On Saturday, November 21, 2009, 16 students from the Family School attended the Jewish retreat with Rabbi Michele Medwin at her synagogue, Temple Sholom, in Monticello, NY. The program began with a discussion of Mitzvot, or commandments – things that God expects us to do. These are obligations that we have to God and to others and include ethical mitzvot such are helping those in need, and ritual mitzvot such as ways to observe the Jewish holidays.
We then had a discussion of Jewish prayer and talked about the mitzvah or obligation to pray as part of a community. We filled out a “Mitzvah Matrix” talking about how prayer can connect us to God, other people and ourselves, and how we are obligated to God, others and ourselves to pray.
We continued with a unique prayer experience called, “Visual Tefillah.” Tefillah is the Hebrew word for prayer. Instead of using prayer books, the words of all of the prayers were projected onto a screen. Each prayer also had a visual image behind the words that related to the prayer and helped enhance its meaning. The Psalm – “How wonderful are Your works, O God. In your great wisdom you created your majestic works” – was projected on top of a moving scan of the Grand Canyon. The prayer thanking God for creating light was accompanied by a clip of a sunrise.
The theme of the rest of the day was, “What does it mean to be created in God’s image.” We talked about how each of us contains a divine spark with in us and it is up to us to kindle that spark and help it grow into a divine light. We talked about the journeys that each of us is on, and how we can redirect our journey if it is taking us in the wrong direction. We did an exercise reflecting on how we think others perceive us, and how we perceive ourselves, and the differences between the two. If we kindle the divine spark within us, we can shed light on helping others see the true person inside us.
The afternoon discussion revolved around how to find ways to make our lives holy. We looked at a photo of a zebra and discussed whether it was black with white stripes or white with black stripes. That led into a discussion of whether we see our lives as a series of good events with some bad moments interwoven in it, or as a series of bad events with a series of good moments woven in. By reciting blessings, we can be reminded to find the positive and divine in each situation rather than focusing on the negative.
The day ended with a Havdalah service, a ritual ceremony done at the end of Shabbat(Sabbath). It reminds us of the specialness of the Sabbath and helps us to hold onto a spark of holiness and we begin the new week.
