Alert, Attentive Kindness

Dear Friends,

Each Torah portion comes around again every year, finding us wherever we are. Here is a teaching for this week’s portion that I wrote last year. I did do some editing, but I felt the need of this message again, especially now.

In the Torah portion Noach
Creation has gone awry.
The world is corrupt.
Greed, contempt and a complete disregard of others
Has become the mode of being.

Noach was instructed to build an ark and take inside
Animals, birds and creatures of all kinds.
In caring for these living creatures,
Noach grew alert, attentive and kind.
He became curious.
He grew interested in the diversity of creation. 
And, as his awareness of the interconnection of all life grew, 
Sensitivity, compassion
And a deep abiding care for others
Emerged. 

As I gaze at this story
I am aware of the rage and sadness that resides in my heart
I am aware how these responses to what is going on in our country
Make it difficult for me to be patient and kind,
To find comfort or to see beauty.
As a corrective I am setting an intention to take care.
To take care of a garden,
To take care of an animal.
To take care of a small piece of land,
A small stretch of river.
To take care of friends and family.
To take care of community.

With these actions
I pray for an alert, attentive kindness
That invigorates my capacity for compassion
And enables me to be present to all that life brings.
I pray to return to love again and again
And to let a deep sense of caring guide my words and actions.

With love and blessings,

Rabbi Yael
We sit together practicing curiosity and non-judgmental awareness as we watch the rising and passing of the stories and thoughts of the mind. Listen to the recording of this week's free, live Meditation Sit with Rabbi Yael Levy.

A Way In is happy to present a recording of the “Torah in these Challenging Times” Torah Study with Rabbi Yael Levy from Oct. 12, 2020. Listen to Rabbi Yael’s expanded teaching on Beresheet.

As we begin the Torah cycle once again, we invite you to explore the journey with Rabbi Yael’s book Directing the Heart: Weekly Mindfulness Teachings and Practices from the Torah

With short teachings and mindfulness practices for each Torah portion, Rabbi Yael guides us through the year, exploring how Jewish tradition, rituals and practices can help us navigate the blessings and challenges of life.