Three weeks into Rabbi school, I have just one thing to say: I can’t believe how much work it is.
My challenge is to remain a whole person while doing all this work. I don’t want to neglect my family relationships, nor get away from my spiritual practice. Studying Torah and Jewish history for 30+ hours a week does not in itself bring spirituality into my life.
One of the ways I have kept in touch with my spiritual side is through Elul Mussar practice. I never heard of Elul until a few years ago. It is the last month of the Hebrew calendar, and is traditionally spent in contemplation to prepare for the High Holidays. Both Elul and Mussar have let me to start practicing the Soul Trait of Order. I need to be organized and plan in order to get my work done, and to remain a whole person.
Then last night, I read something that touched me. In his wonderful book “This Is Real, and You Are Completely Unprepared.“ Rabbi Alan Lew of blessed memory, asked the following: What unfinished business is giving us a torn mind, “tearing our focus away from the present-tense reality of our experience, from the present moment, the only place where we can live our lives.” (p 84-85)
For me, this aligns with the teachings of Rabbi Marie Kondo, who teaches us to let go of things cluttering our lives. Which brings me to my first website, idolbuster.com. I wrote my first book as a serial on the idolbuster blog. I haven’t posted on that blog in years. Nor have I kept it up to date, meaning it is a security risk.
But more importantly, this website gnaws at me. Not in a big way, but at least a few times a month, I ask myself: What I should do with it. It used to mean so much to me. Can I just cut it loose?
Earlier in the year I got rid of the Dr. Greg Marcus Facebook page. And today, I turned off the automatic renew of the domain, giving me 5 weeks to archive it.
Which brings us to an Elul Mussar Practice.
************Here’s the Elul Mussar Practice*************
Let go of something in your life. What are you holding on to that no longer serves you? It might be “stuff,” something virtual like my old website, or it might be something emotional, like decades long anger.
It is no easier letting go of something painful than it is to let go of something that was once positive but is no longer serves a purpose. There is always a nagging voice “it might get better,” or “it might be useful someday” or just a rehash of the past hurt.
Elul gives us an opportunity to spend a month working our way up to change. You don’t need to change everything, but one small and lasting change is priceless.
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The mantra I use for Order comes from Pirkei Avot 5:10 – First things first, and last things later. For this practice, we can modify it to “last things never.” I don’t know about you, but I am way too busy to get to the last thing on my list. I was even before I went back to school.
So, I’ll prune away a few things that no longer serve me, thanking them for their service, and composting them so that they may bring life to something else.
What can you prune from your life to enable new growth?
Reply below and let me know. I answer every comment.
The High Holiday Mussar Workshop is a wonderful opportunity to identify something to prune from your life, and establish a practice with your freed bandwidth for personal growth. Scholarships available. Learn more here.
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