For
New Thought talk at INTA conference, July 12, 2016
Embassy
Suites Scottsdale
Rabbi
Alicia Magal
Jewish
Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley
It would be very hard to enter on stage in a New Thought audience and be as colorful, forceful, and dazzling as Bishop Dr. Barbara King….
But she does inspire us to make a statement in our own style and not hide!
She was amazing at the Parliament for World Religions in Salt Lake City that I attended, and wrote an article for your New Thought Magazine reporting on my impressions of the speakers, and was so impressed with her fierce authenticity and presence.
(Itzhak
blows shofar)
The shofar, ram’s horn, is an ancient instrument
that sounded an alarm and gathered the people for assembly, and heralds an
important moment. Today the shofar is
blown to WAKE US UP from our waking slumber in the month leading up to the
Jewish New Year…and on the Holy Day itself, with various sounds like a wake-up
call, sobbing in sorrow and repentance, and then a triumphant long blast of
strength for life in the year ahead. It
calls us, down to our very cells, to be more aware of our old patterns and
break them, to get back on track, to shed the crusty skin that may have
hardened our hearts.
New Thought, as Laurel Lee and Joey Gorka
described to me in a detailed chart, and as I researched the many strands and
threads that grew out of teachings by Emerson, Quimby, William James,
Whitehead, Emmet Fox, Mary Baker Eddy, Theosophy, Metaphysics, Aldous Huxley,
Thoreau, even Eastern teachings of Confucius,
Dao, Vedic teachings and Buddhism, and so any more strands that added to the
seeking of truth and the divine nature dwelling within, I saw that these
teachings and influences branched out into Science of Mind, Unity, and other
related organizations. The Principles
include finding Truth by drawing on sources from the West and East, and the overall
title appears to me to be not so much New Thought as RENEWED Thought, taking
the rich heritage from 19th century philosophical movements,
mind-body connection in healing, and a very wide range of great texts and
teachers and constantly seeking to crack open any ritual or shell that has
hardened the flowing, vibrant, juicy aliveness of the “AHA” moments that led to
these practices. (crack open a nut, loudly. Actually, Itzhak created a really loud racking sound effect as I wielded a huge nut cracker).
In Judaism there are also many streams, one of
which has come to be known as Renewal Judaism, in which ancient text and
traditions are honored and studied, but the liturgy has been opened up, made egalitarian,
with non-gendered God language, not “Him, Lord, Father,” but rather “Holy One,
Creator, Source,” all capitals. Also,
ancient practices of Meditation, Chanting, Silence, and mystic practices have
been revived and re-introduced along with composing new melodies for verses of
Psalms or for prayers on Shabbat and Festivals. Translating Hebrew prayers into contemporary
poetic language also enables people of varying levels of knowledge to “get” the
impact of the original Hebrew prayers and biblical verses, and helps cross the
language barrier. The intention is to expand the ways in which this generation
finds meaning, comfort, and vitality in religion. Part of my mission as a rabbi
include “…Bringing Joyful Juicy Judaism to the next generation.”
In ancient Israel, the Cohanim, the Priestly
clan, had the task of lighting the menorah, a 7 branched candelabra, each
evening, in the Temple, a constant rededication,
rekindling of light. After the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE by
the Romans and most Jews were exiled from the Holy Land, they kept turning
toward Jerusalem in prayer, and the customs developed to place above the ark
holding the scrolls of the Torah (perhaps like the INTA archives building in
Mesa) an Eternal Light which remains constantly lit. To usher in the Sabbath on Friday evening, or
on the eve of each festival, we kindle 2 candles. On Hanukkah we increase the
number of candles lit each night for eight nights, with a helper candle that is
used to light the other 8 candles. The Shamash,
or helper candle, is used as a metaphor for each of us… we inspire and kindle a
spark in others, and our own light is not diminished.
Rekindling, renewing,
cracking open a hardened shell…(another cracking sound effect here) these are all ways in which we reconnect with
that divine spark of holiness in each one of us.
How do you do it in your congregations and
organizations?
How many of you are
leaders of services?
How do you rekindle the
spark in each of your members?
Do you have a ritual that you use with kindling light? In Sedona, my colleague Rev. Janet Kingsley
at the Center for Positive Living, lights 5 votive candles for
1-honoring all faiths, paths, and spiritual
leaders
2- all peoples are connected to the One
Universal Spirit
3- unity of all life
4- peace and compassion in the world
5- healing for those we love and those around
the world in need of healing blessings
Shondra Jepperson, in charge of the music for that Center for Positive Living, creates and sings music that
is inspiring and gets people up on their feet smiling and lifting their arms in
gratitude and joy. Each of you has to
find that tension between creating new rituals, music, uplifting messages, and
offering the comfort of recognizable symbols and readings that are rooted in
your tradition. How to find that
balance? That is what you and I and, I
think, every caring, aware spiritual leader does: find that constantly shifting balance between
the ancient and abiding wisdom, and the newly rediscovered, cracked-open, raw,
juicy, authentic “AHA” in this very moment.
We need a tether and a nut cracker!!!
Something that ties us to the rich past and at the same time leaves us free to
break free and explore! Again and again… because no matter how juicy and fresh
a practice is, it too gets hardened and crusty.. So once again, you have to
crack it open, peel it back, and break it loose. It is a constant challenge...
and that’s why it is called PRACTICE. It is always unfolding.
We need to be very deeply rooted in the gathered
knowing we have inherited and studied, and also bravely willing and capable to
re-dig the wells of our ancestors, as Isaac did, to dig down to the life-giving
water from the wells that his father Abraham had dug before him. Water is a symbol of life-giving Torah, and
re-digging the wells is interpreted as finding our own path back to that basic
understanding of oneness and connection, the underlying Source.
So gathering here for this Renewed Thought Alliance is vital,
perfect, necessary, for all who have come here, hungry for additional
nourishment for their soul, and thirsty for new pathways of finding that word, that
song, that light that will open your hearts and elevate your spirit. Dig deep. Fly high. Reconnect to the
teachings that brought you here in the first place. Be a shofar, realizing that each one has an
individual sound, but all are created by the breath, the gift from the Holy One
who breathed life into us.
There is a prayer that I’d like to invoke now. It is for marking a special moment: Shehechiyanu:
Baruch Ata Adonai,
Eloheynu Melech Ha-olam, Shehechiyanu, v’kiymanu, vehigiyanu la-z’man ha-zeh.
We bless you Source of
Life, for giving us life, sustaining us on our path, and bringing us to this
most memorable and unique moment, right now.
Amen.
(Itzhak blows shofar)
Had a moment to show my book and talk with people right after the morning session.
With Rev. Larry Swarz of Unity, Tucson, AZ
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Set up:
Bring:
Shofar,
Menorah – 7 candlesticks
Nut cracker and sound effect of cracking nuts - Itzhak provides!
2 Candles (they’ll have electric ones)
Rabbi Alicia Magal www.jcsvv.org
928 204-1286
blog: http://www.redrockrabbi.blogspot.com
"A Jewel of a Shul"
Mission Statement:
The Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley is a welcoming,
egalitarian, inclusive congregation dedicated to building a link from the past
to the future by providing religious, educational, social and cultural
experiences. We choose to remain unaffiliated in order to respect and serve the
rich diversity of our members and visitors.
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NOTES:
Following is the script for lighting candles at the Center for Positive Living. I will not quote exactly in my talk, but will have it printed out in case anyone wishes to have it.
PS. Two people did request it!).
Lighting
the Flames of Faith – 5 Candles
We are a
spiritual community that honors all teachings, all spiritual teachers, and all
paths to God.
We know
there is no wrong way to deepen our connection to Spirit – whether it be
lighting a candle, facing east, repeating a mantra or offering prayer.
We respect
all the ways there are to draw closer to Spirit, for even though there may
appear to be great differences in the path, the destination is the same.
And now we
begin the ceremony that celebrates the oneness of life as we light the flames
of love.
We light
the first candle honoring all churches,
all temples, and all mosques. We honor
all priests, all ministers, all rabbis and all spiritual teachers everywhere.
We light
the second candle
honoring and acknowledging that all peoples and all faiths come from the One
Universal Presence, which we call Spirit.
We light
the third candle honoring the oneness and
unity of all life. We recognize the
Universal Presence within which creates, sustains and inspires us all.
We light
the fourth candle in honor of peace, of
compassion, and of fostering a world that works for the highest good of all.
As __________ lights the fifth candle, the
healing candle, you are invited to bring to your awareness the names of anyone
you wish to be included in this healing flame of love and light.
Our country, and indeed the world, is in
a tumultuous time of change, with unexpected events happening all around us, violence
done to people of color or wearing an ethnic head covering, and amplified by
the nightly news and headlines. Let us unify as a community, and stand
firmly for communication, compassion, and cooperation. I will be wearing a safety pin on my
clothing, a signal that is spreading as a symbol of a “safe person” who will
come to the aid of anyone who is facing discrimination or attack. I do not live in a large city and am not on
busy streets or in subways or other public transportation, so I do not know how
effective this symbol will be, but I hope the idea spreads and we all take
responsibility for caring for the stranger, the minority person, the woman...
anyone who finds him or herself in a hostile situation. I call on my congregants, my clergy
colleagues, and all in the wider community to proclaim our highest values and
not let violence or discrimination be tolerated in our midst. 
