Challenges of the Wilderness

Dear Friends,
This week, as we come to the end of the book of b’midbar (Numbers), we are in the wilderness with our ancestors.
We watch how challenges of the wilderness, uncertainty, fear, physical and spiritual exhaustion, a lack of security, comfort and control, allowed violence and cruelty to flourish.
 
We read these Torah portions during these “three weeks” that lead to tisha b’av, the day that marks the destruction of the Temples in Jerusalem.  These three weeks warn us that hatred disconnects us from what is most essential and leaves in its wake devastation and ruin. This time urges us not to allow hatred to grow in our hearts.
 
It is understandable that many of us are exhausted, weary, afraid, angry and uncertain as we continue to navigate these times. And it takes a great deal of practice to not allow hatred and anger to solidify on our hearts.
 
I am finding it helpful to take on a dedicated compassion practice these days. My heart is often filled with rage and frustration, and as a result, I get lost in confusion unable to act or connect. I find myself speaking in ways that are contentious and unkind and I feel exhausted. This compassion practice turns me toward relationship, it encourages patience and generosity, and opens a pathway toward healing.
 
Each day, I say this prayer for myself and 9 others in turn, creating a minyan of blessing within and around me:
 
May I be blessed with love.
May I be blessed with peace.
May I be blessed with safety.
May I be blessed with well-being.
 
May you be blessed with love.
May you be blessed with peace.
May you be blessed with safety.
May you be blessed with well-being.
 
Some days I say this prayer for those who are at the center of my life, other days I pray for people who are more on the periphery. Some days I say it for people I only know from afar. Some days I include people in my life with whom there is need for healing and some days I say the prayer for trees, waters, birds, mountains, deserts and sky. I was taught not to begin a practice like this focusing on people who I find the most difficult—the most enraging—but rather to practice where it is easiest and build the muscles of compassion.
 
I encourage us to take some time each day and let the intention of compassion and relationship fill our hearts and minds. Let’s send blessings to each other and the world.
 
May this open paths to healing.
May love and truth, justice and peace, rise and prevail.
 
Love to all,

—Rabbi Yael Levy