High Holydays 2003 - 5764
Congregation Betenu, Amherst, NH
The Psalmist said, man's condition is that: Ps. 90:5-6 "(they) [humans] are like short lived grass in the morning. In the morning it flourishes, and fades; by evening it is withered and dry."
We grow from earth, spiritward and eventually, we retreat to ground - and ultimately - below ground.
Consider the plant. It receives nutrients from the ground, but it still needs sunlight to grow. It requires both the energy from above and energy from below.
We are now talking purely in the physical realm and we humans are fully dependent on both the heavens above and the earth below.
But what about spiritual energy? Sometimes we are deceived into thinking it is all in our heads and in the way we process sensory information, which we then transform into spiritual thoughts and feelings.
Kabbalists, as well as acupuncturists and a variety of eastern traditions will teach that there are energy flows, both in life and in the human being that are needed to sustain not only the physical being but the spiritual being.
Now if I want a plant to grow and develop to its fullest, I must plant it in a place where it will receive adequate sunlight, adequate water and a temperature spread within the limits the plant can endure. If I want more than minimal growth, I must tend it, remove the weeds that are competing for the plant's energy sources and perhaps add some nutrients to the soil.
From here I could go in many directions, but for today, I want to focus on the single dimension of the spiritual flow of energy from the earth.
First, there is touch. There is the feeling as the foot touches the ground. After all, people who are stable are said to be "well grounded".
The problem is: what can I do to get more in touch with that flow of energy from the ground? I have heard various people describe the answer as skydiving, golf and any of a thousand other vehicles. But from this pulpit, many of you have gotten used to skiing as being a personal answer for me to so many spiritual things. While it is not my hope that you will all become spiritual skiers, it is my hope that the ideas I present will somehow transform themselves to an aspect of your life where they will work for you.
The first piece of the puzzle is that one cannot go skiing just anyplace. In a world of telecommuting, the experts say that most people are more productive if they have a place to go. In the world of skiing, just going to the right place is an important first step.
Next, having the right equipment is important. If one is wearing the wrong stuff, it is difficult to get into the spirit of what is happening. While I won't state that wearing a suit or a kippah or a tallit is mandatory at a synagogue, I can say that it helps. I mean it wouldn't make sense to pack a surf board and a bathing suit for a day of skiing!
The process of skiing takes the energy supplied by gravity and translates the forces into many dimensions of balance, but primary is the interaction with the earth to make us stop and turn.
As one proceeds the speed creates wind which increases our awareness of what is above.
The interaction between the feet, the ground and the gravity demands one's full attention. The distractions of life disappear. A total transformation has occurred, even if for only a microsecond or two.
I'd like to suggest that if what I said about the flow of energy from the earth up through our feet wasn't true, FDR would not have been so concerned about being photographed in a wheel chair - and the vast majority of our seniors who are physically challenged usually prefer a walker to a wheel chair, even though wheelchairs are faster and probably more comfortable.
So to improve one's spiritual self, find a way to allow one's self to become aware of the flow of energy from the earth.
I'm beginning to think that God is related to gravity. It is everywhere. It effects everyone, whether one believes in it or not! Einstein seemed to think that gravity transcended both time and space. It sounds like a definition of God. Perhaps God is gravity or at the very least, perhaps gravity is part of a total definition of God.
This concept became particularly apparent when I was skiing in a bump field also known as a mogul field. While the basic force is still gravity, the successful bump skier must learn to remain balanced despite the various forces caused by directional changes. For those familiar with physics: acceleration, centrifugal and centripetal forces. I believe that ultimately, the pleasure of skiing derives from the energy that flows from the ground up through one's legs. For me, this is the grounding force with its flows that the kabbalists spoke of.
Those who attend morning services have encountered the following blessing:
Ba-ruch a-ta A-do-nai, E-lo-hei-nu me-lech ha-o-lam, ro-ka
ha-a-retz al ha-ma-yim.
Praised be the Eternal, our God, Ruler of the world, for earth below.
Most of us take for granted that when we touch our foot to the ground in the morning that, first - the ground will really be there and that gravity will actually allow us to stand on it. My message for today: to get closer to God above, find something to get yourself in touch with the flow of energy from the earth below.
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