March 26, 2020

“Prayer may not save us. But prayer may make us worthy of being saved. Prayer is not requesting. There is a partnership of God and man. God needs our help. I would define man as a divine need. God is in need of man.” This excerpt from Rabbi A J Heschel’s interview with Carl Stern in 1972 and in the book, “Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity” reminds us all of how much each of us matters! We have the opportunity to show ourselves and each other that we care for ourselves and others by social distancing, not listening to our LIAR IN CHIEF President and do what we can to help others. Prayer, as I understand prayer from Rabbi Heschel, causes us to take an action, to praise God for our ability to serve God and another human being. Prayer makes us worthy of being saved by the actions we take in response to the call of the prayers we recite.

Each and every prayer has a call to action to it, will you join me in the action of the Barchu- blessing God through our actions and being a worthy partner? Will you join me in the action of the Shema- hearing and understanding the call of our soul, the souls of another humans and being part of the Oneness that is God? I hope so, I pray so.

March 25, 2020

In his book, “Insecurity of Freedom”, Rabbi Heschel teaches: “ 

This, indeed, is the purpose of our religious traditions: to keep alive the higher Yes as well as the power of man to say, “Here I am”; to teach our minds to understand the true demand and to teach our conscience to be present. Too often we misunderstand the demand; too often the call goes forth, and history records our conscience as absent.”

Our religious traditions are not concerned with “packing the churches for Easter”, or Temples for Shabbat or Passover. What is the higher Yes today? It is to serve by following the advice/wisdom of the experts/Doctors. It is helping those around us by being kinder and less resentful. It is to say Yes to our powerless over Coronavirus and Yes to our ability to control our panic, our fear, saying Here I am by shopping for those who can’t get out of their homes, calling the people we know, Skyping, FaceTiming, Zooming, Google Hangouts, etc., thanking the workers who show up to work so we can get what we need, the healthcare workers who keep showing up to help others. 

Maybe the silver lining here is our renewed awareness of the power and necessity of kindness and our shared humanity. No one is an island and all the money in the world is not a protection against this pandemic. Like addiction, pandemics know no boundaries. We do, however, have the ability to draw a boundary around our arrogance, our anger and our self-centeredness. We also can extend our boundaries of love, care, kindness, compassion, truth and love. Will you join me in say YES and Here I Am?

March 24, 2020

“ I am afraid of people who are never embarrassed at their own pettiness, prejudices, envy and conceit...” These words of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel from his lecture/book “Who Is Man” are ringing in my soul and making me angry, reflective, and concerned. I am angry at a President who is NEVER embarrassed by his own actions nor the actions of those around him- who has made a career and fortune from extolling his own pettiness, prejudices, envy and conceit! I reflect on myself and see how embarrassed I have been when I have acted in these ways and vow to act these ways a lot less. I am concerned for all of us who are and are not embarrassed by these ways of being. For those who are, I hope you can see how you do it less each day. For those of you who are not embarrassed by these ways of being I am concerned for your souls and send you Divine Pathos, Divine concern to help you realize your errors and together we can move forward from this crisis and into a better state of beingness.

March 24, 2020

The birds are wondering where are all the crazy humans- they were making a lot of noise because they miss us?:)

March 23, 2020

March 22, 2020

“Something Sacred is at stake in every event”. These words of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel remind me that no matter what is happening with COVID-19, life carries on and there is holiness, love, kindness and, as Rabbi Harold Shulweis would say, Godliness at stake in life today as much if not more than 3 weeks ago. Staying in touch with loved ones and unloved ones is important because even the unloved ones matter!

I was on a Zoom meeting with family about an hour ago for my Mother’s (Mildred Borovitz) Yahrzeit (anniversary of her death). It was wonderful seeing my siblings, my daughter, grandson, nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. We told stories and laughed at and with our Millie. She was one of a kind and I spoke about her love for others and how others loved her. Memory was/is sacred to me today and everyday. Memory allows me/us to cherish what is important, connection and kindness, wholeness and love, truth and spirit.
This is what my mother, father, aunts, uncles, grandparents, siblings, daughter, grandson, nieces, nephews, cousins, friends give to me each day and I, give to them. I send all this to those who don’t like me so much and to those with whom I disagree. Lets all send the sacred to each and every person we know so Holiness can change them, us and the world.

March 21, 2020

Nature is moving forward during this stay at home time- maybe we can all learn from nature to not be so predatory, find ways to move forward, live in awe and remember that nature doesn’t go against itself, as my teacher Rabbi Ed Feinstein taught me. So why do we humans go against our better nature and the better nature of another? Let us all be in this moment, be in the solution for what is right now and continue to take personal inventory and do T’Shuvah- move at least one grain of sand forward each day. This is for our Government, our businesses, our communities, our families and ourselves. All of these entities moving one grain of sand each will move us closer to a cure, closer to dealing with the emergency and closer to each other.

March 20, 2020

Since we have been “staying at home” for days now, the Governor’s order is not giving me any more anxiety! I am reading from Rabbi Heschel’s “Who is Man” about embarrassment. Rabbi Heschel says that embarrassment is a response and an awareness as well as a “protection against the outburst of the inner evils, against arrogance, hybris, self-deification.” I love this- because it reminds me that I have to be so aware of my own hybris- I don’t know everything and this pandemic is teaching me/us how little we know at times. It also points up my/our powerlessness. Being embarrassed allows me to have control over me, however. I can control my response, I don’t have to blame anyone for this pandemic- only be in the solution. Unfortunately, our President wants to blame and not take responsiblity. Because Trump and his minions are NOT embarrassed about anything- they are “certain of their own wisdom” which is scary to me- because they are incapable to learn and/or be wrong.

We, however, can be embarrassed! We can protect ourselves from these inner evils by remembering WE ALL MATTER! Controlling our response means that we be of service to each other, we help our family and friends and strangers. We can Skype, Zoom, FaceTime, call, text, email and wave to people all day and every day. Being in the solution means practicing safe practices, no touching, social distancing, covering up and washing our hands often. We can volunteer to help those around us who are shut in- we can stop hating and hold people responsible to BE HUMAN.

Tonight is Shabbat, I propose getting together virtually with those we want to. I think we should look at the Parashah with hope because at the end of the Parashah, God’s presence fills the Mishkan. Our challenge and our joy comes from allowing God’s presence to fill us! Shabbat Shalom.

March 19, 2020

Less anxiety today also- as the news is still uneven about what is happening and what is needed to mitigate this deadly disease- we are in Palm Desert in our house here and the sense of happy and secure that I experience here makes me less anxious. Harriet and I have been talking about who we are without work, hanging out with friends, family, etc. I deeply understand Rabbi Heschel’s teaching about despair. In her book, “Essential Writings”, Dr. Susannah Heschel has a piece from an unpublished manuscript of her father’s, speaking of arriving at the gate of the seventies of the 20th Century says: “The supreme question is: How does the road sign read: Abandon all hope, ye who enter here. Or: To despair is to betray; at the end His mercy will prevail”.

Abandoning all hope is easy and allows us to be victims without responsibility. Unfortunately this has become a theme of blaming others and not taking responsibility for what is happening - from the tops of our government to our kids at home. Rabbi Heschel teaches us that “in a free society, some are guilty all are responsible” We all need to take responsibility for ourselves and for those around us and for “the stranger in our midst” as the Torah tells us.

How can we despair?? I ask myself. The Jewish people have been on the brink of extinction forever, yet we have persevered and we are resilient. We can look to our history and find the heroes are all regular people, Jewish History, American History and World History. We all can be heroic by not despairing and keeping hope alive- will you join me in this endeavor?

March 18, 2020

Less anxiety today- no “reason” just faith. The outpouring of comments and the connections we have made over these years keep Harriet and me strong and hopeful (well I am hopeful😉). I am thinking:
Rabbi Heschel teaches us “Do not Despair” which seems really difficult with all of the news that is coming our way. Yet, what does despair get us... more despair and depression - which will help NO ONE. People of faith can use the strength of God/Allah/Jesus/Buddah/etc to find solutions to our current situation and how to rebuild. Jewish history is replete with disasters that we have returned from. T’Shuvah as return and response will get us through this with love, compassion, kindness and care.
Reaching out by phone, email, text, zoom, FaceTime, etc. is one solution. Making sure that people who need supplies that we can get for them or have extras of is another solution. This is a time for creating not for despairing. Rabbi Heschel’s words have never been more important in my lifetime than they are now. Please join me in creating solutions and ways of being hopeful and helpful. Add your comments here, please. Stay safe, healthy, hopeful and connected.

March 17, 2020

As I sit in self-quarantine I am struck with all types of thoughts and anxieties. What is the question that this virus is the answer to? Maybe it is to teach all of us how important connection really is. Maybe it is to help us understand that the policies of hatred, zero sum, either/or., good guys/bad guys, etc. is ridiculous. What faith one is is less important than being a person of faith. Understanding that there are many paths to the Ineffable One and all paths are compatible with kindness, truth, mercy, love and compassion for everyone- not just those who agree with us/are members of our tribe.

I am anxious about contracting the Coronavirus, I am anxious about losing connection with community, I am anxious about other addicts losing connection to their communities. I am anxious about what isolation and social distancing is doing to our sense of caring for and about each other. I am anxious about what’s next and what does the future look like. I am anxious about hoarding and scarcity.

My solace comes in connection to my wife, Harriet Nadell Rossetto, my daughter, Heather Garrett, my grandson, Miles Stuart Garrett, my family, Neal Borovitz, Sheri Borovitz-Linda, Jeremy Borovitz, Abby Borovitz Friedman, Jessica Linda, Rachel Walentik, Josh Matthew Linda, Jeff Borovitz, Marina Chiaramonte, Catarina Chiaramonte, and all of you.
Thank you for your years of love and friendship