212 W. Cold Spring Lane Baltimore, MD 21210 Phone: (410)235-5354 Fax: (410)235-8050

THE DEAD OF WINTER

Much continues to be said about spiritual discovery. I am not sure how each individual is to interpret this idea. I think it could accurately be said that spiritual discovery is not unlike learning to speed-read looking at print in a mirror. The only way to become proficient at this wonderful exercise is to do it more frequently and with the right intention. Spiritual "Eureka" moments are few and far between. One cannot know the aegis of such moments, but it can be fairly assumed that places of spiritual nourishment and soul enrichment will definitely contribute to the possibility of making it happen. To reach these goals a spirit of focus and deliberate concentration is most beneficial. To find the right mix between one's self indulgence and the magic of the moment is not always so easy. How does one go about finding the correct amalgam? Furthermore how will one know when the proper recipe has been found?

Much like self discovery of any event that causes us to open our eyes in wonder and joy, spiritual discovery will come not when least expected but when the attempt to achieve it has become a habit of the heart. The deepest habits of the heart don't occur by chance. The deepest habits of the heart don't occur by accident. The deepest habits of the heart happen only with the right frame of mind, the right attitude, and the proper desire.

One could well ask where is this supposed to occur, and under what circumstances, and by whose definition will it be manifest? The where is not so difficult to determine. Most often the place for this experience is in the synagogue, in a proper moment, surrounded by the immanence of Adonai. This is not to preclude such an event from happening in the field, on a boat, in one's backyard, or in some spiritually overwhelming place. But given the choice of trying to produce fertile ground for such an experience, I would opt for the synagogue. Why? The synagogue is our spiritual home. The synagogue is the place to which we can freely and personally bring our inner hopes and fears and communicate them to Adonai. We can develop a personal relationship with the being the mystics have called the "great endless beyond." What each individual apprehends of this being is something very private and nearly incapable of transmission.

So if you are desperately seeking a tunnel into the workings of the spiritual dimension, I strongly suggest that while you may certainly find this in a blade of grass, or a snowflake, or any natural process, that experiential moment can be transferred to the synagogue, shared impersonally in a personal moment of discovery, and used as an energy source to light up the lives of all who come to pray.

Please come to pray, bring along your energy, feel free to share it with others, or simply just to use its potency to loft you into a deeper personal relationship with the "great endless beyond."

I look forward to seeing you more often at Friday night services and am hoping to extrapolate your energy into the hearts and minds of all those who come in search of meaning and spiritual elegance.

- Rabbi Jonathan A. Panitz

Comments or questions? Contact the webmaster.