Welcome to Soulful Jewish Living: Mindful Practices for Every Day with me, Josh Feigelson.
I’m grateful you’re here, and I hope you benefit from our time together.
On the Jewish calendar, we just completed the seven-week cycle of the Omer. But on the American calendar, there’s a 40-day period we’re beginning right now, the time between Memorial Day and Independence Day. And this year, as we here in the United States mark the country’s 250th anniversary, it’s a time to reflect and take stock of where we are. So beginning today and going until then, I want to devote our episodes to thinking about what it all means—and particularly through the lens of Torah and mindfulness.
We’re not in the business of product endorsements here on Soulful Jewish Living, but as we begin this series I want to give a shout out to a new book by Professor Jeremy Engels of Penn State University. It’s called On Mindful Democracy: A Declaration of Interdependence to Mend a Fractured World. I read plenty of books, and I can say categorically that Jeremy’s book is one of the best I’ve encountered. I highly encourage you to read it.
While we may have been led to believe that democracy is about combat between us versus them, our side and their side, this book reminds that democracy isn’t actually about fighting. “Democracy,” Jeremy Engels writes, “is a practice. It is something we do together, in community, with our friends, neighbors, colleagues, strangers, and yes, even supposed ‘foes,’ to care for each other and for the life we share. Democracy,” he goes on, “is rooted in habits of love, compassion, and gratitude–not hatred, rage, or resentment.” The rest of his book is an elaboration on that theme, including a declaration of interdependence that’s 1,337 long—exactly the same number of words as Thomas Jefferson’s original from 1776.
Why interdependence? I’ll quote Engels one more time. “To declare interdependence,” he says, “is to acknowledge and celebrate a basic and inescapable fact of human existence: each of us is interwoven with other people, other beings, and this beautiful blue orb we call home.” While on Memorial Day we might remember the individual sacrifice of a family member or a hero, the deeper truth is that none of us is an isolated individual. The myth of the rugged individual—which is one of the deep storylines of American life—is just that, a myth. And on the country’s 250th anniversary, it seems like a good time to remind ourselves of just how interconnected we are.
Of course, this is a deeply Jewish idea. Our tefillot, our prayers, are usually written in the plural—because prayer is ultimately meant to be done with a minyan, in community. The Talmud records that the first mitzvot a prospective convert would be taught in ancient, agrarian society were the ones about leaving food for the poor—because we’re all responsible for each other. While American society is founded on the idea of rights (the Constitution was followed by a whole bill of ‘em), the Torah is grounded in the idea of mutual responsibility, the duties we owe one another, like visiting the sick, welcoming guests, and educating the community’s children.
I could go on, but you get the point. Judaism is a profoundly communal enterprise. And it’s ultimately rooted in the same impulse as the Declaration of Independence: that we are created in the Divine image, and thus each of us is unique, equal—and, it’s important to add, interconnected. None of us can do this alone; each of us needs all of us.
So as we begin this miniseries, I want to invite you into a simple meditation practice to help reconnect with that sense of interconnection—to ourselves, our neighbors, our communities, our country, and this beautiful blue orb we call home.
Begin by finding a good posture–dignified, upright, not too rigid, one that allows the air to flow. Soften your gaze or close your eyes.
Take a few good deep breaths.
With each breath, see if you can allow yourself to arrive a little more.
Allow your body to relax. Allow your mind to settle.
Feel the support of whatever is beneath you – a chair, the floor, your legs and feet, the solid earth.
Notice how your body holds you up. You might already notice how many forces are involved in supporting you.
And you might even want to say, thank you: to your feet; thank you, legs; thank you, sit bones; thank you, body. And thank you, chair; thank you floor; thank you, gravity. Thank you, plant world for this air I’m breathing. Thank you, Earth, for being a home.
All of these things and forces are part of a larger unity, a oneness of creation, a world that can sometimes feel so huge and overwhelming, that can sometimes leave us feeling like we don’t have a place in it.
But here, right now, you might tap into a feeling of closeness and connection–you and I, and everyone listening, we’re all a part of this creation, all connected to it. Each and every one of us has a place here. You have a place here.
The air your’re breathing right now—it’s a gift, freely given by the plant world. And the carbon dioxide you exhale—that’s the gift you give thousands of times a day back to those same plants, in a ceaseless flow of interconnectedness.
You might bring to mind the last meal you ate. The food that nourished your body—think of the extraordinary network of people, plants, animals, earth, sun, water, and air that enabled it to arrive in your mouth. Pause a moment and just bask in that interconnection.
This interconnectedness—it’s the foundation of everything else. As we reflect on what it means to be independent, I hope this practice can help us remember that none of us is an island. The minyan needs all of us. So let’s declare our interdependence this year.
Blessings for the journey. Know that I’m on it with you.
ENDING
Thank you for joining us for Soulful Jewish Living: Mindful Practices for Every Day, a production of Unpacked, a brand of OpenDor Media, and the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. This episode is sponsored by Jonathan and Kori Kalafer and the Somerset Patriots: The Bridgewater, NJ-based AA Affiliate of the New York Yankees. If you like this show, subscribe, share this episode with a friend, give us five stars on Apple Podcasts. Check out our website, unpacked.media for everything Unpacked-related, and subscribe to our other podcasts, and check out the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. Most importantly, be in touch–about what you heard today, what you’d like to hear more about, or to dedicate an episode. Write to me at josh@unpacked.media.
This episode was hosted by me, Rabbi Josh Feigelson. Audio was edited by Rob Pera and we’re produced by Rivky Stern. Thanks for joining us.
