Dear Friends,
As we welcome the snow birds and snowflakes into town in their snow -mobiles, it's time to reconnect with old friends and perhaps make new acquaintances. I just met with a dear friend and asked him how he was feeling, knowing that he’s had some health problems. He replied, "So-so." I told him I’d pray for him and I said, "You have take care of yourself."
"You know," he replied, " I really need to start listening to my body.”
Will that help, I wondered? Is that enough?
Have you heard the one about the psychologist who had 20 patients a day, and someone asked him, "How do you do it? To hear all the pain and hurt -- how do you cope?"
"Who’s listening?” he replied.
Listening is just part of the 'cure'.
I always love getting a dose of inspiration from the weekly Torah reading and try to live with that theme for the week. “Living with it” is like practicing and exercising, not letting it go in one ear and out the other. This week I would have to say the theme is all about “the art of listening.” In fact, when Sara and Abraham had a conflict, G-D advises the global figure, powerful innovator, and kind man (I'm paraphrasing here), "Listen to the voice of your dear wife Sara."
I think nowadays this art of listening is needed more than ever before. How much better spouses we would be if we’d just sincerely listen! What better fathers we would be if we would listen to our children, meaning really hear what they need and then give the right advice. Expand that to listening to our own bodies and souls, as they tell us of their needs: our bodies need physical exercise, and just as important is the spiritual exercise needed for our souls. Think about how much better we would be as employers if we’d listen to the people around us -- it would create such harmony.
These days we are bombarded with words, sound, and noise from all sides. We all like to talk, write, and share what we think, but take a moment to be fully there and listen.
I'd like to take this to heart so I will stop writing and both listen to and HEAR your comments on this thought.
Wishing you a beautiful Shabbat,
Rabbi Fishel & Ettie Zaklos
Melinda Colon wrote...
an interesting concept. Each time God spoke
to a man it stated why chose to speak to them...example "noah was
a righteous man". All except Abraham. Why
didnt it state what about Abraham made him
worthy of Gods voice?? The great Chassidic
thinker Sfay Emet says : The Torah is not
stating that that Abraham was chosen at all.
G-d was not speaking to him....God was
speaking to anyone who would listen...and
Abraham..well..he was the only one
listening.
This leads to a pretty intense question...one
we might wish to answer quickly, but must
really take time to think about. If God chose
to speak....would we hear? Is he speaking
now, but our own voices are drowning him
out?
Definatly going to be meditating on this
today.
SKG wrote...
I try to paraphrase what others have told me, asking them if I have heard them correctly. I listen to my child's own rhythms and nuances in her words and voice. Most of the time, she is telling me things without really using the words. I understand when she asks, "Can we meet for lunch?" she is really saying, "I would like to discuss something with you" "I need your advice" "I want to share my feelings with you". I listen to her without interrupting, asking questions, or interjecting, and I learn so much more about her because she is more forthcoming when I just listen.
In my twenties, I spent many years fasting and praying on the hill, "hanblechia" we call it, "crying for a vision". For 15 years I was taught to listen to all things; animals, water, wind, smells, plants, snow, trees, sunlight, temperature changes, tone of voice, etc. The earth can reveal many things to us for keeping ourselves and others healthy. I listen to my instincts and my heart. I listen to my conscience. One of my favorite times is listening to the forest wake up at dawn when I am backpacking or camping. If we listen closely enough to the animals and the wind, we can sense when a hurricane or a storm is coming. I learned to listen to my horse's behaviors and breathing which helped guide me when I was working on the ranch.
There are so many ways we can utilize the god-given gift of hearing. I developed serious nearsightedness when I was nine and spent many years without my glasses because I didn't like wearing them. But I noticed that my refusal to wear glasses hightened my sense of hearing. I can pick up on the tiniest sound or intonation in someone's voice. And it is always important to listen to what our bodies are telling us is going on inside.
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to express some thoughts on listening.
Elissa George wrote...
Thank you both for listening!!!!
Louise wrote...