Minyan Replay with Rabbi Lizzi — Parashat Korach

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.

In our June 22nd, 2023 session, Rabbi Lizzi taught us about Parashat Korach, and Adira had a lot of questions.

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

Transcript

Transcript

Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann 
Adira just said do you want to do you want to repeat your question to deer? What did you say? What was that sign saying? She said What's this little video about? It's about what the angels what the angels say everything is Kadosh Holy, holy, holy, holy. Everything everywhere. Holy, holy, holy. I have another question. Why? When you're doing so bought things. You sing and we sing in Hebrew because it's the language Jews pray in. A lot of times. Yeah.

Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann  
We bless you, a creator of the universe who forms the human being with wisdom and creates within us openings, oh, and Hallows, ooh. It is obviously known before your glorious throne that if one of them were ruptured, or blocked, it would be impossible to exist and stand in your presence even for a short while. Think of all of the things that must be working right in order for you to be here right now. Present, listening, connecting blessing are you who heals all flesh and performs wonders? Sherry, you inspired me to pick up Alan Marinus, his book, again, everyday holiness. And for those of you who don't know, it's a book on Musar and Musar is the intentional development of Deepika, the intentional development of character traits, you know, positive character traits. So patience, humility, gratitude. And so an example with gratitude he talks about is teaching a class on Musar when somebody shows up for the class, and it's online. And remember, we talked about, we're going to be quiet. And this woman is taking the class and complaining the whole way. And at the end of the first session, she writes to him and says, there was an issue with my screen. I couldn't download the JPEG, I couldn't download the PDF. You're not taking seriously people with different technological needs, but Baba Baba, and and he's sort of like, I actually, I was really clear about what browser you needed to have, I sent all the emails in advance, like I did my part, you know, it's kind of like, like, I'm not giving you your money back, you know. And, and they go back and forth by email a couple times. And then he eventually realizes, unless he can find within himself gratitude, for her feedback, he will not be able this, this is not going to go well, it is not going well, and it's not going to get better. And it's not going to feel good in a minute. And it's not going to feel good. Like they're already in, they're already in a they're already in kind of a confrontation and he's not making it any better by like standing his ground in the way that he is he needs to adjust something. So he says to himself, I need to find within myself gratitude for for this person, this interaction this moment, and so so he thinks to himself, right, what am I grateful for? I'm grateful that you're in it. it and he's like, no, no, that's no not not real gratitude. I'm grateful. Ah, you know, and he does a couple more sort of sarcastic moves like that. And then he's like, no, no wrong. Okay, what am I grateful for? Honestly, I'm grateful for your perspective. I'm grateful for hearing your perspective. If you didn't share it with me, I wouldn't know that anybody in the class was having these kinds of troubles, I wouldn't know that you were suffering in the way that you're suffering now. And once he found gratitude within himself, for that moment, and that interaction, as difficult as it was, he found it very easy to give her money back and give her what you want him because he understood she was suffering. And he didn't want that. So whatever your day is, is like right now. Still early. Whatever's going on, there is always the possibility of being grateful for something. Absolutely something. Maybe it's just your breath. Maybe it's the sunshine. Maybe it's what you ate for breakfast this morning. Maybe it's coffee. It's gonna be small, maybe it's gonna be big, but our ability to muster gratitude is part of what keeps us Boyens part of what keeps us psychologically healthy. So feel free to go ahead and share Yeah, all right. I am grateful for my daughter a deer this morning helping lead minion

Speaker 3  
Hallelu Hallelu How lame Hello? Hi hello hi hello hello

Speaker 3  
Halle Halle Halle loo Hallelu has nailed it. Lou Lou Lou Hallelu Hallelu The ticker show five Holly Hallelujah. Amen nevertheless you know Beto for my Halloween meaning that having a new Hallelu hallelu i have a new Hallelu Hallelu Hallelu Hallelu.

Speaker 3  
Hallelu ah you go honey Shama. Halle Hello new

Unknown Speaker  
new heavy Hallelu Hallelu Hallelu, hallelu Hallelu.

Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann  
The name of God right here, you had Hey Vav, Hey, it can be done as a as a breath. Meditation is a visualization in your body. So, when you breathe in breathing in the sound of the unit, which is sort of like, Yeah, but you can't you can't make it without the vowels like that you would require his vows in order to be expressed. Yeah, yo, ye Yeah. But if it's just, if it's just the good, it just kind of hits you in the back of the throat. Unless Unless there's a vowel or unless there's a breath. So as you breathe in, you would just envisioning that you'd sort of hitting the back of your throat. And then as you exhale, that's the sound the hay mix. Right. And you can actually envision that as being like your shoulders and arms, you know, the shape of the hay. Rough, roughly like your shoulders and arms. And then the above. That's your spine. Breathing again, just feeling air and breath coursing down your spine. And then as you exhale again, hey, envisioning your legs, you know, seated in whatever position they're in or standing if you're listening to this on the train later. So in your head out hey, you involve your spine out hey. And so for people who have a hard time focusing on breath meditations, this is something very concrete you can visualize, you would Hey vav Hey with every breath kind of lighting up a different part of your body so I want to take a minute to just do this a few times we'll do it six times for each word of the Shema sort of in your mind we repeat the first use and have what part of the body did you relate them to? Like hitting you the back of your palate like and then hey, shoulders and arms Yeah, and then spine and then legs. So we're going to do that six times and really like try to try as you breathe you know don't force anything and close your eyes and just see those different parts of your body kind of lighting up with the name you know the the letters of the name of God walking with your body you know being in your body and then we'll go into the Shema.

Unknown Speaker  
Shema

Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann  
yes Israel

Unknown Speaker  
I don't know the rain

Unknown Speaker  
I don't

Speaker 2  
they have eight i don't i No haha the whole of Africa overhaul NASA. The whole Melda there how you had very high share. I know he meets up ha ha ha yo, Alibaba, she Nantahala Vanessa the bar to bomb the shift and have the data over left and hover their F sharp of commercia Look sharp time that Oh, yeah. Ha ha You vote painting. Uh huh. Who could have time to pay Tessa will be here, Sharon hair.

Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann  
And you will love you will carry this holiness that you carry in your body. Wherever you are, wherever you go, you will exude it with all your heart and all your mind. And these words, which I speak to you today says God, they'll be on your heart, they'll be in your heart, you'll speak them to your children, you'll speak of them. When you're in your home, when you walk on the way when you lie down. When you rise up. What you do with your hands, your productivity will reflect it could reflect it. The way you see the world could reflect this holiness, the way that you keep your home, what you share with other people outside of it and inside of it. So in a moment, in a moment, we're going to do a healing prayer. And so this week in the in the Parsha, you get a character named Cora, who is related to Moses, you know, sort of comes from the same family line, but basically, like his side of the family didn't get all the cool jobs, you know, like being high priest and being in charge of the people. And so last week, as you may remember, the Israelites got the bad news that they would not, in fact, be entering the Land of Israel that they in fact, maybe don't deserve to, or that they're not ready for it. And that like there are consequences for not having enough self confidence to, to move forward into something that maybe requires bravery requires creative thinking requires big dreaming requires planning and like they they decided, You know what, like, we're scared. And God said, Fine, you're scared. Nevermind. It'll be your children, not you. And so this week, on the heels, I think of like, mass, disappointment, and a feeling of failure. This guy steps forward, and basically challenges Moses and challenges. Moses is authority and says, Who appointed you to be leader over all of us? All of us are holy. It's too much for you. Ravel hides too much. All of us are holy, too. And, and it just seems like there's this feeling coming from within him of resentment, as we talked about on Monday with Rachel that is motivating his populist uprising, you know, like it's true. Everybody is holy. But what he's saying and how he's saying, and his plan of action does not seem completely pure, not that anybody's motives really can ever be completely pure, but it seems like it seems like this could go very badly if he wins, because actually, he's more interested in power than he is injustice. And ultimately, the story sort of vindicates Moses as the leader. But I think often, whatever card we've been dealt, whatever hand we've been dealt, we can feel like that is an injustice. And, like, Who appointed that person, or that person to get that fortune in life and not me. And that can breed resentment. And I often think, like, when we are not feeling great, that can sometimes be the time when we feel down on ourselves. When we feel down, like I, you know, like, I couldn't be out doing X or Y or Z, but I'm not, I can't, and it's not fair. It's not fair. And instead of treating ourselves with compassion, with love, with tenderness, we become resentful. And so I want to offer our healing prayer right now, as a kind of, like a kind of treatment for a, like a south, you know, for anybody who because of not feeling great in whatever way because of sickness because of mental illness, because of COVID, because of long COVID. It feels like a simmering resentment and anger about it a sense of injustice about it. And that, that doesn't, just doesn't help, it doesn't help make it go away. It doesn't help you feel better. And so not to say like, you just have to start, you know, turn it around and start feeling grateful for it. No, but rather just to treat yourself with kindness, and compassion, and love. And that maybe had caught off gotten a little more of that. He might have been a different guy. And he might have channeled that resentment into something he could have actually partnered with Moses, or been part of the evolving change. So we'll never know he was swallowed up by the Earth. But go ahead. Now I already see Ricky did this if you want to drop the names in the chat if anybody who just who you know needs a little bit of love, needs a little bit of tenderness. And we'll sing a healing prayer on their behalf, sending Holly and Susie and Samantha. that love and that healing and also Ricky Merle Freedman Morris time Kristen Pat, Annie Laurie and Indra, Susan B and Ricky Newman back eaching Celia Susan Morrow and Helen standing Maryam James Jacob Nisha Charlie Quinn Erica family

Unknown Speaker  
Greg fine

Unknown Speaker  
AH NO no no

Unknown Speaker  
Am

Unknown Speaker  
I

Speaker 2  
fleshly man to everyone on your list to everyone in this room okay.

Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann  
We're gonna take ourselves into kiddie Chateau mourners Kaddish Is there anyone this morning who is saying mourners Kaddish? Do you want to say a name out loud for

Unknown Speaker  
my mom Joan getting towards the end of the year strange. Yeah.

Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann  
My mother in law and Newman May their memories be blessings

Speaker 2  
yet get Doull VT Kardash shimmy Arabba Amin they are Maddie Rata Rutaceae family Hamal cote, but Hi hon of Yomi Han of Hiei the whole Beatty Israel bank a lot of his man career in Rome.

Speaker 4  
I mean, he may Rob on the Heraclea alarm or they may on my

Speaker 2  
Ibera the Easter bath beads are read from Vienna say he had had dar Viet Allah the halal Shmi dequeued SHA ri su le a lamb in cold beer. Hi Tavish irata to shipbroker Taberna hamata Tammy ran the ALMA VM rue.

Unknown Speaker  
I mean, yeah, hey

Speaker 2  
schlemm Arabba mentioned I have high millennial Vallco Israel Imro.

Unknown Speaker  
I mean, I will

Speaker 2  
say Shalom Gromov who yeah say shalom, Elena Alko Israel of alcohol to straight table fame room.

Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann  
Amen. 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.