Morning Minyan Meditation with Rabbi Shefa Gold

Rabbi Lizzi and the Thursday Morning Minyan crew are joined by Rabbi Shefa Gold who leads us in meditative, musical chanting. Plus, we blow the first Shofar blast of Elul!

Every weekday at 8:00 am, Mishkan Chicago holds a virtual Morning Minyan. Our Thursday sessions are hosted by Mishkan's Founding Rabbi, Lizzi Heydemann. You can join in yourself, or listen to all the prayer, music, and inspiration right here on Contact Chai.

https://www.mishkanchicago.org/series/morning-minyan-summer-fall-2023/

****

For upcoming Shabbat services and programs, check our event calendar, and see our Accessibility & Inclusion page for information about our venues. Follow us on Instagram and like us on Facebook for more updates.

Produced by Mishkan Chicago. Music composed, produced, and performed by Kalman Strauss.

Transcript

Transcript

Copy Transcript Copied

Hello and welcome to contact high. Every weekday morning at 8am we gather for a virtual morning minion, there's a link to join us in the show notes. And this Thursday's minion with Rabbi Lizzi was extra special as we welcome in the month of April leading up to the High Holidays with a shofar blast and the musical meditative chanting of Rabbi shefa gold now, take it away rabbi.

I am here in Michigan, Chicago, at the at the parliament of world religions, and I get the great honor and blessing to be with you this morning to be with this amazing community. And at a very auspicious time, I feel because we are on the cusp of a loo which is this kind of month of intensity of like, you know, revving up the you know, the possibility it's an opening to to a journey. I think I think a little is like a journey of reconciliation with the great mystery and and whatever ways that we need to align ourselves to get ready for the renewal of Rosh Hashanah. So and so one of the main themes of Rosh Hashanah is is awake awakening, and awakening. Really the inner place inside us the place of our resource, the place where the finite connects with the infinite the deep place inside our hearts. And so I want to begin our service with it with it with something from the Yom Kippur morning. Liturgy, actually, that I love. And I'll show you can can see, it's,

it's not this is that.

Yes. So the word say awaken is bright light, the rose of the depths and a practice that I like to use. This is one,

hang on, I want to bring this closer to you, because I want people to hear you better. And sorry to interrupt, but I don't want people to miss a word. And then I want to make sure that our volume is picking you up as much as I can. input volume down here. It may it may make the Shruti box player Shruti box for a second just to make sure that we don't blow out people's ears

that'll be better. All right. Sorry, everybody. I think that's good here. Much better. Okay. Sorry, everybody.

So the so the practice taking these words from from a beaut from a poem for Yom Kippur, the practice is to imagine inside your heart, there is a bun of a rose that is tight, you know, that is kind of you know, not quite ready for this world if that's a tight but inside the heart and It represents our connection to the divine but it's a bit is hidden in us and during this whole month of Elul it will be opening and getting ready to blossom and so so as I chant I'm chanting out to this community but I'm also chanting into that but of a rose inside my hearts and it's shining light on that rose inside me and that the end of the chants will breathe into that rose and allow it to blossom so everybody close your eyes for a moment first. Let's see that bud inside the hearts will chant to it

no Heuga no god

Shoe Shine

Shut up

no

Shanna

Hill

show

that order

shot

sure sure

close your eyes bring your attention to the breath. Imagine breathing into the heart that Rosebud in the heart. Breathe into it and as you exhale just allow it to open

heddle opening the rose in the heart the rose in the depths and imagine also the fragrance of you that is wafting out into the world to greet this day. So, these words that the the poet chose of Shanna Shoshana I'm a keen the rows in the depths they're from a Song of Songs and I like you know, rabbit Kiva said that had the turn had been given we could live our lives by the Song of Songs. And that's what I would like to do. So there's, there's every phrase in the Song of Songs gives me a kind of a pathway of awakening. And this practice that I call it today, today is about a special day. That that is the day of the wedding day the wedding day represents the day when all duality Come Come, come back into unity. sure how I'm gonna meet this. What can I do? others do not think so. The day of of, of of, of his wedding day, the day of possibility of when all duality comes into a glimpse of the unity is the day of our hearts rejoicing. And as I was chanting these words the first time I really chanted these words and I was tuning into this possibility of of unity of consciousness of seeing it all as one of rejoicing in this day, I suddenly realized, oh, that's today. It's today and even though the word today haYom is not in the text, it just kind of came up inside me and I realized oh, that's today and so instead of just planning for some other time and I happened to be a kind of a planner and let go of all my plans and I say oh, that's happening today. This possibility of rejoicing is is today and and so it gives me all this joy to sing this and to enter into the day. Knowing that this is this is our wedding day. This is the day we connect with the beloved

Hey, yo, hey Oh

beome Kaduna.

Hi Oh

see

Hey yo,

hey yo

Hi

y'all do not leave

me oh

hi oh

hi

hi, hey

owe

today, today today,

I feel like before you go on, there are people here who I feel like are reconnecting with you and are saying hello to you, by the way, or when low and seem and also and also be saying hello to me and also saying hello to all of all the folks in minion. But not everyone in minion necessarily knows who this is. Because if you haven't come on a day when I've read out of Torah journeys, for example, which is Jeff gold, rabbit chef, a gold book, partial nudes, or when we've done one of her many chants, I'm grateful we just like jumped right in here. But for those of you who are joining in or like who is this magical person sitting next to Rabbi Lizzi This is Rabbi Schaeffer gold and we're very lucky to be with you this morning. Good

to be here. So Today it feels like you know the possibility is to open open to love and before we say the Shema, there is a prayer that begins I have a rabbi of Tana with such a great love you have loved us and opening to the great love really allows us to to enter into that glimpse of of unity and and so the words that I want to that I want to chant will they be able to see

Oh of course you want to do I have are very well you

know I want to do my version of Java Rabbah from Isaiah Isaiah is version of I have Arabba perfect which which says the mountains may tremble and hills may fade away My love for you will never die and it just means that there's so there's so much tumult in the world there's so many changes in our in our lives and in the world and we could really kind of get off center from that but knowing that no matter what this love is still pouring in to us and we are here to receive it and to channel it into the world as as our lives so want to open up to the Shema through this for these words from Isaiah

and he may fail my love for you

open up the place in you that needs to hear this The mouth

me a favor wave my love

Oh

hey my

nature of

may fail

Hello Hey Oh

shall love God with all your heart with all your soul with all your mind and these words of the commandment to love is essential. And when we say that we say God we're talking about all everyone like they were talking about what appears to us in this moment which the words zap is this this this very moment this is the face of the beloved This is God who has come to us as this as this world has this face and so so when we receive this our lives as the beloved and then we you know and then we make friends with it we don't always like it but we befriend this moment and come into relationship with it. So take these words said though David said he just enter into this this moment

Zed

Zed

Zed

so when you bring your attention to the breath and you take in this this this world this moment that's the beloved just take it in and breathe it in and in our hearts we kind of work with whatever this is and then send out from the heart healing prayers that's like whatever it is that I'm receiving I want to kind of do an alchemical process inside the heart take it in and then send it out in some form that is more refined and more filled with with the divine goodness that is awakened inside me so if you want to bring to mind anyone maybe when you want to put their names in the chat that could use some healing love at this moment and go to the next yeah and then we'll we'll chant these words of blessing that have great power that whoever needs these these qualities of peace goodness Grace love and compassion direct our direct the flow of love to them seeing

love C sharp

C sharp, C sharp. Si. Si. Si Si Si Si Si

oh who? Who can receive this out this blessing be open may all of us be the clear channels for that divine love to to flow into the world as he is healing so, as we as we come towards the end of our service we we want to say the mourners, Kaddish and and I think that the wonderful thing about coming together and community is just feeling like when you feel held, then you can really grieve the way you need to grieve. And so I want everyone here to to feel themselves held in this holy circle. And we want to first chant to you these words from that are from Isaiah that says, comfort comfort my people. So we receive the comfort and we also let it pour through us to each other

Oh.

Everybody who wants to stand

up if there's anybody who you want to say Kaddish for out loud, feel free to feel free to unmute and share who it is you're remembering. Or yes put their name in the chat. I know we've got a lot of minion Mama's remembering

is there anybody who'd like to leave college this morning

was that Ricky was that uh yeah All right great. Thank you

got ish

and one of you is going to have to fix the fonts for me. Can you see okay, yeah,

you'd get out of the shamira by the Elmo the abroad you go ahead Ricky.

Embarrassing fish to backflip RV or Mumbi in SA Vita dar Vita Levita Lau she made a good a Shabri who have been called their attire the shirt that to spur Khattab and Emma tadami Rambo mommy mu A man H Lai, Rabat Morocco element mail Maya.

Hey schlemm Arabba mentioned I

say Shalom. Number mov we asked shalom, Elena, we call Israel. I'll call you straight day. That'll be our main I think Rabbi Steven made a fix on this,

did he? If he did, it's not coming through on our shared Google Doc. Yeah,

I love the love. It's coming.

The Love comes through nicely.

So I want to just end with one one more. One more sacred phrase from the Song of Songs. That to me is such an important practice of in spiritual community. And, and it's it's that we say to each other, Arise, my friend. Oh, beautiful one. Lucky luck which I translated as go to yourself. And so what to me what real spirit Friendship is is when we are sending each other to a deepest that deepest place inside yourself I'm seeing something in you that you might not see in yourself and so spiritual friendship is a means for me to say Lizzy go for it go instead of like oh come here it's no go lucky laugh Yeah yourself go to yourself go to that place inside yourself which I see and maybe sometimes you don't see yourself and so we do that for each other and to be on the path of love together is to send each other to what that that that deepest spark of the divine is inside you so we'll check this to each other really arise my friend and then in the silence after the chin feel yourself sets

cool me

oh me

luck

love

it

love love Love

feel yourself sent by each other, to your day to the possibilities that are unfolding to all the the you know the beauty in the world and then yourself and let us say,

and then I say our man, LOL actually begins tonight. So tomorrow morning is the first day of the month of LoL. I don't have a shofar. Does any of you have a shofar?

Ricky? Oh, wait, we remember. And that's

why I didn't want we didn't want you to end if we were doing the shofar and you forgot. Amazing, we'll great and then before you blow I just want to say for the month of for the new month and if you're hearing shofar for the first time this season by rule Atacado Nylo Hainan Melech haolam shefa ya know Vicky Amano vagy Anna last man has to Shivaram relax

yeah

way to begin the month,

I was grading something nice to see. So, one of the things that Rabbi Schaeffer that you've taught me is the importance of preparation, before something actually starts. And so I did have the privilege before the pandemic of attending, you know, workshops with you person and if the workshops they started at eight, then you were present in the room chanting at quarter to eight with the idea that those first steps are so important to sort of set the tone and that's been something that I've incorporated into my life you know, the, the idea of preparation like preparation for Shabbat all of those steps it's almost like saying, rather than if someone Shamir Shabbat and maybe another question is Is someone to someone prepare for Shabbat and so all of the preparations and so I just looked up, shofar blowing for the month of April and on the facade website, it says that this is the first row shortish and tomorrow's a second row Scottish, we're actually still a 30 FF have not yet in a little, but that it is customary to practice the sounding of the shofar today, so that we've set the tone and the atmosphere of soul searching and repentance so that we're ready starting tomorrow into the month of April. So I feel that that's very consonant with how you roll

so some people listen to my chants and blend blamed me for some fender benders should have come with a little bit of a warning, you know, that to drive

to operate heavy machinery while trying to also meditate and channel God's presence.

Well, it's really lovely to see everybody and thank you for being here.

And Brian, just put in your Thursday night chanting your chanting zoom.

Yeah, come to the come to my website, lots of resources there that thinks you might or retreats you might want to sign up for I'm teaching a love at the center retreat in Tampa, in the end of January can check that out. And there's a couple spots left in in a canoe trip that I'm I'm leading down the Green River in Utah. I think there's maybe two spots left for that if anybody feels the adventure, would you?

That sounds awesome. Wow. Well, wish everybody a blessed month of LoL officially beginning tonight. But preparing today for 30 days of introspection and love with love at the center. And I will see you. Well. If you're in Chicago, we'll see you on Shabbat morning. If you're not see you next Thursday. Although we're doing we're doing this class starting Monday night Rabbi Stephen and I are doing a class on shofar and it'll be hybrid so you can come in person or you can come online and it's just two weeks at the beginning of Elata. Anyway, so lots of love everybody more blessings on your day.

You've been listening to Kontakt five miscounts podcast. If you enjoy the podcast please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts and help us rise in the Jewish charts. And if you appreciate what we do, I invite you to join as a builder or make a donation on our website Mishcon Chicago dot Shabbat shalom.