זֶה הַיּוֹם עָשָׂה יי, נָגִילָה וְנִשְׂמְחָה בוֹ
This is the day that the LORD has made— let us exult and rejoice on it.
It was Sunday morning, August 8, Rosh Chodesh Elul, and I was standing with hundreds of exhausted campers and staff after four weeks of camp (and for some 8 - 12 weeks). The previous night's program ended at around 1 am, and we started our service at the earliest time possible, 6 am. And yet, I knew no matter how sleep-deprived I was, this was a significant moment. Our camp community was in a bubble of safety against Covid which included all adults being vaccinated and multiple tests a week. I was maskless for most of my four weeks and really had no fear due to the incredible steps the camp took to keep us safe.
But bad news did permeate our bubble. After hearing about how Covid-19 has had an unprecedented resurgence in Florida, I knew that this might be the last time I pray and sing with hundreds of other maskless people. How many times are we too tired and weary to appreciate our unprecedented and special moments? How often do we truly rejoice in them? During the Hallel service, we sing these words from the book of Psalms:
זֶה הַיּוֹם עָשָׂה יי, נָגִילָה וְנִשְׂמְחָה בוֹ
This is the day that the LORD has made— let us exult and rejoice on it.
Writing Prompt:
Write about a time when you were truly present and recognized how special and joyful that occasion was; and you knew that it was a fleeting moment. How did you take those moments in? How did you rejoice?
Going deeper:
I wrote a sermon about how we owe it to ourselves, our family, and God to live in the present moment. I hope you find it meaningful!
#LivePresent© - Kol Nidre 5777
October 13, 2016
I would like to ask you all to do one thing – it’s easy, it won’t take more than a minute, but it’s also a really difficult thing. But, please, if you will do this one thing for me, it will make me so happy: will you please turn off your phones? I don’t mean put them on silent, I mean actually turn them off.
Thank you. Now, here’s my next request, it’s also really difficult – who in here wants to admit that they pretended to turn off their phones?
I thought so. Why is it so difficult for us to disconnect – maybe, it is because we are afflicted with a terrible disease - #FOMO.
#FOMO has been a terrible condition for years now. #FOMO is an acronym for the condition: Fear Of Missing Out. Here is how it strikes - you are doing something like playing with your children or grandchildren, or maybe, I don’t know, sitting in shul, and your mind starts to wander. Suddenly, you are thinking about five different things that you could be doing right at this moment. Maybe it’s going water skiing, or going to the beach, or a sports game, or surfing the internet; maybe its thinking, ‘I wonder what my friend is doing right now?’
And a fear grips you - a fear that you might be missing out on something better. This is when the disease takes its toll - you start pulling back, disengaging. Maybe you pick up your phone and start checking messages. And that beautiful experience that you were having is now ruined. You aren’t there anymore, you are someplace else. It’s a much bigger problem than we think, because not only does it affect us, it affects the people around us.
In the social media age, we are constantly being tested to move on to the next subject, the next experience. We are never happy just LIVING PRESENT.
And that’s what I want to talk about today - the concept of Living Present.
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