Omer Day 13
“Rabbi Shimon said: Be careful with the reading of Shema and the prayer, And when you pray, do not make your prayer something automatic, but a plea for compassion before God, for it is said: “for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in kindness, and renouncing punishment” (Joel 2:13); And be not wicked in your own esteem.” (Pirke Avot 2:13)
Rabbi Shimon’s teaching here is a foundational idea of Jewish prayer: that we pray regularly and consistently but not habitually. This is not as easy as you think.
The word habit itself is instructive. Its origin is the Latin habere, to have or consist of and habitus, which is a condition or state of being. We have the French to thank for evolving the term to mean something we wear, like a nun’s habit. Our habits, we might say, reflect our inner selves, which can be both good and bad.
There is so much that we get habituated to that is not good for us: depressive thoughts; anger; substance abuse; even violence. This we can certainly all agree on.
What interests us here is that Rabbi Shimon is saying that when it comes to prayer, which is presumed to be an act that we do with good intentions, our intentions can become rote and habituated and therefore depleted of their energy and meaning. “Do not make your prayer something automatic,” our translator suggests, based upon the Hebrew term קֶבַע which means set, rhythmic like a steady, droning drum beat that is consistently the same every time.
Rather, reify your conversation with God each and every day. Make it real and make it count. And if you’re aware of your surroundings, of the world around you and your own role in contributing to its condition merely by breathing the air, consuming the earth’s resources, putting your own energy out into the world, then by God you must be noticing that a whole lot of bad shit is happening out there.
Therefore, make your words “a plea for compassion before God, for it is said, ‘for God is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in kindness, and renouncing punishment’ (Joel 2:13). Then Rabbi Shimon adds for good measure: “And be not wicked in your own esteem.”
The quote from the prophet Joel is an interesting choice for Rabbi Shimon. Joel’s broader plea for compassion from God is a part of his apocalyptic message that God is imploring the people to wake up from their sleep and redeem the world from its hedonism, its violence, its ravaging, devouring appetite that is, basically, one big, bad habit.
“And now, too, said the Eternal, turn back to Me with all your heart, in fasting and weeping and mourning and rend your heart not your garments, and turn back to the Eternal your God for God is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and renouncing punishment.” (Joel 2:12-13)
Get to the core of what is there, not the outer shell, not the garment, not the habit but the source of it all that makes the bad habit. Get in there!
And while you’re there, Rabbi Shimon taught, “And be not wicked in your own esteem.” This is self-love with a purpose, on a mission, to build a world of grace, love and compassion.
Omer Day 14
“Ben Azzai said, ‘Do not despise anyone and do not dismiss anything; for there is not a person who has not his hour; and there is not a thing that has not its place.’” (Pirke Avot 4:3)
You might think of this is as the Sages first century version of “what goes around comes around.” It’s not. Proverbs, attributed to Solomon, suggests that life is far more complex, that each of us has our hour of suffering and that we are not to rejoice over our neighbor’s downfall or say ‘they had it coming’ because to do so would prove that “One who speaks contemptuously of their fellow is devoid of sense; a prudent person keeps their peace.”
Knowing how fragile our lives actually are and how our fate can turn on a dime is ultimately meant to be a humbling lesson, a value hewn in experience of living the fullest of lives with all its ups and downs.
According to some etymologists, the phrase “turn on a dime” has its origin in describing a horse’s agility and maneuverability — in late 19th century England, a skilled horse was said to be able to “turn on a five-pence piece.”
Each of us has obstacles before us. Some of us suffer enormously as a result. Rather than gloat with a tall glass of schadenfreude, we might pivot, turn, break our habits, and show compassion for how hard it is to be human.
As Ben Azzai taught, each of us has our hour.