Saddened by diminished neighborhood sounds in 2020, I turned within, listening more intently to what was going on inside, what I was feeling, and how that affected my response as I travelled through my day. Almost 2.5 years later, I continue this listening practice as I travel from place to place. Like the Sh'ma which calls on us as a people of struggle/Yisrael to pay attention and listen up/Sh'ma, my walks outside attune my heart, my head and my mind to the tender places, the sparks of joy and everything in between.
This weekend, we welcome the month of Elul and on Sunday we begin to blow the shofar each day of this Hebrew month of preparation for the High Holy Days (except Shabbat and the day of Erev Rosh Hashanah). The shofar invites us into a similar listening practice. The call of the ram's horn may awaken memories of past new years and holy day celebrations. It may startle something inside of us and loosen the tight places, helping us uncover and reunite with our true essence in time to begin the new year. Daily listening to the shofar invites us to practice paying attention, a transferable skill in so many areas of life. The shofar also calls us to attention, honing our senses so that we may notice more fully the world that surrounds us and the world within.
On my walk to my most recent doctor's appointment, I remembered my practice of calling my mother. By the time I left the appointment to walk home, I wasn't thinking about my mother. Instead, I noticed the car horns, buses, children playing in the park, people chatting on their phones, and bodega workers highlighting their produce. I also noticed my cheerful response to a city that is returning to life. My mother would have appreciated the sounds of the rhythm of life, and that I am paying attention to my health, my surroundings, and my soul. This year, as I open myself most fully to the sounds of the shofar, I pray they shake loose the last bits of this first year of grief at my mother's death and attune my senses to the way in which life is transforming around and within me. May you awaken to your own transformation.
Shabbat Shalom
rg
