This past Shabbat I spoke about the linkage between creativity, discipline and spirituality.
Parshat Shmini begins with the inauguration of the Mishkan. Everything was going according to plan. There was even a miraculous flourish! Fire came from God and devoured the Korbanot. Everyone responded in kind, calling out in praise and falling down in awe.
This was a very incredible, spiritual experience! We tend to overlook this because of what happens next: Nadav and Avihu bring an unauthorized incense offering. They too are “devoured” by fire, which casts a shadow of mourning and grief over the rest of the proceedings.
At its finest, creativity can be a path to God and spiritual ascent. When we are creative, we can feel the creativity almost flowing through us from God. Yet as anyone who is engaged in any type of creative activity will attest, creating something worthwhile requires discipline. If not nurtured by the proper discipline, one’s creative abilities will not be maximized and in some cases, such as Nadav and Avihu, can be misguided and even destructive.
I used this idea to connect to the “discipline” of prayer. Prayer is the main avenue to for direct communication with God, the true spiritual experience. This is why we pray every day, three times a day. We can’t concentrate on every word. But if we do it routinely as part of our disciplined daily practice, it will come to us easily when we need it. There is the story of the Israeli soldier standing by the Kotel after they captured it in 1967. He cried to his friend, “I’m crying because I don’t even know the words to say.”
Another important discipline is our daily minyan. Please consider making this part of your routine, just one time a week, morning or evening. Or consider adding regular tefilla to your daily routine at home, whether it’s Shema or the Amida, or something else. Let me know if I can help craft something that will work for you. Thank you to all who came to the Minyan Man Dodgeball Tournament and especially to those who signed up for minyan. Next tournament, Fall 2014!
Two event reminders:
Tuesday night, 8pm, we are sending a Sefer Torah to a small community in Mexico. Please join us for this unique opportunity to escort the Torah to its new home and learn about the community that will be joining us in this mitzvah.
And one other community note— HBHA is the proud host of the Moot Beit Din competition this Sunday at the airport Marriot and everyone is invited. I will be serving as one of the judges.
This Shabbat is Parshat Tazria, and we take out a second Sefer Torah for Parshat Hachodesh, in advance of Rosh Chodesh Nissan.
My father, Dr. Avi Rockoff, is visiting this Shabbat and will be delivering the Shabbat Shiur at 6pm on the topic of Tzara’at: A Dermatologist’s View.
We’ll be celebrating Lily Marchik’s Bat Mitzvah this Shabbat as well! Mazel Tov!