February 18, 2010 | 11:44 pm

God’s Olympics

Posted by Rabbi Ilana Grinblat

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This week, I’ve been completely engrossed in the winter Olympics. My favorite sport is figure skating. I marvel at the grace, skill and artistry of the skaters as they perform their intricate spins and jumps. I love the choreography as the Olympians tell stories with their bodies in harmony with the music. I’m particularly impressed because I can barely skate around the rink a few times without falling on my tush (not to mention trying to jump or spin)!

However, I don’t enjoy listening to the commentators. Here I am marveling at the skaters and they’re kvetching about it. They’ll say things like: “That was only a double Lutz, and it should have been a triple.” If a skater had a bad landing early in the performance and five minutes later, he or she is flying through the air, the commentator would say, “She’s doing great now, but it’s too bad that she didn’t nail the landing on that first jump!”

I understand that skaters need to be evaluated in a competitive sport, and scrutiny motivates them to strive for excellence, but the commentators were interfering with my enjoyment of the program. Still, I couldn’t press the mute button because then I would miss the music.

While experiencing this conflict, I suddenly thought: “God must feel this way.” If God were watching both the video and audio tracks of our lives – complete with our thoughts and the reactions of people around us – God would surely have a similar reaction. Often we’re growing, learning, and accomplishing good things, and yet we’re dwelling on small mistakes.

As the Olympians strive for their gold medals, this week’s portion is also focused on gold metal. Rather than earning medals, the people donate and craft gold into intricate garments for priests to wear when officiating in the tabernacle. The portion then describes the ritual for preparing Aaron and his sons for their priestly service. This ceremony was understood by the midrash as helping Aaron atone for his role in the sin of the Golden Calf. The tabernacle ritual represented that even though the people made mistakes, God would still be with them always.

Like the Olympians, each of us has our own set of commentators, evaluating our performance in life against a certain standard. These expectations may be external or more often they may be ideas we’ve internalized from our parents or from society of how we should be. Likewise, these demands may be driven by our own goals and timeframes we’ve set for ourselves to accomplish our ambitions.

We can’t eliminate our internal commentators entirely because their feedback helps us improve our technique. And yet, we have to turn their volume down and make time to turn them off. Shabbat and holidays aren’t merely times for rest, but also occasions to release ourselves from the chain of internal critique.

As we strive for excellence, our tradition reminds of God’s forgiving nature. By muting criticism, we can listen more closely to the music and enjoy the dance of life. In this way, we can truly go for the gold.

February 18, 2010 | 11:44 pm

God’s Olympics

Posted by Rabbi Ilana Grinblat

This week, I’ve been completely engrossed in the winter Olympics. My favorite sport is figure skating. I marvel at the grace, skill and artistry of the skaters as they perform their intricate spins and jumps. I love the choreography as the Olympians tell stories with their bodies in harmony with the music. I’m particularly impressed because I can barely skate around the rink a few times without falling on my tush (not to mention trying to jump or spin)!

However, I don’t enjoy listening to the commentators. Here I am marveling at the skaters and they’re kvetching about it. They’ll say things like: “That was only a double Lutz, and it should have been a triple.” If a skater had a bad landing early in the performance and five minutes later, he or she is flying through the air, the commentator would say, “She’s doing great now, but it’s too bad that she didn’t nail the landing on that first jump!”

I understand that skaters need to be evaluated in a competitive sport, and scrutiny motivates them to strive for excellence, but the commentators were interfering with my enjoyment of the program. Still, I couldn’t press the mute button because then I would miss the music.

While experiencing this conflict, I suddenly thought: “God must feel this way.” If God were watching both the video and audio tracks of our lives – complete with our thoughts and the reactions of people around us – God would surely have a similar reaction. Often we’re growing, learning, and accomplishing good things, and yet we’re dwelling on small mistakes.

As the Olympians strive for their gold medals, this week’s portion is also focused on gold metal. Rather than earning medals, the people donate and craft gold into intricate garments for priests to wear when officiating in the tabernacle. The portion then describes the ritual for preparing Aaron and his sons for their priestly service. This ceremony was understood by the midrash as helping Aaron atone for his role in the sin of the Golden Calf. The tabernacle ritual represented that even though the people made mistakes, God would still be with them always.

Like the Olympians, each of us has our own set of commentators, evaluating our performance in life against a certain standard. These expectations may be external or more often they may be ideas we’ve internalized from our parents or from society of how we should be. Likewise, these demands may be driven by our own goals and timeframes we’ve set for ourselves to accomplish our ambitions.

We can’t eliminate our internal commentators entirely because their feedback helps us improve our technique. And yet, we have to turn their volume down and make time to turn them off. Shabbat and holidays aren’t merely times for rest, but also occasions to release ourselves from the chain of internal critique.

As we strive for excellence, our tradition reminds of God’s forgiving nature. By muting criticism, we can listen more closely to the music and enjoy the dance of life. In this way, we can truly go for the gold.

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February 4, 2010 | 11:05 pm

Under the Sea

Posted by Rabbi Ilana Grinblat

Recently, I took my kids to the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific. As we walked through the exhibit, we reached one observatory with many fish, coral, and a diver who was cleaning the glass of the window. We watched the fish for a few minutes, and then I asked the kids if they’d like to go see the rest of the exhibits. They refused to move. They just wanted to stay at that one area. Seeing the look of wonder in my children’s eyes, I too became mesmerized by the fish with their vibrant colors, and intricate patterns – each one unique from the rest but yet interconnected in a web of interdependent relationships.

I thought: there must be a God; there’s no way that all this is a fluke. One could argue about how nature developed and how long this process took, but no matter what, I felt that it couldn’t be an accident – but rather a thoughtful design. This moment was not an intellectual realization but simply a feeling in my kishkes (guts) – a quiet sense of awe and wonder.

This week’s Torah portion is perhaps the most dramatic one in the entire Torah. The parasha recounts how with earthquakes, thunder, lightening, and a loud blast of the shofar, God spoke the words of the Ten Commandments to the people at Mount Sinai. Amidst all this noise, there’s one small phrase which is easily overlooked. In the fourth commandment, the reason to keep Shabbat is explained: “because in six days God created the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day.”

The rabbis noted a curiosity in the language here that the sea is specifically mentioned. By contrast, Genesis 1:1 states that “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth,” without mentioning the sea (which is assumed to be included in the earth).

In the Mekhilta (a third century commentary on Exodus), the rabbis explained that the sea is specifically mentioned to highlight that “the sea is equal to all other works of creation.” This teaching is a powerful statement about the importance of the sea. As our oceans are now in grave danger from pollution, this verse reminds us of our duty to protect the sea.

In our day, spiritual awakening might not entail earthquakes, thunderbolts, and lightening. One can sense the sacred simply by taking an afternoon stroll by the sea.

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