I was in this place and I did not know it   

In order to get to the High and the Holy of these days, you gotta do some work.  The good news is, it is the most rewarding work. It brings joy, ease, release, renewal, calm, and connection.   

How to go High and Holy?

1. Trust.  Movement, renewal, creation, creativity, these things are the natural way of the Universe. Our aspiration and yearning for change connects us to this Universal flow and as Julia Cameron writes, "As we move toward our dreams, we move toward our divinity."

2.  Listen. Good vibes, bad vibes, all vibes are telling us something. When we get a vibe, asking ourselves "what is that?" will take us directly to our inner voice and listening to the answers will take us to our higher self.  High Holy Day liturgy refers us to this "still small voice – קל דממה דקה" which Elijah hears when he listens to the voice of God. (1 Kings 19:11-12)

3.  Clear.  Not just desktop clutter, but energetic, mental and spiritual clutter.  Tuning in to your higher self requires a clear channel.  It’s a practice, but luckily it’s the most natural practice ever. Your mind and body quiet ever time you take a conscious breath. A few breaths together and imagine what will become clear. As in "God was in this place and I did not know it." (Genesis 28:16) As in: I was in this place and I did not know it.

Whether you embrace or wrestle with the upcoming High Holy Days remember that your job is only to align with your highest self. I promise, your highest self is much, much closer than you think. 

Shana Tovah U’M'tukah,

A SWEET new year to all of you!  May it be a year of compassion, connection, joy and play.

love,

Shira

Rosh Hashana is almost here once again! Do you remember where you were, or more importantly, who you were at this time last year?

It’s our first week back to school and I have been doing Rosh Hashana 5775 Interviews with my young students (kindergarten through 7^th graders) to look back on the past year and reflect on what’s coming. I’ve found that the children’s answers have not only been fun but heartfelt and truly informative.
Introspection is all about consciousness raising. For us grown ups and even for our little ones. In fact, they inspired me to ask myself these same questions and see where they took me.  I was surprised by the power of these seven simple questions, profound for both children and adults alike.

See the seven points below that we spoke about. With the children, I introduced each point as though we were in a formal interview to up the fun.

What to do with your answers? Name them. Feel them. Think about them. Be with them. Let yourself and the universe do what you need to do to work through the needs, wants, and lacks. Make space to celebrate the lights, smiles, and the growth.

(For extra emphasis on Hebrew I use as many Hebrew words as possible, always including any words I know the students have learned. Vocabulary list can be found at the bottom.)

What questions are You asking yourself at this time of year?
Shana Tova u’M’tukah, Have a sweet and good year!

Hebrew vocab list:
Rosh – head
Shana – year
B’ivrit – in Hebrew
Sof – end
Tova – good
M’tukah – sweet

*This could turn into a Rosh Hashana birthday wish list for the world and a lovely birthday card art project.

I work meticulously to keep track of my time with multi colored calendars for this and that on my phone and computer along with a number of time management tools and reminders.  I do this so that I don’t miss a deadline.  But does it help me  to answer the question, where was I last week at this time? Where was I last year?    Am I supposed to be able to remember the year behind me, or just resign myself to clicking for it?

Recently I found myself clicking through last year’s calendar.  As I went back through the year, month by month I felt like I was discovering a story about myself.  There was a lot of, “oh yeah… remember that?”  The more calendar pages I read about where I had been and when, the more I was also reading the story of who I was last year.

My computer can tell me in a “click” where I was yesterday and where I need to be tomorrow. But, to actually understand all that I’ve been, all that I’ve done, to really move forward, not just repeat patterns I’ve spotted in my calendar for years, to do this I need the High Holiday Season.

I need the shofar blast to lift my head from the daily grind.  I need the melodies and prayers that magically trigger the work of my heart and soul.

No amount of detailed calendar keeping can do this work for us. We gotta show up.

Join me this year for the High Holiday Season. Lab/Shul is an “Everybody friendly experimental community for sacred Jewish gatherings based in NYC and reaching the world.”

1.  I had a mentor who used to say, "Be sweet."  This year on Rosh Hashanah, take the "Have a Sweet New Year" symbolism literally and find ways to bring kindness and gentleness and loving care into your interactions with the world around you and especially with yourself.

2.  Honor this important time cycle.  Do you remember where you were last year on Rosh Hashanah?  Take a minute to think and talk about how you have grown, new things in your life, what you have let go of, etc.

3.  Give yourself a birthday treat – don’t just dip apples in honey, treat yourself to your favorite sweets!  It’s a birthday party!

4.  Make a wish on the new moon in honor of renewal and rejuvenation.

5.  In the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, CHECK IN with yourself.  Need inspiration?  Have a look at my friend Amichai Lau Lavie’s "Prepent" blog where he has taken the last 30 days to do just this.  It is a High Holy Days Journey of 40 ways in 40 days to find your focus.  (It’s never too late to check in.)  Need more inspiration?  Check out my friend Craig Taubman’s Jewels of Elul, a compilation of 29 Jewels from a remarkable collection of extraordinary and diverse people.

6.  "Nap" and "Time Out", these aren’t just for your kids’ health.  It IS true that giving yourself the gift of time will help you find and feel clarity.  And you deserve it.

7.  Do Tashlich.  This is an excellent Jewish practice when you literally "cast off" what you are ready to let go of and/or the past year’s transgressions, by throwing bread into a living, flowing body of water like a river or lake.  Don’t live near living waters?  Get creative!

8.  Start a new family tradition.  Whether it’s spinning in circles to honor the cycle of life or lighting holiday candles and singing the blessings together, traditions create memories.  These are the things that make us who we are.

9.  Volunteer.  Mitzvah goreret mitzvah.  One act of kindness leads to another.  It’s amazing how much a small act of service can create perspective in your life while contributing to the flow of generosity of spirit around you.

10.  Write down and post in a place where you can see it, the things you would like to do for yourself every day or every week.

Once there was a man who sold buttons. He went from town to town talking to people and selling buttons. This man’s name was Moishe, and he loved to travel. He liked selling his buttons, but most of all he loved learning things like how different people said hello in other places, what they ate for breakfast in the next town over, or how they decided big, important things – like where to build a school or how to help each other out in times of trouble.

One day, he reached a town called Plotchk late at night and decided to stay over at an inn. He awoke, surprised, in the middle of the night, to the sound of lound drums banging. Even stranger, he heard people get up from their beds to leave the inn. “How strange,” he thought to himself, and went back to sleep.

The next morning, he asked the innkeeper what had happened. The innkeeper replied, “In our town we have a system: whenever there is a fire we all beat the drum so everyone knows there’s a fire.”

This amazed Moishe. “What an amazing way to communicate!” he exclaimed, “I will teach it to my people back in our town.”

And he did. From that time on, every time there was a fire, Moishe went out and beat the drum. Everyone woke up when they heard the drums, left their homes, and came to the center of town. But still, buildings kept burning down.

One day, a visitor arrived from Plotchk, that same town where Moishe had first heard the drum. Moishe was very excited to tell the visitor all he had learned about drums and announcing fires.

Sure enough, there was a fire that night. Sure enough, Moishe beat his drum and everyone came out to the center of town. And sure enough, the building that was on fire burned right to the ground.

“What is this strange custom you taught our Moishe?” they all asked the visitor. “He beats the drums to announce a fire, but still our buildings burn down. What’s the point of beating the drum if the buildings still burn down?”

“No, you silly people!” cried the visitor, “You’re missing the most important thing. In Plotchk, when we hear the drum, we all gather together, find the fire, and PUT THE FIRE OUT. Hearing the drum is only the first part – it tells you there’s something burning. The second part is actually going and putting the fire out.”

******************************************************

For us on Rosh Hashanah, the shofar is like Moishe’s fire. When we hear the shofar, that’s the first part. The second part, the part that helps us to make a better world, is when we use our own two hands to make things better.

The shofar helps us to notice all the things that need fixing in the world – and then it’s up to us to go out and DO something!

Shana Tova U’metukah – a happy and sweet year.

Adapted by Chana Rothman

Source Unknown

Chana Rothman is a musician, educator,
songwriter, and activist based
in Brooklyn.
www.chanarothman.com
www.myspace.com/chanarothman

www.chanarothman.com www.myspace.com/chanarothman

Do the Shofar Dance!

Tekiah - one medium length blast Shevarim- three short blasts Teruah- nine very short staccato blasts Tekiah G’dolah – one single blast that is held for long as you can possibly hold it!

For each shofar sound, make up a dance movement. The leader (children can take turns being the leader and practice pronouncing the different shofar calls) calls out the name and the group dances the associated movements. For example, for Tekiah – how about one high jump, for Shevarim – turn around in a circle 3 times, and for Teruah – do the twist until the end of the Shevarim sounds. The leader can either call out the names ("Tekiah!") or make the sounds of the blasts.

Shofar Red Light Green Light

The participants line up on one side of the room. The leader calls out the different shofar calls ("Tekiah!") For each shofar call, the children take a certain number of small steps forward. For Tekiah – 1 step. For Shevarim – 3 steps. For Teruah – 9 baby steps forward. For Tekiah G’dolah – Run for it! First one to the leader wins.

Hebrew Lessons

Teach the words tapuach and d’vash using a picture of an apple and a picture of honey. After initially going over the two words in Hebrew, hold the picture of the an apple at eye level and have them say the word "tapuach" in a medium voice. Then hold the picture high above their heads and let them shout out "TAPUACH!" Follow this up by holding the picture down low by their toes and get a whisper "tapuach." Play with different volumes. Use one picture at a time or interchange two or three pictures for an extra challenge.

Other Hebrew vocab words for the High Holidays: challah, shofar, shanah tovah (on a greeting card), sefer chaiim 

Roll Play

A. Different ways to say "I’m sorry" B. Different situations in which we need to say "I’m sorry"

Duck Duck Goose

Play this fun game using High Holiday vocabulary words, like "tapuach, tapuach, tapuach, tapuach….dvash!" or "challah, challah, challah,…. shofar!"

Apple Relay Race

Have a relay race with children running back and forth with apples under their chins

Apple Taste Test

Bring in a number of different color/varieties of apples and have the participants choose their favorite. Make a chart to show which apples everyone chose.

Apple Prints

Slice apples down the middle (vertically), let them dry a little bit, dip the cut side into paint, and use them like a stamp all over some construction paper. This works particularly well on the cover of a Shana Tova (Happy New Year) card.

I Got The Whole World In My Hands

Play catch with a blow up globe beach ball. And play very very carefully, don’t let it drop!! Take care of our world.

Happy Birthday!

Have a birthday part for the world. Using children’s birthday supplies, show the similarities of the symbols. Something sweet (like apples dipped in honey), a round cake (like the round challah we use on Rosh Hashana), noise makers (like the shofar), decorations and birthday cards (like the Shanah Tovah cards we send).

Telephone

Play the classic game of telephone using Hebrew phrases from our vocabulary lists and from the prayers.

Avinu Malkeinu Shanah Tovah Shana M’tukah Tapuchim U’Dvash Al Chayt G’mar Chatimah Tovah

Acrostic Poem

Write an acrostic poem in the same way that some of our Sages wrote our prayers. Use the letters T-S-H-U-V-A-H

Chayt/T’shuvah

Go around in a circle and list last year’s chayt and this year’s t’shuvah. Each participant can say one chayt from last year (or last week) and then on the second round say one act of t’shuvah for the coming year (or week). This is a good exercise if you see children weekly during the month of Elul or daily in the time in between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.

T’shuvah Quiz

Visit www.Babaganewz.com for a wealth of online activities. And while you’re at it, subscribe to the magazine. You won’t regret it!

http://www.babaganewz.com/archive/article.cfm?ID=269&STEP=resultsByDate&requestXY=Tishrei%205764

Chayt Bulls-Eye

Create a giant colorful target and a small ball made out of rolled up paper and covered with tape. Have participants practice throwing, trying to hit the target – showing how hard it is to hit the mark every time.

Tashlich

Do tashlich with your children. If you have a source of natural water nearby all the better. If not, use a baby pool! Or create a mural of the ocean and then use it later to tell the story of Jonah and the Whale.

Fall Leaves

Glue them all over anything!

Tzedakah Project

Make Shanah Tovah cards for the local Home for the Elderly and the Hospital.

Paper Bag Dramatics

Supply groups of participants with a paper bag holding a random assortment of items (rubber band, hair brush, shoe, etc.) and challenge them to come up with a skit about Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Present the skits to each other. Extra challenge – they have to use some or all of their new vocabulary words.

Hidden Mysteries

Hide a shofar, a prayer book, an apple, a honey jar, a shanah tovah card, etc. behind a curtain or inside a box and see if participants can reach through and identify the item just by feel.

Sit in a circle and send one participant out of the room. One person hides one of these items behind her back. The participant re-enters the room and tries to guess who’s hiding the shofar!

Lay several items in a line on the floor in front of the children. Ask them to take a close look and then to close their eyes. Remove one or more objects. When they open their eyes, let them guess what’s missing. Try to use the Hebrew name of the items as much as possible.

Have more ideas?  send them in to shira@shirlala.com and I’ll post them right here!

The Shepherd and His
Flute

There is a story told of a young shepherd who on Rosh Hashana came to his synagogue to pray. But he could not pray.  For he had not learned to read the words that skipped across the pages of his books and prayers.  He sat quietly, listening to words that "climbed in wisps, soaring upwards into the white light to meet the heavens."  The more he listened, the more he wanted to pray.  But all he could do was sit silently and listen.

Then he remembered that in his pocket was the little flute he carried, with which he led his flocks.  He drew the flute from his pocket, lifted it to his lips, and began to play the simple melody he used to call his sheep.

Of course a shepherd’s flute has to be very loud, and indeed it was.  The sound of his melody filled the synagogue with its high, piercing notes.  The people around him looked up in surprise!  What was this?  Who was this young boy, not dressed well, not holding a prayer book, playing his ugly flute in the middle of services on holy Rosh Hashanah?!

Immediately a murmer went through the congregation as all heads turned to stare at the young boy, each face with a look of shock and anger.  But the young shepherd did not even notice!  His eyes were closed as he played his flute, his heart filled with the feelings of his prayer.

"Rabbi, Rabbi!"  one woman said.  "Can’t you make this young boy stop!  He does not respect the prayers!  He is interrupting our service and should leave at once!"

The other angry people murmered in agreement at the woman’s words.  All eyes turned to the Rabbi for his response.  But the Rabbi too had his eyes closed! What was he doing?

Slowly, the Rabbi opened his eyes and looked out upon the congregation with great love and wisdom.  He said, "Do not be angry my friends.  This young boy plays his flute as we sing our prayers.  It is his prayer, his way of speaking to God on Rosh Hashanah. Listen again, my friends, and maybe you will hear a touch of what he hears."

And so the people closed their eyes, and their anger quickly melted away.  They heard the shepherd play a sweet soft melody for God.  As the music filled the room, the people fell quiet before the melody, listening to the prayer of the shepherd and his flute.

Adapted by Shira Kline

Source unknown

©ShirLaLa 2002

Reuben Kaplan was a talker. At breakfast he told the stories of his dreams from the night before always adding a thick layer of interpretation. On the way to school he told the same stories to his neighbor Sam but this time they seemed a little more detailed, a little bigger. While he hung up his coat and put his lunchbox away, Reuben told the stories to his friend Emily. Only this time, he raised his voice during different parts and when Emily asked him if the stories were true, Reuben just raised his eyebrows and gave her that look.

In their spelling lesson that day Reuben noticed that his friend Jake peered into his backpack every few minutes. Reuben figured that Jake must be hiding something pretty special so he told his friend David that Jake was hiding a pet snake!

But really Jake was just looking for his homework. At lunch Reuben saw that his friend Franny didn’t finish her sandwich. Reuben figured it must because she’s on a diet so he told his friend Annie that Franny was worried about being too fat to fit in the doorway! But really Franny just didn’t like peanut butter and banana sandwiches. On the way home from school Reuben saw his neighbor Mr. Shlimkovitz studying a book very hard and shaking his head. Reuben figured that Mr. Shlimkovitz was having a tough time understanding something so he told his parents that Mr. Shlimkovitz was still learning how to read! But really Mr. Shlimkovitz was studying Torah and disagreed with one of the commentaries.

Every day Reuben talked so much that his parents started to roll their eyes and his friends started to turn away whenever Reuben came around. His parents decided to visit Rabbi Leah for a little help. When Reuben entered Rabbi Leah’s office and saw all of those books he figured that she must know everything so he started to tell her the stories of his dreams from the night before but this time somehow he included a snake and a million peanut butter and banana sandwiches and old Mr. Shlimkovitz who still didn’t know how to read. "Enough!" shouted Rabbi Leah. "Go outside and gather a big handful of pebbles." So he did. He went outside and returned, his hands overflowing with pebbles. Rabbi Leah looked at Reuben very seriously. She selected one pebble from his hands and said "Now Reuben I want you to go back outside and place this pebble back exactly where you found it." Reuben was surprised! He laughed and said, "Rabbi Leah how am I supposed to remember where a little pebble like that goes?" And Rabbi Leah said, "This pebble is too small and unimportant for you to take much notice of it or where it came from." And then suddenly she flung the pebble at the window. Crashing loudly, it shattered the window! Rabbi Leah looked back at Reuben and said "That pebble is just like a word. It was too small for you to take notice but it was powerful enough to break the heart and trust of your friends. After a while you may not remember where your stories come from, but you can be sure that they still hurt people nonetheless." Rabbi Leah pointed to the rest of the pebbles in Reuben’s hands. "What will you do with the rest of these pebbles?" she asked. Reuben decided to carry one or two of those pebbles in his pocket to remind him of his Rabbi’s shattered window and of the fact that each word counts. Every word that comes from our mouths is very powerful.

Adapted by Shira Kline

Origins unknown

©ShirLaLa 2007