...הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, לֹא עָלֶיךָ הַמְּלָאכָה לִגְמֹר, וְלֹא אַתָּה בֶן חוֹרִין לִבָּטֵל מִמֶּנָּה.
...He used to say: It is not your responsibility to finish the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.
Questions to think about:
1) What are some examples of "the work?"
2) What is this text teaching us about why we partake in the task at hand, knowing we cannot complete it?
3) What does this teaching bring up for you in your personal and/or professional life at Hillel?
Maimonides (Rambam, 12th century) declares, “Prayer without kavanah is no prayer at all. He who has prayed without kavanah ought to pray once more. He whose thoughts are wandering or occupied with other things need not pray until he has recovered his mental composure. Hence, on returning from a journey, or if one is weary or distressed, it is forbidden to pray until his mind is composed. The sages said that upon returning from a journey, one should wait three days until he is rested and his mind is calm, then he prays.”
Questions to think about:
1) Rambam is engaging in the age-old debate about kevah (fixed nature of our liturgy) vs. kavannah (intentionality / spontaneity of our hearts). What we do vs. why we do it. What are your thoughts about kevah vs. kavannah when it comes to something in your life (spiritual practice, gym practice, etc.)
2) How does the concept of kevah "doing" vs. kavannah "intentionality" play into your professional role and what you create for our students at Hillel?
(ה) רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל בְּנוֹ אוֹמֵר, הַלּוֹמֵד תּוֹרָה עַל מְנָת לְלַמֵּד, מַסְפִּיקִין בְּיָדוֹ לִלְמֹד וּלְלַמֵּד. וְהַלּוֹמֵד עַל מְנָת לַעֲשׂוֹת, מַסְפִּיקִין בְּיָדוֹ לִלְמֹד וּלְלַמֵּד לִשְׁמֹר וְלַעֲשׂוֹת.
(5) Rabbi Yishmael his son says: One who studies Torah in order to teach will be given the opportunity both to study and to teach. One who studies in order to practice will be given the opportunity to study, to teach, to observe, and to practice.
Questions to think about:
1) On a college campus, one of the first questions we ask our students is, "What are you studying?" and it is often followed up with, "What do you want to do with that when you graduate?" Often we learn so we can do. This text teaches that learning Torah could lead to different paths of action - how does that happen?
2) What type of intention do you bring to what you do here? What intention do you bring to what you bring the students you interact with daily?
“We need to know how to build those spaces: Those spaces where creativity is required, collaboration is needed, imagination is welcome, emotion exists, and relationships are nurtured by all of the above.”
Karina Zilberman is the creator, founder, and Director of 92nd Street Y Shababa and Shababa Network, based in New York City. The 92nd Street Y Shababa Network engages over 40 Jewish organizations around the world. Zilberman has been educating though the creative arts since her earliest days as a singer in her native Buenos Aires, Argentina.
4 Building Blocks of a Holy Playground:
1) Welcome the Unexpected
2) Be Present
3) Kavannah - Holy Intention
4) Emunah - Trust / Faith
“Always start with why you do what you do.”
- Simon Sinek in Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action.
"Play is the exaltation of the possible." Martin Buber