An offering for today and the days ahead from Jodi Kushins, KSS Lay Leader
Every time a rally or protest pops up and I already have plans or don’t have the energy to get to the State House, wise KSS friends remind me that issues like gun safety, climate change, women’s health access, racism and all the rest are not one and done concerns. We can’t make a single sign or share an ironic meme and fix the problem. It took time for our country and all the Earthlings we share this planet with to get into the messes we’re in, and it will take time to fix them.
And so it is that with so much falling apart, I’m finding some peace in listening to interviews and reading the work of deep ecologists, emergent strategists, and progressive faith leaders. It’s amazing how much their messages overlap. I appreciate the hope they provide despite the darkness they may feel. I tune into the wisdom of their observations about the interdependence of all living things. And I am forever trying to adopt their lessons to focus on the present moment and not let my fears about a future I can’t really know stop me from living in this moment.
I’m also counting the Omer. I know, I know. That’s so last season, I started the day after Shavuot, following our beautiful intergenerational community gathering when Yutan invited us to share thoughts and (dare I say) revelations on the Ten Commandments and Debra offered us tools for locking in the magic of the Omer period. I left feeling annoyed with myself for missing this opportunity, again, to engage a Jewish mindfulness practice I have long been interested in but haven’t made time for. I missed the mark, but it wasn’t too late to try again. So, for the past 22 days, I’ve been waking up and reading Rabbi Yael Levy’s offerings for each day.
I could say a lot more about why I feel okay counting at a non-traditional time for counting, how I’ve set up my practice, and what I’m getting from it. But what I wanted to share today, this week – as we are absorbing the disappointment so many of us feel about the decisions handed down from the Supreme Court last week – is the teaching for this week of my Omer. It’s feels like it couldn’t have come at a more appropriate time.
The attribute for the week is Netzach. As with all the sefirot, there are many interpretations of this characteristic – eternity, prophecy, endurance, vision… Since I’m just wading into this, I’ll just share Rabbi Yael’s introduction to the week of Netzach and let you wrestle with it yourself. I hope it brings you some solace, and offers you a foundation for taking the next step in the marathon to repair the world that we are running together.
“What is it that helps us lift our eyes
And believe, trust, imagine
In an expanse of possibility?
Netzach reveals what our souls know–
Everything is connected,
Intertwined,
Interdependent.
We are woven together
With all life that ever was
And will ever be.
We are here for our short time
And everything we do matters.
Our choices, actions and devotion
Continue to create the world.
In this moment in the life of our country and the world,
Let us not be tricked into thinking there is nothing we can do.
Everything we do matters.
Every moment of connection creates strength.
Every act of kindness, compassion and generosity endures.
In the words of the psalmist, Let us act with justice grounded in deep faith. (Psalm 119:138)
And let us remember that Love extends beyond time and space. Love is forever. (Psalm 1118:1)
Let this be a week in which we practice radical kindness.
In our encounters each day, let us move slowly and pause long enough to discern:
How can I act with generosity in this moment?
What is the compassionate and loving response?
And let us feel the ancestors rooting for us,
And the generations to come, holding us in their prayers,
And then let us act in their honor
For the well-being of all.”
—Rabbi Yael Levy