As we enter 2015, we have an opportunity to look back and look ahead at the same time, to take stock, count our blessings, let go of disappointments, to reorient and re-aim. In Hebrew, we call this process
t’shuvah
(returning) and it is central to Jewish spirituality. More introspective and probing than the process our secular New Year’s resolutions typically afford us,
t’shuvah
is a vehicle for cleansing and intention-setting. And, although many of us think of this as an experience reserved for the High Holy Days,
t’shuvah
is embedded in our daily, weekly, and monthly cycles and can be accessed and utilized as a psycho-spiritual practice for recognizing and releasing regret and re-aligning ourselves with our sacred purpose.
During his many decades of renewing Judaism’s rich spiritual practices, Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, taught the importance of t’shuvah , the ongoing examination of one’s life and behavior. He began with the notion that “in every aspect of life we need to do periodic maintenance, a checkup.” Anyone who has ever let the dishes pile up in the sink or ignored an ache until it became an acute and unbearable pain, knows that it is much easier to move forward when we attend to these things regularly rather than occasionally. Applying this concept to our spiritual lives, removing the schmutz that weighs us down on a daily, weekly, and monthly as well as annual basis makes abundant sense.
A wonderful place to start is with the bedtime Sh’ma and its surrounding prayers, offering a laundry list of hurts, angers, sadnesses, and shortcomings to release before going to sleep. Our tradition calls us to end each day in the spirit of forgiveness (of others and self) and taking moments to reflect on the ways in which we were not our best selves and reaffirm who we want to be. Consider a practice of ending your day with these words from the traditional liturgy:
רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם, הֲרֵינִי מוֹחֵל לְכָל מִי שֶׁהִכְעִיס וְהִקְנִיט אוֹתִי, אוֹ שֶׁחָטָא כְּנֶגְדִּי Ribono shel olam: Hareini mohel l’khol mi shehikhis v’hiknit oti, o’shehata k’negdi. Master of the Universe: Behold – I forgive everyone who angered or disturbed me, anyone who offended me.
Followed by the familiar words:
שְׁמַע ׀ יִשְׂרָאֵל, ה’ ׀ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ, ה’ ׀ אֶחָד
בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד
Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai ehad.
Barukh shem k’vod malkhuto l’olam va’ed.
If the traditional liturgy doesn’t resonate for you, consider a creative interpretation like these from the Reconstructionist movement’s
Ritual Well
, or consider crafting your own kavanah (intention) that will allow you a peaceful sleep and to awake in the morning filled with gratitude and energy. מוֹדֶה אֲנִי ~
Modeh ani ~ I am grateful …
Round, spiraling Sh’ma is the work of artist Jackie Olenick.
