Summary of a talk by Jayne Donegan on 11th March 2008
Jayne began by saying how the many rituals, prayers, commandments and injunctions of Judaism, far from being a burden, enable her to use the events of the everyday as a constant reminder of her relationship with God and the wonder and magic of the ordinary.
There are 613 commandments and many blessings, or berakha. These are not just random rules or exhortations; there is always a reason behind them. For instance, in giving to the needy, Jews are exhorted to give small amounts frequently in preference to giving a larger amount rarely. In this way one becomes conditioned or habituated to giving.
Berakha are a way of acknowledging that God is the source of all blessings. When you wake up you thank God for releasing you from the bonds of sleep and granting you another day, there is a blessing to use when first putting your feet on the ground when you get up in the morning, another when you put your shoes on, another for use when eating bread (this is very special and you must also wash your hands ritually before eating bread), another when eating fruit, (there is a blessing to use when eating an apple – you thank God for granting you the fruit of the tree) there is one when having a ritual bath, and so on. All these emphasise that the physical is holy as well as the spiritual. God made humans to occupy physical space so that they can choose to be holy or not.
After her periods a woman has a ritual bath, a mikvah, to purify her. There is a special blessing to say. This should not be seen as against women; rather it is because it involves death, the death of the unfertilised ovum. Nothing is inherently good or bad; it depends on how things are used. – money, a knife, anger – they can all be used for good or ill.
A synagogue is a place where you gather to pray, but it is the home that is the centre of worship. Meals are very important. In the Bible it says, eat and be satisfied. What does this mean? The rabbis say it doesn’t simply mean you’ve had enough to eat; being satisfied provides another opportunity to thank God, to want to be holy. Judaism makes you appreciate everything you’ve got. There are some who say there are so many rules and prayers they are just recited by rote but this is not inevitable. Some people use them as an opportunity to meditate.
The world is magic – think of the beauty in the veins of a leaf, the design of a snowflake, the complexity of human beings. It’s easy to miss these things; to appreciate them we need to live fully in the present moment. Like karma, what you put into something, you get back. We need to see the magical in all we do. Other blessings include on seeing a rainbow, on meeting a head of state. All festivals are lunar. They occur at the time of the new moon. In an agricultural society, as the early Jews were, the phases of the moon were more noticeable than today.
It is customary to clean out the house at certain festivals. Strictly speaking, this isn’t to clean out dirt, but to clear out anything that rises, like yeast. Jayne mentioned the pleasure she got, sitting relaxing after cleaning windows at such a time, and seeing things through the clear glass.
At Shavot, or the festival of weeks, Jews celebrate God’s gift of the Torah to Moses on Mount Sinai. In the autumn there is Succot, the harvest festival, when people make booths or tabernacles outside. The structure should not be waterproof but it is covered with greenery and the stars shine through it. For seven days you eat, sleep, even study outside. This helps people to think of the harvest and its importance. It’s a very special time. It is also an opportunity for hospitality. Hospitality is a big thing in Judaism and this is an opportunity to invite your neighbours – to engage with people.
Most magical of all is Shabbat. There is never a week when you don’t stop an hour before sunset on a Friday. It’s a time out of time. Nowadays everything is so fast, so immediate, we think we can control everything, but when we stop the sun still rises and sets. Life goes on without us; the Creator keeps it going. You make food for Shabbat in advance; you don’t write anything down. So it’s a time for relaxation and renewal. It’s a time to eat with friends, to chat, to use the best glasses, china and tablecloth.
Of course commandments can be broken in order to save a life. Magic requires focussing your mind hard on something. Rituals may seem empty to some, but they change us in subtle ways. Reform Judaism doesn’t have the magic to the same extent, the multitude of ways of doing and being. Rules are an opportunity to grow, understand and appreciate.