth, etc.). Yet, the S’firot themselves are only varying expressions of the unchanging, all-encompassing “Ein Sof.” Rabbi Mosheh Cordovero, the great systematizer of Kabbalistic teachings, said that until he began learning Kabbalah, he was “as if asleep and pursuing idle thoughts.” He wrote: “Do not say, ‘This is a stone and not G-d.’ G-d forbid! Rather, all existence is G-d, and the stone is a thing pervaded by divinity.” Or, as Vedanta says, “All this is that.” Cordovero famously depicted the s’firot as emanating one-within-the-other, from “outer” to “inner”, beginning with “Keter” (of which כ is the first Hebrew letter). Each subsequent name is indicated by its initial Hebrew letter. Other Kabbalistic diagrams and illustrations depict Divine emanation as a process that unfolds from the “inner” to the “outer.” These might seem to conflict. However, if we remember that these aren’t “empirical” illustrations of the process itself, but rather depictions of different ways that we can view (or conceive of) the process, we see what our teachers are trying to tell us: Both “outer” and “inner” only describe our own limited viewpoint. Meditation, or contemplation, in Kabbalah/Hasidut, may begin on the “process,” but points back to the essential, unchanging Oneness. As Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi says in his book “Tanya,” from G-d’s viewpoint, the “emanation” never took place. It only takes place from the “human” viewpoint. Contemplation of this ultimately produces changes in consciousness and spiritual growth. All “this” eternally remains “That.” I see real parallels with Vedanta; you might, as well. Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook extolled the contemplation of “emanation”: “How beautiful is the mystical conception of the divine emanation as the source of all existence, all life, all beauty, all power, all justice, all good, all order, all progress. How great is the influence of this true conception on all the ways of life, how profound is its logic, what a noble basis for morality. The basis for the formation of higher, holy, mighty and pure souls is embodied in it. The divine emanation, by its being, engenders everything. It is unlimited in its freedom, there is no end to its unity, to its riches, to its perfection, to its splendor, and the influence of its potency and its diverse manifestations. All the oceans of song, all the diverse torrents of perception, all the force of life, all the laughter, the joyous delights — everything flows from it. Into everything it releases the influence of its soul force. Its influence, its honor, its deliverance reaches to the lowest depths. The innocent and luminous will of man has already embraced some of its splendor. He continues to ascend, and he elevates everything with him. Everything proclaims G-d’s glory: ‘The grandeur of Your Holiness fills Your creation; (yet) You are forevermore, L-rd’ (Psalm 93;5).” You are forevermore. All this is that. by Rabbi Myriam Klotz
[originally published on The Huffington Post, August 20, 2010] I read with great interest Anita Diamant’s recent piece, “A Happily Bifurcated Yoga Jew: Why I Keep My Asanas and my ‘Adonais’ Separate.” I am a rabbi, a certified yoga teacher, and have taught Jewish Yoga for over two decades. At the time I read the piece I was in the midst of co-teaching 23 participants in the third cohort of the Yoga and Jewish Spirituality Teacher Training Institute (YJSTT) held at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center in Falls Village, CT, and had just before that completed a summer season of retreat-based Jewish Yoga — teaching to almost 80 rabbis from across the spectrum of Jewish life as part of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality’s 18 month Rabbinic Leadership program. Experience has shown me an approach that differs from Diamant’s: I passionately advocate the aspiration towards integrating one’s yoga practice and one’s Jewish life. Diamant states that she finds great spiritual value in her yoga practice, a practice that engages her fully in the moment and in which she feels deeply, satisfyingly, present. She writes, “One of my yoga masters (an Australian woman who has the long body and longer ponytail of a Nav’i) often says, ‘If all you’re interested in is a work-out, you should go to an aerobics class.’ She also says things like, ‘Yoga is about paying attention, learning to explore discomfort, surrendering to gravity,’ and other bon mots that strike me as profound in class but tend to sound obvious and pedestrian when I try to repeat them later.” I think Diamant has put her finger on exactly why Jewish Yoga sessions can be so profoundly healing and nourishing for a Jewish yogi. When we can hear sacred Jewish phrases or teachings offered just at those moments when we are most alive and attuned to the deeper strata of our cells and our souls, we can be stirred towards spiritual growth and transformation. I find that through practicing “asana” (Sanskrit word literally meaning “taking one’s seat”) one can open to “Adonai” (one of the many names of God, reflecting Awareness and Consciousness itself). When a Jewish insight is taught in the context of the deeply intentional, physical work of asana practice, a formerly abstract point can take on concrete meaning in a person’s life so that they can feel then connected Jewishly where before they had not. This often has impact beyond the yoga mat – how we treat our beloveds, our community members, our students and teachers, our friends. It just may help us be more effective in living our Jewish values in accordance with our deepest beliefs and desires. Yoga does help us “empty the mind,” as Diamant states, and to quiet the egoic self while we open to experience something bigger. Yet, I find that it can be meaningful if we also “fill” our awareness with positive Jewish teachings and imagery in those very moments because the resonance of the deeper spiritual teachings have a chance to be conveyed without the chatter that accompanies the “Jewish committee meeting” mind state to which Diamant refers. For example, yoga is a means through which I can come to “sit in the House of God,” as it says in Psalm 27 (a psalm Jews recite daily during this month of Elul as we prepare for the New Year ahead). I know of no other way to “sit in the House of God” than to start with where I actually am and to pay attention. Cultivating this kind of awareness on the yoga mat is strengthened mightily when I can bring to my conscious intention that I desire as to “sit” not just with myself, but with God, in “God’s House.” That awareness stirs my soul to attention even as I am highly aware of the placement of the ankle bones and the inner arch of the feet in a simple seated pose. In this integrative kind of moment, “Asana” and “Adonai” reverberate in meaningful (if silent) discourse, albeit through simultaneous and different vernaculars. My own bodily experience and “language” is the site of that conversation. Moreover, I believe it is inaccurate to suggest or imply that yoga itself is devoid of intellectual content. In fact, to do yoga safely and effectively, one’s mind is or should be very much engaged. If you are not paying attention to precise details of anatomy and asking yourself questions about the impact of one movement or breath upon the body as a whole, you are not fully engaging the potential of this practice. Yoga practice encourages active, steady inquiry by the practitioner. Yoga-related injuries are much more prone to occur when one is not being intentional in poses, or finding the balance between wilfully muscling into a position, and allowing it to slowly unfold as muscles, nerves and tissues soften and open with time. To strike this balance, you need to be focused, alert and actively inquiring about how your body is responding to a slight movement here or a different way of breathing there. Yoga can help us expand what it is we mean when we say “mind,” including but extending beyond the intellectual mind. Yoga “yokes” or joins the intellectual and the sensory levels of one’s intelligence. It does not privilege one over the other. A yoga teacher’s job, like a rabbi’s or Jewish educator’s, is to offer information and guidance to help a person wake up and come present in a more highly informed way. We do not leave our intelligent, aware selves outside of the yoga studio or off the mat, any more than we would seek to check our intelligent self outside of the beit midrash for serious text study, outside of the synagogue or any other prayer space where we might seek to “sit in the House of God,” or any other place of serious Jewish inquiry. Yoga informed with this Jewish intention of sitting in God’s presence is a highly integrative, highly conscious and intelligent venture. “B’chol darechecha daeyhu,” “In all your ways, know God,” is a Jewish teaching highly valued in both religious and spiritual circles. It implies that for a person with spiritual or religious intention, every aspect of one’s life is an avenue through which one can wake up. Yoga master BKS Iyengar has written that through yoga you can wake up every cell of the body and that each cell carries within it vast intelligence. As one becomes through this physical practice more aware of and skillfull at partnering with this sacred intelligence running through the body, one is in effect embodying a fuller actualization of the Jewish teaching, “In all your ways [not just some of them, some of the time, as codified in a way you are habituated to], know God.” To be clear, Jewish Yoga does not take the place of Jewish practice as a whole nor of a steady diet of asana practice on the mat. But by practicing Jewish Yoga, some will experience the spiritual and religious depth of a child’s pose bowing gesture (a “prayer of the body”) on Yom Kippur as a meaningful way to pray. Or when one chants a Hebrew phrase on the yoga mat or sets an intention to place God before oneself (in one’s mind’s eye and in the cellular awareness running throughout the body) during an asana session, one’s yoga practice can become itself an expression of personal prayer that has not been experienced (yet?) in shul. These kinds of transformative experiences are shared by some, like myself, who find inspiration and strength for their Jewish lives through asana practice which is, yes, resonant with silent intimations and sometimes chanted declarations of “Adonai.” *** Rabbi Myriam Klotz is Director of Yoga and Lay Programs at the Institute for Jewish Spirituality (www.ijs-online.org) and co-director and co-founder of the Yoga and Jewish Spirituality Teacher Training Institute at Elat Chayyim/Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center (www.isabellafreedman.org/yoga). Klotz graduated from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and is a certified yoga instructor inspired by Anusara, Iyengar, and vinyasa yoga methods. To access podcasts and instructional CD’s see www.ijs-online.org by Marcus J Freed
Kosher Sutra: ‘These are the appointed festivals for God, you shall call them holy’ (Lev 23:37) Soul Solution: Improved clarity and improved relationships Posture: Bridge Body Benefit: Strengthen arms and legs, open heart space. One of the greatest afflictions of our age is the lack of exclusivity. There are high rates of marital infidelity for both men and women, placing an ever-growing pressure on the institution of marriage. Our once close-knit social circles now extend to lists of virtual friends that number in the hundreds or thousands. Worst of all, our incessantly-texting generation has developed the inability to focus on the person we are with, as highlighted in the recent NY Times article Keep Your Thumbs Still While I’m Talking To You. How does it feel when you are with a friend and they aren’t paying you full attention? Or you are betrayed by a lover’s affair? We don’t like it. It’s not the way we are wired. Often the problem lies deep within ourselves and according to the yogis we are in an age of mental distraction, which they called vikshipta chitta, a distracted mind, or mudha chitta, an infatuated mind. Oy. Our Kosher Sutra: ‘These are the appointed festival times for God, you shall call them holy’ (Lev 23:37). The term for ‘appointed festival times’ is Moadim, which means an exclusive time. I recently heard it translated as a ‘date with God’. It’s date night! The word kodesh, meaning holy, is elsewhere defined as separating something out to make it special. The Chernobler Rebbe and Sfat Emet explained that we can make time itself holy by marking it out for a specific reason such as a festival or sabbath. In this sense we also make the private relationship with our spouse holy because it’s separate, dedicated and exclusive. The commentator Rashi said that this word for holiness is often mentioned in conjunction with our intimate life (on Lev 19:2), and this is possibly because it is through sexuality that we have the greatest opportunity to be exclusive. Dating many people at once might hold sound fun, but it doesn’t lead to good results. How would a woman feel if she received a piece of jewellery from her husband, only to discover that he also bought an identical item for his mistress (and indeed to discover that he’s got a mistress at all)? The festival sacrifices are described four times in the following sentence as milvad, i.e. specially-designated, or apart (Lev 23:38). In order to make a marriage special it has to be exclusive, or the person will end up levado, e.g.the same word also means ‘alone’. The focus for our generation’s yoga practice is ekagratachitta, meaning a one-pointed or singularly-focused mind. The most common objection I hear for newcomers is, ‘I can’t do yoga because my mind is all over the place’. The response which I rarely say is, ‘you need to do yoga because your mind is all over the place’. We learn to be at one with our thoughts, singularly-focused in the moment. ‘If not now, when?’ asked the sage Hillel. In relationships we thrive spiritually, emotionally and physically. When we learn to be focused in our thoughts and focused on the person we are with, we all benefit. BRIDGE POSTURE Bridge posture is good preparation for the full Backbend/Wheel position. i. Lie on your back in semi-supine position and bring your feet so that they are on the floor in front of your buttocks. ii. Place your hands facing down on the floor by the sides of your thighs. iii. Inhale and lift your hips, pushing into the balls of your feet. iv. Hold the position with your hips as high as possible. v. Exhale, slowly come down and when you have finished doing the three to five times, hug your knees into your chest and roll gently on your back, massaging your spine and back muscles and releasing the lumbar. Variation: You can place cushions underneath your lower back to support you in the posture. Marcus J Freed is president of the Jewish Yoga Network, the artist-in-residence for Jewlicious Festivals and the creator of Bibliyoga. by Steve Gold
On a recent visit to the Pike Market in Seattle, I was attracted to a booth selling crafted tiles featuring symbols from various world spiritual/religious traditions. They were all very beautifully done, but what particularly caught my eye was a depiction of the burning bush in the Judaica collection. All of a sudden the deep significance of this particular image hit me in a way it never had before. Certainly, the other Judaica images displayed, the menorah and the Star of David, are much more well-known and more often utilized in depicting Judaism, but when I saw the burning bush, I realized what a spiritually powerful image it is. The menorah came later, and the star later still (and is not unique to Judaism), but the burning bush is more primordial and in some aspects more quintessential. It came to me in a flash of insight that what was so special was generally overlooked by traditional sources discussing this event and symbol, partly due to the emphasis on the bush. The focus has generally been on the fact that there was something special about the bush, because it was burning, but not being consumed. So that was some special bush! It was burning, but it really wasn’t burning, because it wasn’t being consumed. I did a little bit of quick Internet research, and found that some strains in Eastern Orthodoxy espouse a significance similar to my revelation, referring to this as the event of “The Unburnt Bush”. In the revelation of the unburnt bush, the bush in some sense is incidental. The real significance concerns the nature of the flame, the fire, not the bush. What is extraordinary about this flame/fire is that it is not dependent on fuel (why the bush was not consumed), but rather depicts the foundational source of fuel and all existence. The first word in the Rig Veda, the oldest of all of the Vedas, is Agni, which means fire, which to me is what is depicted in the burning bush, the same Divine primordial fire from which emanates both Divine Light and Divine Sound, the source materials for creation. There is nothing extraordinary about the bush. It is not the source for the fire, but just a contrast background for its appearance. I began pondering about why have the bush at all? The fire could have appeared independently, and the event would have become known as the event of The Eternal Flame or Holy Fire or something like that. So why the bush? Why the bush? What purpose does it serve in this depiction? Hmm…And then it came to me. If the flame/fire appeared independently, then those hearing the story might still have assumed that it was more or less like any other flame/fire, even if it appeared that its source was supernatural or miraculous, as it appeared to have no normal fuel. The bush was utilized to illustrate that not only was the source of the flame other-worldly, but also the very nature of the flame was other-worldly. This was no ordinary fire, for it was the fire of creation, not of destruction. It did not require fuel as its origin, and it did not consume fuel for its sustenance. The Hebrew word used for it in the Torah describing the event of the burning bush in Exodus is “eish”. A derivative is earlier used in describing man and woman in Genesis as “ish” and “isha”. Even earlier in Genesis, another derivative of “eish/fire” is used in combination with the word for water (mayim) to form the word for heaven and the firmament dividing heaven from earth (shamayim). So this creating, sustaining, non-consuming Divine Fire that appears in the burning bush also exists as a core element in Human Being and in Heaven. There is nothing unusual about the bush itself, other than that it helped to illustrate the unusual nature of the fire, and that it could coexist with the fire, just as heaven, earth and life coexist with the fire. [The above is an excerpt from the book, IVRI: The Essence of Hebrew Spirituality; 21st Century Perspectives on an Ancient Tradition, by Steven J. Gold, with contributions from Shirley Chambers, Seyh M. I. Baha’uddin, Marcus J. Feed, and Bill Heilbronn. Available at www.lulu.com/spotlight/zorach and online retailers] Steve J. Gold is the founder of the Yoga and Judaism Center.
by Marcus J Freed
For more Jewish/Yogic teachings, check out Marcus J Freed’s book The Festive Sutras: A Yogi’s Guide to Shabbat & Jewish Festivals, available on Amazon https://amzn.to/3vkR0se. We are now approaching an energetic low point in the Jewish calendar. This period of nine days leading up to Tisha B’Av is a time for refraining from physical pleasures. The ninth day in the month of Av commemorates the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, an event that had profound consequences. The painful absence It isn’t easy to feel the loss for something you never had, but this is precisely what Jewish tradition asks us to do. I don’t miss not having million pounds, a personal helicopter or a yacht in the South of France, and there is a huge challenge in trying to genuinely miss something that wasn’t experienced in our lifetime. While it was standing, the Temple was a physical, tangible, sensational framework for connecting to the Divine. Sensational because it affected every single sensation, whether it was stretching your body as you prostrated on the warm Jerusalem ground, your nose smelling the barbecue aroma of sacrifices, your tastebuds savouring the flavour of the showbread, your ears hearing the sound of the shofars being blown or your eyes filling with the sight of thousands of people visiting on a pilgrimage. Jewish Mecca The Temple was our Mecca and three times a year we did our Haj. Jewish life has never been the same since, and it is no coincidence that the spiritual experience of most contemporary synagogues is a fairly lacklustre. On one level, the Jewish people are still reeling from the impact of being dispersed by the Babylonians and the Romans. Several Jewish practices directly relate to Temple life, but they are no equivalent to the real thing. Yogi’s dilemma The nine days is a time for withdrawing from the body and deliberately paying less attention to the physical aspect of our nature, as we adhere to the customs of mourning. These include not shaving, not getting a haircut, not buying new clothes, not listening to live music, or swimming, dancing and so forth. If we are using yoga as a tool for Jewish meditation and for connecting to the Divine aspects of our body, what are we supposed to do during a time of physical abstinence? Body and Temple The sages draw strong parallels between the Temple and the body, and go so far as to say that every part of the Temple directly corresponds to a physical limb. The writer of the midrash stated that in the Mishkan “ the beams were fixed into the sockets, and in the body the ribs are fixed into the vertebrae…the beams were covered with gold and the ribs are covered with flesh…the veil divided between the Holy place and the Holy of Holies, and in the body the diaphragm divides the heart from the stomach.” (Midrash in Genesis Rabbah, as quoted by Raphael Patai in ‘Man and Temple’ (New York: Ktav 1967). The Biblical descriptions of the Temple are presented in very literal language and it can be difficult to find personal meaning in the long passages that occur throughout Exodus and Leviticus. This midrash is a very helpful meditational tool, as we will see later. Although it might be tempting to think, ‘The Temple has been destroyed and now we can focus on restoring and repairing it through physical meditation’, that would missing the point. This a period of low spiritual energy which is deliberately focused on mourning and loss, and depressing though it might be, it isn’t a time for rebuilding. The nine days represent the first phase of mourning where people are supposed to remember what they have lost and heighten their sensitivity towards it, but not actually fix the problem. Healing comes later, but now is the time for sitting with the discomfort and remembering that we are not complete without the Temple. Imperfect bodies One of the beautiful things about practicing yoga is that you do not have to ‘get it right’ or have the perfect body. Although some practitioners might have an incredible backbend – see the pictures in Iyengar’s Light on Yoga as an example – they too can always deepen their postures. Yoga is a continual sense of becoming. It is exceptionally rare, if not completely impossible, to find someone who does not feel that they could improve their asana [posture] practice if their body was a little bit different. If only I had a more flexible lumber spine for improving my backbend. If only I had stronger arms for balancing in the crow. If only my hips were looser so that I could improve my lotus. You hear these words so often after classes, that I’m surprised there isn’t a word in Sanskrit for kvetching. Bibliyoga toolkit One thing we can do during the nine days and Tisha B’Av is to experience a yoga practice where we hold postures and really draw our awareness to our own physical limitations. Just as the Temple isn’t whole, there are parts of our bodies which don’t function the way we would like, and may be a source of pain or discomfort. Although yoga should never be painful, it can be a way of exploring our physical limits. A good place to start is with some sitting postures, such as cross-legged, half-lotus or full lotus, and just holding the posture for as long as you can, drawing attention to your breath and deepening the posture as much as you are able to. Your spine doesn’t twist as much as you’d like? Good! Your shoulders are tighter than you’d like them? Great. Now is the time to hold an awareness of your limits, the feeling of being incomplete, and the fact that things are not as perfect as they could be. We learned earlier that parts of the body represent areas in the Temple, and a key example is the Kadosh Kadoshim , the Holy of Holies. It was the area of the most intense spiritual connection and the place where the High Priest conversed with God on Yom Kippur . The Holy of Holies corresponds with our hearts, and every yogic posture is concerned with opening the heart space as we take deep, powerful breaths into our thoracic region, and down into our abdomen. As we go through sun salutes and lift our arms up into a high arch, we open the whole area around the heart and can focus on sharing both love and peace. The Talmud teaches that the Temple was destroyed because of baseless hatred, when people were more obsessed with gratifying their own egos than with the welfare of their fellow humans. Our healing, when it eventually comes, will be achieved through boundless love. We can now practice our yoga and meditate on the fact that we are incomplete, remembering the Hasidic saying said that ‘there is nothing so whole as a broken heart’. Wishing you a meaningful fast. Marcus J Freed Jerusalem, July 19, 2007 Yoga Postures for the Nine Days Sit cross-legged for a minimum of twenty breaths or two minutes. Sun salutes (focusing on opening the heart as you hold the high arch). Bridge and backbends (again, opening out the rib cage). Savasana/corpse posture (keep breathing throughout). Marcus J Freed (c) 2007 By Jason B. Kohn
Better Davening Through Yoga? Jewish Yoga teacher claims ancient practice can help Jews gain deeper awareness Ida Unger’s Yoga Garden studio in Santa Monica seems a far cry from a synagogue. Sticky mats in place of pews; oak beams above instead of an Eternal Light; open space and sunlight where a temple would have an ark. Yet for Unger and many Jews who come to study Yoga with her, the experience here is profoundly Jewish. And combined with Yogic peace and sensuality, it becomes a powerful spiritual whole. “What Yoga does, is it makes your relationship with the divine a more physical, tangible reality,” Unger says. “With that, God is just more present in life.” And Unger knows Yoga. She’s been a student for 22 years, a teacher for 12. But she is also the product of an Orthodox Jewish family, a yeshiva education, and though now Reform, is an active temple-going Jew. Rather than seeing contradictions, Unger sees Judaism and Yoga as complementary systems. “A big part of Judaism is intention, kavanna,” she says. “You’re supposed to do these mitzvoth, but you’re also supposed to do them with this awake, aware attitude.” And after studying from an Orthodox, Conservative and Reform perspective, Unger doesn’t believe traditional Judaism offers a method to achieve that attitude. Yoga, however, does. “Jews really need this,” she says. “They need a way to connect with the spiritual that doesn’t contradict Judaism, but offers some in-depth tools for how to become a person who is more conscious.” Unger has been teaching a Judaism informed by Yoga at Temple Beth Shir Sholom in Santa Monica for years. And though there is no “correct” way to integrate the philosophies, one important aspect of her method is to practice Yoga postures that correspond – often on multiple levels – with letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The parings are often visual, but can also be understood in terms of Jewish mystical tradition. “If you study sepher yetzirah, one of the books of the Kabbalah, it talks very specifically about how the aleph-bet are the instruments that God used for creation,” says Unger. “That the sounds of the letters were part of what creation was, and the shapes of the letters are shapes of energy flow.” Unger’s classes also connect Yoga with the idea of Shabbat. “Shabbat is this one-a-week time of withdrawing from the world and going into a state of being, as opposed to a state of doing,” she says. And according to Unger, the Yoga posture savasana – a passive, restful pose done at the end of each session – is a microcosm of that concept. “The long term effects of each practice are dependent on the quality of your savasana,” she says, “and I think that’s really similar.” So does it all mean that Yoga can make you a better Jew? According to Unger, absolutely. “It will increase your consciousness of who you are and what you do, increase your level of intent, she says. “If you pray, you’ll pray with more of yourself, you’ll have access to more of yourself. That’s the gift of Yoga.” by Matthew Gindin, [email protected]
Above The Sun: The Ancient (and New) Riches of Jewish Yoga Tradition says that Avraham, the father of the three greatest faiths of the western world, was a visionary contemplative who saw beyond the fragmented, worldly values of his society. In one account as a result of deep contemplation he saw the universe as a palace aflame with radiant light (Genesis Rabbah 39:1). In another, he meditated on the moon, sun, and constellations and realized each one, rising and setting as they did, couldn’t be the ultimate power. He broke through to see the One behind them all. His wife, Sarah, was herself a yogini , who tradition says had even greater prophetic powers than her husband. When Avraham was tested by God on Mt. Moriah ( Genesis 22:1-14 ) to show that he was willing to sacrifice his son Yitzhak like the tribes around him sacrificed their children to their deities Sarah yearned to join in the great kedushah of that moment (Avodas Yisrael). The aged Sarah entered a state of d’vekus (union with the Divine presence) and abandoned her body, dying in a misas neshika – death by Divine kiss.( Shelah Hakodesh). After her death her body did not decompose for some time, which confirmed for Avraham the high level of her attainment (R’Yonasan Eibeshitz). This sign will be familiar to students of the biographies of saints and mystics the world over. Avraham was told by an angel not to actually sacrifice Yitzhak, demonstrating that God did not want his family to sacrifice their children, but that this did not mean he would demand less from then than the other tribes offered to their gods. Avraham honoured Sarah with burial in the Cave of Machpela, a sacred site to this day. (Genesis 23:1-20) Yitzhak, Sarah and Avraham’s son, was also a contemplative. The Torah describes him as a quiet man who spent a lot of time meditating in the fields (Genesis 24:63; Talmud Bavli Berachot 26a-b). Ya’akov, Yitzhak’s son, was said to dwell in the tents of the sages (Genesis 25:27). He is said to have had the ability to discern the hidden spiritual architecture of the Cosmos (Sfas Emes on Genesis 28:10-22 ). His famed vision of the ladder reaching from earth to heaven, with angels ascending and descending upon it, became a major image in Jewish mysticism. Some saw the ladder as Ya’akov; some modern Jewish yogis see it as the sushumna , the astral energy channel in the spine. Interestingly, In Ya’akov’s vision of the ladder, the angels first ascend, then descend. This is the opposite of what we would expect- that they would descend, then re-ascend. The Rabbis explain that the angels are carrying prayers upward, and then returning with God’s response. Some say, though, that this represents the journey of consciousness up the sushumna and back, reaching up to the Divine and then “returning to the market place with open hands (to serve others)”, to quote the Zen phrase. Another great yogini of the Torah is Moshe’s sister Miryam the Prophetess. She was one of the three great leaders of the Jewish people according to the Talmud. Wherever she accompanied the Jews in the desert a miraculous well followed her known as “Miryam’s Well.” At death she was said to pass away like Sarah from a Divine Kiss, in a state of d’vekus (clinging to God). It may come as a surprise for some to learn of the rich tradition of meditation in Judaism. In fact, mystical, devotional, and transformational meditation practices have been a part of the Jewish faith since Biblical times. There are two primary types of Jewish meditation, which I will call mystical and moral . The first aims at attaining direct experience of God and the hidden structure of the Cosmos, the second at transformation of character. The goal of both practices is ‘d’vekus’, clinging to God at all times and bringing Holiness into this world. The first has come to be associated with the Kabbalah , the second with the Mussar tradition. In this article I will describe both, and provide a brief practical exercise for each so the reader can taste them for themselves.
The book of Rabbi Bar Yochai’s teachings, The Zohar (Book Of Radiance) became the central text of the Kabbalah, second in holiness only to the written and Oral Torah.
The Ramchal, in a characteristically Jewish application of this idea, chanted entire Hebrew texts over and over again without punctuation until he connected with the maggid (angel) of the text. Once when doing this practice in a field outside Sfat with some disciples, he chanted the Mishna, a code of Jewish Laws, in this way. Suddenly he went into an altered state of consciousness. He then turned to his disciples and spoke. “I am the Mishna”, he said.
The Ba’al Shem Tov spent his early years as a “hidden tzaddik “, or saint in disguise, working as an elementary school teacher. He also spent long retreats in the Carpathian Mountains. In 1740 he began preaching, and started a spiritual revolution. He taught a path of joy that emphasized prayer as much as study and made the wisdom of the Kabbalah available to the simple villager. The Baal Shem Tov exalted the place of singing and dancing in the service of God, a marked feature of Hasidic communities to this day. He also emphasized the attainment of states of profound mystic absorption, what the Yoga tradition would call Samadhi. “When you pray”, he taught, “You should be totally divorced from the physical, not aware of your existence in the world at all.” His great grandson, Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav, particularly emphasized the Baal Shem Tov’s teachings of joy and fearlessness in the service of God. “One should be happy all the time”, R’ Nachman taught. “The whole world is a very narrow bridge, and the main thing is not to fear at all.” His meditation is called hitbonenus (see below). It consists of going to an empty room or a secluded wood or field, and pouring out one’s heart to God out loud in an uncensored stream of consciousness. Another great Hasid was Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi. He organized Hasidic teachings into a clear intellectual system called Chabad . ChaBaD stands for Chochmah (intuitive wisdom) Binah (concrete understanding) and Da’as (intimate knowledge). He taught a form of meditation where one used the intellect to nullify all created things before God, seeing only Him as real. ” Ein od milvado “- there is nothing other.
The birth of an organized, self-conscious mussar movement waited for Rabbi Israel Lipkin of Salant (1810-1883), the holy Salanter Rebbe. He worked tirelessly to promote houses of mussar where people would gather to study works of ethics and virtue and practice the form of meditation he invented, hitpailus . In this method one selected a phrase of Torah which addressed a character weakness or virtue one wanted to develop, and repeated it out loud to oneself over and over again, in a way that stirred the heart to respond. The Salanter Rebbe recommended making a curriculum of one’s faults, and singling one out for particular attention each week. “The whole world is a house of mussar’, he taught, “And every person is a book of teachings.” His disciple Rabbi Mendel of Satanov developed the Salanter Rebbe’s teachings into a system (influenced by Benjamin Franklin’s similar system) called Cheshbon Hanefesh , or “Soul Accounting”.
“Once the mind is silenced or stilled, it is fully receptive to ‘mahshavah ahat shel kedushah’- the focusing on one holy thought… the next step is to ask God, in a quiet yet articulated manner, for help in attaining a spiritual gift, such as faith, love of God, or liveliness in his service. The meditation session ends in a niggun (wordless melody).Rabbi Shapira intimates that those who practice this meditation for several weeks would come to know the meaning of the verse “This is my God” (Exodus 15:2).”( Holy Fire ) The Rebbe taught that the conceptual, desirous, ego-mind blocked our deeper awarenesses. That is the reason that dreams furnish insights- because the surface mind is quietened. “We must attain the state of the sleeping mind- while conscious”, the Rebbe taught ( Sefer Derech Hamelech ). This idea will be familiar to many Yogis. The holy Rebbe further taught that one should eventually come to see the whole world as souls and Divine essences. Before one could see this, however, the Rebbe taught that one could still transform one’s perspective by impressing the Divine nature of all creation into the mind. “The whole world and everything in it is Divine in origin and substance. It is not visible to my eyes, but God is the source of all reality; even I am full of God. The sand under my feet is an articulation of God. The whole world is utterly comprised of, and dependent on, God. Now I, of my own free will, have come to think of myself as a free and independent agent; I have exiled myself from the sense of the presence of God.” ( Conscious Community ) The Rebbe taught that this was already the perspective of the soul, the mind and body had to be trained to align with it.
Some, however, tried to revivify Judaism, either from sources within or without. Those that chose the former began vital movements from within Orthodoxy like the contemporary manifestation of Chabad, an internationally successful Hasidic group that tries to bring non-observant Jews back to the fold. Streams of Kabbalah , Mussar , and Hasidism still survive in the worldwide Orthodox community as well. Among those that chose to revitalize Judaism from new springs Jewish Renewal was formed, a movement which embraces the insights of Feminism, Deep Ecology, and Eastern Religions. They have formed a point of re-entry for many Jews attracted to intense spirituality but not Orthodoxy. Spiritual teacher Alan Morinis has recently begun energetically teaching Mussar meditation outside of the Orthodox, strictly Jewish environments it normally flourishes in. Elat Chayyim, a Jewish Retreat Center in Connecticut, teaches 2 year courses in Jewish meditation and boasts a Jewish Yoga Teacher Training. Those looking to see what the wisdom of ancient Jewish traditions might have to offer their practice can begin by experimenting with the practices described below, and then see the resource list for further places to explore. What the future holds for Jewish meditation only time will tell. Innovators are making new synthesises, the few surviving lineages of Jewish mystical practices are making a comeback, and commercializers are selling Kabbalah merchandise to Hollywood stars. “There is nothing new under the sun’, said the Preacher in Ecclesiastes. ” ‘Under the sun’ there maybe nothing new”, commented the Rabbis, “But above the sun is another question.”
1) Go out to a secluded place in nature, or to an empty room. 2) Speak to God out loud, with no censorship, in a constant stream of consciousness for at least a few minutes. If you are bored, or have nothing to say, say, “I’m bored, I have nothing to say, this is stupid, but I have to keep talking to you. Oh, how I wish I had something to say. I’m not sure I even believe in You…” Whatever comes to mind, say it. Empty your heart, pray for whatever you need or want, complain, mourn, thank, rejoice, request.
2) Keep a daily record of how many times a day you use a positive or negative trait. Over the weeks, months and years you can see the change, and assess yourself more accurately.
2) Watch the flow of your thoughts without getting involved with them,viewing them “from the outside”. 3) When the thoughts slow and the mind becomes more clear and malleable, focus on the holy thought, letting it sink into your conscuousness. Feel its energy and let any associations arise and pass away. 4) When your consciousness feels steadied, uplifted, and purified, ask the Divine for a spiritual gift- a quality you would like to acheive in your practice- in your sadhana. 5) Conclude with a niggun (wordless melody ciming spontaneously into your heart), mantra, or sacred song.
thejewishretreatcenter.org mussarinstitute.org by Imry GalEinai
Source of article: https://inner.org/questions-and-answers-about-harav-ginsburghs-position-on-yoga We have seen a strong reaction (both positive and negative) in response to Rav Ginsburgh’s position on yoga. We believe this is a positive thing. It shows that people have a passion and desire for something meaningful, mystical, healthy and holistic in their lives, proof that the search for spiritual meaning is alive and well.That said, it is all the more urgent that a truly kosher form of mindful exercise be developed, one where every aspect of its thought, speech and action can be utilized to create a spirit and body. As mentioned in the original article, Rav Ginsburgh has in the past made some progress in this direction, but more work needs to be done to complete and publicize such a form of exercise.The Gal Einai editorial staff has consulted with Rav Ginsburgh to provide the following information and elaboration that will hopefully help address some of the issues and questions raised by the original article. Question: Why is it an issue that the term “yoga” is in Sanskrit or that the poses are called by their Sanskrit names? How is Sanskrit different from any other language? Answer: Unlike other languages, Sanskrit is considered a sacred language and is the language of Hindusim that is used in all religious practice. It is specifically the use of the language that has an impact, as opposed to just the meaning of the words themselves (which is why yoga poses are generally called by their Sanskirt names and yoga itself is a Sanskrit word.) As explained (The Magic of Sanskrit: Yogi Times): “What may often be overlooked, however, is the importance of the particular sound vibrations used, for it is not merely the act of chanting but more importantly the use of Sanskrit that produces profound change within people. In fact, vedic literature declares that Sanskrit chanting is an extremely enjoyable, powerful way for people to transform and awaken, a magical vehicle for accessing higher states of consciousness.” The site continues to explain: “There is a mythological story about the derivation of Sanskrit that deserves mention. According to this account, Lord Brahma (the creative force of the Divine) spoke vedic knowledge in Sanskrit to the devas (higher beings) who in turn passed the information on from the heavenly spheres to mystics who were deep in meditation, living in a pristine state and attuned to subtle energies. Thus Sanskrit is a ‘heard’ language and referred to as devanagari from ‘deva’ meaning ‘god’ and “nagari” meaning ‘city,’ and translated as ‘the language of the gods.’ The holy seers recorded all of the vedic texts in Sanskrit, much like early European spiritual texts were written in Latin, with priests serving as the keepers of Sanskrit. Like Latin, Sanskrit was not a spoken language, but rather a language in which prayers and mantras were written and chanted.” Q: The yoga classes I go to often begin with a mantra in Sanskrit. I don’t understand what is being said, but I don’t say anything when it is being chanted. As long as I am not saying the words, why would there be a problem with me being there? A. Many types of yoga practice begin with a mantra in Sanskrit which is a foundational aspect of the yoga class. For example, Ashtanga yoga’s mantra, which is traditionally chanted at the beginning of each class, starts with: “Om” which is considered the “word of god” and “is a mystic syllable, considered the most sacred mantra in Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism,” (gaia.com). The mantra continues: “I worship the Guru’s lotus feet….” There is no question that chanting the above mantra is fundamentally problematic for a Jew. But the atmosphere we are around also affects us. Being in a class where this is being chanted and heard does impact us, subconsciously if not consciously. That is why we go to great lengths to ensure that we not only abstain from spiritually problematic behaviors but that we also are careful to separate ourselves from such environments. If anything, one of the hopes and goals of the chants being used in a yoga class is specifically to impact the participants, whether or not those participants are saying or even actively listening to the chants or words themselves. As the same article continues: “For yogis, what may be most interesting is that Sanskrit has the ability to actually create healing through its vibration, since Sanskrit mantras directly affect the chakras, organs and nervous system. Although it is certainly important to understand the meaning of chants, their power lies mostly in the actual sounds themselves, that mystically allow blessings to manifest around and within us. By working with Sanskrit chants, we erase ill karma, cleanse our minds and emotions of negative patterns, and create new, positive conditions. Repeated use of Sanskrit chants liberates us from the material world, so that we may eventually escape the cycle of reincarnation.” Q: My yoga class doesn’t have any spiritual or religious dimensions. There is no chanting, gongs or buddhas or the like in my class. It is solely about a physical exercise, so what could possibly be problematic? Some people even say that yoga is not really connected to Hinduism but a modern day invention. And even if it was originally, westernized modern yoga is about movement and flexibility and nothing more. A: There are definitely yoga practitioners that claim to completely separate the yoga they teach from anything spiritual. However, there are many dedicated yogis who will say that such a thing is impossible, as to be authentic yoga, it is a spiritual and religious exercise. “The essence of yoga is to reach oneness with god,” (Pattabhi Jois: an Indian yoga teacher and Sanskrit scholar who developed and popularized the vinyāsa style of yoga referred to as Ashtanga Yoga.) “Most Hindu texts discuss yoga as a practice to control the senses and ultimately, the mind. The most famous is the Bhagavad Gita (dating back to 6th-3rd Century BCE), in which Krishna speaks of four types of yoga – bhakti, or devotion; jnana, or knowledge; karma, or action; and dhyana, or concentration (often referred to as raja yoga, though not all sources agree on the term) – as paths to achieve moksha, the ultimate goal according to Hindu understanding. Of the four, the description of dhyana yoga has the most in common with yoga as it is largely understood today,” (Yoga Beyond Asana: Hindu Thought in Practice, hafsite.org). A typical yoga class (including the ones that claim to have no religious or spiritual connection) will include poses and movements that in and of themselves are problematic. As stated above, the fact that one may not actively think or connect what is being said or done to its source, does not take away from the fact that the source is still very present and affecting the person. For example, the “warm up” of stretches in most yoga classes are referred to as the “Sun Salutations: Surya Namaskara.” This is also often the first yoga sequence a new student of yoga will learn. Clearly that term, even if only used in the English and not the Sanskrit, already conjures up a spiritual meaning and worship. While every type of workout is going to have a series of warm up exercises and stretches, the sequence that is done through these Sun Salutations is very specific and carries meaning. As explained: “…One of the means of honoring the sun is through the dynamic asana sequence Surya Namaskar (better known as Sun Salutation). The Sanskrit word Namaskar stems from namas, which means “to bow to” or “to adore.” The familiar phrase we use to close our yoga classes, namaste--te means “you”—also comes from this root. The essence of its meaning is “the divine in me honors the divine in you.” Each Sun Salutation begins and ends with the joined-hands mudra (gesture) touched to the heart. This placement is no accident; only the heart can know the truth. Surya Namaskar, or sun salutation, is included in a regular morning ritual of prayer and worship. It is the prayer of Lord Surya, the god of health,” (shantiyoganola.com). Another example is the way almost any yoga class ends, which is in Corpse Pose, Savasana. "Corpse pose is the practice of the ultimate surrender of dying. This pose comes form the archetype of Shiva, the very first yogi, who is the god of destruction and letting go." (pranamarvillas.com)." As the original article explains, the issues with a yoga class exist throughout, which is why the concept of “kosher yoga” is a contradiction in terms. Whether intentional or unintentional, conscious or subconscious, the sequence of the movements, the movements themselves, the name of the poses, and calling the entire process “yoga” carries with it problematic religious meaning, connection and significance. The Kabbalistic term for this is “makif d’tumah” which is the “atmosphere of impurity.” When something is impure it affects all that comes into contact with it. Q: If Yoga is so problematic, why is it being taught at my Chabad House and local Jewish Community Center? A: The fact that yoga is so widespread in the Jewish world was the impetus for publishing the original response. There is a lot of misunderstanding about the origins of yoga and arguments that it is really not related to Hinduism and therefore not problematic. Because there have been versions that are seemingly missing the obvious issues, many feel it is fine to teach or attend such classes. As this piece addresses, there are fundamental and foundational problems though that still exist, and therefore people need to do educate themselves to understand why yoga is so problematic. The most obvious reason that it is being offered in so many places is because people are seeking it and enjoy it. There are an incredible amount of benefits that people ascribe to yoga. But as Jews, we must ensure that our diet not just be “healthy” but it must be kosher as well. We may love a certain food or restaurant, but if we value the concept of kosher and believe that a kosher diet is what is spiritually necessary, we would only eat there with rabbinical supervision and approval. Even if it tastes good. Even if it makes us feel good. Even if there is no other place that offers such delicious food. It is not easy to tell someone that something they enjoy and love doing is not spiritually healthy for them. However, that is the case with yoga. And unfortunately, as of yet, there is no quick or easy replacement for that. But that doesn’t mean there can’t be. If anything, the fact that so many people are seeking yoga as a practice of mind, body and soul shows the urgency for the creation of a truly kosher form of movement to be further expanded and developed. Gal Einai and Rav Ginsburgh are working actively towards this goal. In the meantime, it is imperative that the spiritual dangers associated with yoga be shared with others so that they can become aware and educated regarding this matter. |
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AuthorsThese are written by our wonderful teachers across the Jewish Yoga Network. |