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Photo by Angela Gold |
But Debbie was also my teacher in the most profound sense highlighted by those stories of old; the teacher who communicates through their actions.
Debbie, as anyone who ever tried to plan a service or a class with her can tell you, did not teach with lesson plans and outlines. Her teaching came straight from her soul.
And I, like so many, learned most from Debbie by observing how she did her work in the world.
Traveling often with Debbie to Healing Services in Weschester in addition to regularly attending at the JCC in Manhattan, this is what I learned from Debbie about healing:
· Many different kinds of people came to a healing service. Some of them recovered from illnesses and surgeries, and some of them did not. Some of them carried years of emotional pain and loss. We call carry some piece within that is in need of healing.
· While not every one could be cured, Debbie brought some healing to them all. She did this by creating a holy vessel in space and time in which, for at least a while, they were lifted up, embraced, and reminded that they mattered; that their presence made a difference in the lives of others. She brought them laughter, and smiles, as well as cathartic tears.
· When the service was over, Debbie was eager to leave promptly. She said emphatically, ‘this is not about me. This is about each of them. I want them to connect with each other, not with me.’ And they did. We laughed together, cried together, celebrated together and mourned together. I made some of my first friends in this country at those services and am forever grateful to them.
Debbie’s rendering of the Mi Shebeirach is, of course, one of the singularly most transformative contemporary prayers that she gifted to us.
But that soul wisdom that she shared in all that she taught us about healing infuses another blessing that she transformed. While not yet so well known, Debbie’s rendition of the Birkat haGomel is equally transformative.
Traditionally, this is a blessing that is said upon recovering from a life-threatening illness or situation. After childbirth, after a car accident, once the cancer is in remission…
The traditional formulation consists of a statement made by the survivor who thanks God for bestowing goodness upon them, and a response by the congregation who prays that God continues to bestow such goodness.
Debbie transformed the experience and the meaning of this blessing. She did this by changing the emphasis of the blessing. While she offers us names for God that describe the things we hope and wish for – Creator of Miracles, Mercy and Life; Protector, Healer – Debbie’s prayer asks us to focus on three words, over and over again: Kol tov Selah. Kol tov – all that is good. Selah – pause and consider.
But not, in fact, to pause and consider how we were saved. That is not Debbie’s prayer. ‘Give thanks for all that is good.’
For what we have is this moment, this hour, this day.
We’ve just lived through an experience that reminded us that we might not have been present in this moment. So we have a blessing to help us to pause and to remind us, literally, to stop and smell the roses. To recognize the blessings.
When we are able to do this it helps us to banish the feelings of fear that can arise and incapacitate us. We are less likely to feel alienated and alone, and more likely to feel connected with the people around us. When we can pause and appreciate the good, even in the midst of illness or loss, we are uplifted if only for a brief moment and, in that moment, we also experience a little bit of healing.
Debbie didn’t call this blessing, Birkat haGomel.
The title that you will find in the new anthology is the one she gave it – ‘For all that is good.’
Thank you, Debbie, for teaching us. Through the Torah that poured out of your very soul you taught us how to connect, how to renew the spirit, how to recognize and appreciate the good that is before us, moment by moment, and how we can bring healing to each other.
Tonight’s Thanksgivakkah offering comes to you from the Technion in Haifa, Israel. They know how to mix it up just right in their Chemistry lab. Enjoy! (and click the button on the top right of the video screen at the end to see their incredible video of a Robot lighting a menorah, produced a couple of years back.
Not everyone fits around the Thanksgivakkah table, and not everyone is physically close enough to be together this holiday season. Then there are those who are not well enough, and others who may find themselves working to serve the needs of others on this day. But we can still stay connected. You may have left it too late to mail a card, but the Union for Reform Judaism has put together a Thanksgivakkah e-card site (and some just Hanukkah options too) so you easily send a message to someone to tell them that you are thinking of them. Check it out here!
Just in case the conversation starts to wane during your Thanksgivakkah dinner, here’s some simple fun that will keep everyone entertained for a little while – Thanksgivakkah Bingo! Play with chocolate gelt – the winner gets the lot!
Last weekend, at our Spiritual Journey Group at Congregation B’nai Shalom, someone reflected on the need to impart the kind of values that are important to use to our kids at this time of year. If we say or do nothing, they are likely to simply pick up and absorb the dominant narratives that they hear around them. And how often, after the holiday season, does the conversation among kids turn to the question of ‘what did you get?’. One of the values that we want to impart might better be reflected in a question that I’d love to hear our children asking: ‘What did you give?’
I think my blog readers and congregants should know the lengths I went to in preparing this weeklong countdown. I had to sit through a great many truly awful parodies, corny videos, and other ear-curdling experiences in order to the find the truly delightful, entertaining, and musically pleasurable experiences worthy of your attention. This one is just plain ‘nice’. Good voices, neat mash-up and melody of some holiday standards. For your listening pleasure:
I’ve come across many online offerings with recipe suggestions that bring together the best of Thanksgiving with the traditions of Hanukkah. But this link takes you to one of the most extensive offerings that left me with my mouth watering. Let me know if you try any of them, and which ones get the most thumbs up.
The idea of mixing holiday food traditions leave you squeamish? Just remember that just about every food tradition we have for Hanukkah is of central European or eastern European origin: latkes, donuts … none of these were prescribed by the Maccabees, or even by the Rabbis of the Talmud. So mix and merge this Thanksgivakkah at your dinner table – it’s totally kosher. But Turkey for eight nights? Maybe not.
In case you missed it, Stephen Colbert sounds off on ‘Thanksgiving under Attack’