RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL: MEDITATION: CONSCIOUS CONTACT WITH GOD

 RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL: MEDITATION: CONSCIOUS CONTACT WITH GOD

 

Dear Chaverem:

 

Marco's question (below) about how we meditate and hear God is an important one. It is frankly what Jewish Spiritual Renewal  brings us to. It is part of developing a personal relationship with Ha Shem.

 

It is a question which I was planning to delve into much later in the class.

 

But let me touch on some salient points today.

 

As Jews we are a 'listening' people. The watch words of our faith are in the Shema, "Hear, O' Israel". When we all stood at Mt. Sinai listening to the Ten Utterances (Commandments) , we said ,"We will do, and we will listen." (na'aseh ve-ni'shema - Exodus 24:7)

 

But we have forgotten how to listen.

 

We touched on the clue to how we have forgotten in the past few classes with the analogy of the word for Egypt, Mitzraim. It means the narrow place. It was called that because geographically, it had a few miles on each side of the Nile River that was green and the rest was dessert.

 

But our sages took Pesach and talked not just about a people's liberation, but how we must be continually liberated from our own narrowness, brought on by pettiness, grudges, resentments, ego, selfishness, etc.

 

The Hebrew word for Prophet is Nevi, and this is from the Hebrew word for open. A Prophet is one who is open to hear God. He is not stuck and blocked with his own Mitzraim, narrowness.

 

So how do we meditate? How do we hear God? God is always talking to us. As Marty alluded in his post below Marco's, when he remembers to be God conscious, God is there guiding him. When he forgets, and lets his ego take over, God is still there of course, but Marty doesn't hear Him. Marty hears his ego and when Marty follows his ego, Marty errs, owes amends, and his day doesn't go well.  This is how it is for most of mankind. Blessed is Marty that he has many days where he IS connected with God and good.

 

So to answer Marco's question, we must rid ourselves of our Mitzraim, our narrowness, and be Nevi, open, to hear God. Am I saying we need to be like Isaiah and Jeremiah and even Moses? No. The Talmud specifically tells us that when we reach Olam ha Ba (the world to come), we will NOT be asked if we were like Moses, but if we were the best 'you' you could be.

 

But we do need to first understand that God is Adon Olam. That He runs the universe and that we are a part of His universe. And that God loves us very very much. He is our Heavenly Father. And that God is  omnipotent, omnipresent  and omniscient. He can take care of me in the USA and Marco in Brazil and Wong in China, and Achmed in Iraq, and Fritz in Germany all at the same time.

 

We then need to truly make a complete chesbon ha nefesh, a complete inventory of our lives and our souls. We do this daily, but if we never have done one, we need to do one from our present, back to our kindergarten years, and list those to whom we hold resentments, our defects of character, our sins so to speak, our fears, and hold nothing back.

 

We need to do vidui, confession with someone we trust and with God.

 

We need to find these traits abhorrent. We have to find them objectionable, not our spouses, or co-workers.

 

And then we need to do tashlik, cast these defects, grudges, fears, etc onto moving water and ask God to take them away from us. And if we feel them returning, immediately ask God to take them away again and again and again. And He will, if we continue to ask.

 

(This by the way, is why at many Temple, the tashlik ceremony, never works. Folks walk down to the banks of the river, toss bread into the water symbolizing their sins, and walk or drive home, still resentful to a list of people, and still full of defects. Few Temples are teaching Jews how to have a relationship with God, as so many leaders, are stuck in the own Mitzraim of pettiness, jealousy, grudges, ego, etc.)

 

When we do this, our minds will be clear and open, and not blocked. Mitzraim will be gone, and we will be Nevi. When we lie still and ask God to direct our lives and ask Him for answers, we will begin to hear sound Guidance. Our minds will not be cluttered with worry, selfish thoughts, ego ideation, scripts of grudge fights, etc.

 

We will go into much more step by step detail later on. But this works and has been working for Jews, and others who have learned it from us, for more than 2000 years.

 

Shalom, Shabbat Shalom, and enjoy the last two fews of Pesach:

Rabbi Arthur Segal

 

 

In a message dated 4/26/2008 , J_____@AOL.COM writes:

Dear Marty, Rabbi Segal, and everyone;

I read Marty's post.

How does one meditate to 'hear God'?

Thank you.

Shalom,

Marco

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In a message dated 4/26/2008 , A_______@AOL.COM writes:

Shabbat Shalom Rabbi Segal and class:

 

I try to keep in conscious contact with God through out my day. It isn't an easy task and like anything else worth while takes effort.

 

I can tell you that when I do my days go smoothly, and I tend not to worry and have faith that things will work out with me doing my best, and then not fretting over the results. On days that I forget that God is in charge, or want to think that I am, I worry, have unfounded fears, and those will lead me to some action, that I later regret doing.

 

The effort involved isn't costly nor one that takes much time.

 

I start my day off with prayer, thanking God for waking me, and with gratitude. I ask God to keep my yetza ha ra, my evil inclination, far from me today. I ask God to keep me from selfishness and anger, and to keep me loving and forgiving to all I will meet today. I ask him to let me do His will and not my will. And then I keep quiet, asking God to direct me. And I listen to what God answers to me.

 

I stop in the middle of my day and do the above also.

 

At the end of my day, I review my day with a chesbon ha nefesh, an inventory of my soul, and ask God how I can improve. If gosh forbid, I have harmed someone, even unintentionally, I make a note, to make amends the next day, if it is already too late at night to do so.

 

This whole process keeps me on God's dereck eretz, God's way of walking the earth, of living, and hence I am apt not to make errors, that I will have to worry about.

 

Things that are totally out of my control, like health issues or health issues of my family or friends, I know are in God's hands. I just pray to Him to heal, if it be His will to do so. As I human, I visit the sick. That is all I can do. If I am sick, following the doctors' orders and praying are all I can do, along with trust in God. Worry will make me sicker.

 

When I make errors, and I still do, I make amends. If the amends are not accepted, and folks want to stay upset with me, and I have tried to amend, humbly thrice, then I just cannot worry about their retaliations. I did the deed they are upset with. I am imperfect. I made amends. And if they want to extract a large price, a revenge if you will, I have to turn the other check and not escalate. God doesn't want me to have peccadilloes with His children.

 

 Sometimes folks get upset out of jealously because I have succeeded in something that they have not. I cannot amend for that. As one who was jealous and who coveted, I know that to be a symptom of a Godless person. I pray for them and do not let a grudge form.

 

The above lets me worry much less and enjoy life much more.

 

Thanks,

Marty 

 

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