Counting the Omer Day 23: Activism versus Spirituality

When I was a rabbinical student I went on a retreat sponsored by Panim on social action and spirituality. For many people there is spirituality or social action. This retreat which started with a day of meditation (which I skipped), sought to explore the connection between the two as opposed to seeing them as polar opposites.

For me it was a very positive and challenging retreat. Those are not polar opposites either. And it is a retreat that I think back on often. Today is one of those days. Recently I have been spending a lot of time writing, thinking, doing. Being active. Working for change. Advocating for women’s rights. Teaching at a domestic violence conference. Planting a community garden to feed the hungry. Learning about Africa. Rallying the troops, my congregants. And also visiting the sick, comforting the bereaved, feeding the hungry. Putting my actions where my mouth is.

Yesterday I had a different experience. I went to the hospital to visit someone. More than that, I called the EMTs to make sure she got to the hospital. I called the people who set up meals at the congregation. i called the people I needed to cover me–teachers, staff, etc. I was in overdrive. I know how to do this kind of stuff. Hey, I’ve been a Girl Scout for 30+ years.

Leaving the hospital, I realized that there was one part I forgot. I forgot to pray. Yes, I did. So when I got to the synagogue I made sure that the kids did a misheberach. When I went back to the hospital I sang the last verse of Adon Olam. B’yado afchi ruchi. I find this verse tremendously powerful, as did my patient.  “Into His hand, I commit my spirit.  In the time when I sleep and when I wake. And even if my spirit leaves, G-d is with me and I will not fear.”

“G-d is with me and I will not fear.” Another version of that which feeds my spirituality is “Ozi v’zimrat Yah, G-d is my strength and my song.”

The trick is remembering. The trick is one of balance. It is activism and spirituality. Both/and. I am not one who likes to meditate. I am always one who fears I will cry or I will fall asleep. But there is value in trying.

Parker Palmer wrote a lovely book, The Active Life. He was an activist, plain and simple and then one day he thought he would become a contemplative. But people laughed at him. So his book is his attempt to marry the two worlds. The book jacket describes it as “Palmer’s deep and graceful exploration of spirituality for the busy, sometimes frenetic lives many of us lead…He celebrates both the problems and the potentials of the active life, revealing how much they have to teach us about ourselves, the world and G-d.” Participating in the spiritual life does not mean giving up our active selfs, or visa versa. It can be more engaging and deeply life-giving.

For me, without remembering G-d, I am weak and tired. I complain. I whine. I may even think I am more powerful than I am. I may even forget to pray for healing…at a time when a congregant needs it most.

When I take the time to remember, then together with G-d, I can do anything. Even stay calm under pressure and call the paramedics. I can change the world, to the world as G-d sees it, as G-d wants it. One without hunger or homelessness, where the needs of the widow, the orphan and the stranger are taken care of, where we are caretakers of G-d’s beautiful creation. When I do these things in G-d’s name, then the world is a better place.

But first, I have to take the time to remember G-d.