Last night, after visiting a new age type shop in Dizengoff Center (TA), I had an idea. Wouldn’t it be great if we had a room in the house that was totally decorated for “spirituality”? It would have candles and incense, hanging beads on the doors and windows, dim colored lighting, cusions on the floor for sitting, tibetan artifacts and music…use your own imagination to complete the picture. It would be awesome! A spiritual chamber from where we could beam ourselves up to the highest reaches of the cosmic universe.
Then I realized that Judaism teaches something very different. You see, in Judaism, everyday, mundane, life can be transformed into something spiritual and holy. With the proper awareness and intentions, we can turn our homes, food, clothing, work, and recreation into vehicles of intense spiritual energy and sanctity. Judaism gives us tools to help us transform our environment and tap into the spirituality within it. The blessings that we say before and after eating transform our food and release the spiritual energy in it. The mezuzah on our doorposts makes us aware of the spiritual energy in our homes. Our daily prayers connect us to the Divine energy of holiness. The Shabbat harnesses the powerful energy of creation, “shleymut” – wholeness, and peace.
We don’t need a special “spiritual chamber” to be spiritual. We just need to try and make our good old, mundane, everyday lives into amazing tools to harness the spiritual energy, power, and holiness within them.
We can do it.
