Listening and Love
Dear Friends,
This past week was a Jewish Holiday called Tu B'Av Please check out the following link from My Jewish Learning.
As I think about the meaning of love, I think about the Shema which reminds us to "LIsten Israel, the Lord our G-d, the Lord Alone." We are then asked to love G-d with all our heart, all our soul, and all our might." (Deuteronomy 6:4-9).
One of the ways in which I look at love is described in the prayer "Listen" which is found below which I initially read in the prayerbook, "LIkrat Shabbat"
I believe that among the most important aspects of love is the ability to listen.
At one of our children's weddings I read the following lyrics from the song, "I Talk to the Trees." from the broadway musical, "Paint Your Wagon." (please search for this and watch Clint Eastwood sing it:-))
I talk to the treesBut they don't listen to meI talk to the starsBut they never hear me
The breeze hasn't timeTo stop, and hear what I sayI talk to them allIn vain
But suddenly, my wordsReach someone elses earAt someone else's heartStrings too
I tell you my dreamsAnd while you're listening to meI suddenly see themCome true
I can see us some April nightLooking out across a rollin' farmHaving supper in the candlelightWalking later, arm in arm
Then I'll tell youHow I pass the dayThinking mainly howThe night would be
Then I'll try to findThe words to sayAll the things youMean to me
I tell you my dreamsAnd while you'reListening to meI suddenly see themCome true
May each of us celebrate love by truly listening to those we care about and perhaps some of our dreams will come true.
Happy Belated Tu B'Av.
B'shalom,
Rabbi Bruce Aft
Listen!
Judaism begins with the commandment: Hear, O Israel!
But what does it really mean to hear?
The person who attends a concert With their mind on business
Hears-but does not really hear.
The person who walks amid the songs of birds And thinks only of what they will have for dinner, Hears-but does not reallv hear.
The person who listens to the words of their friend, Or their partner, or their child,
And does not catch the note of urgency:
"Notice me, help me, care about me,"
Hears-but does not reallv hear.
The person who listens to the news
And thinks only of how it will affect business, Hears-but does not really hear.
The person who stifles the sound of their conscience And tells themself they have done enough already, Hears-but does not really hear.
The person who hears the Hazzan (person leading prayer) pray And does not feel the call to join with them. Hears-but does not really hear.
The person who listens to the rabbi's sermon
And thinks that someone else is being addressed. Hears-but does not really hear.
On this Shabbat, O Lord, Sharpen our ability to hear.
Mav we hear the music of the world, And the infant's cry, and the lover's sigh.
May we hear the call for help of the lonely soul, And the sound of the breaking heart.
May we hear the words of our friends,
And also their unspoken pleas and dreams.
May we hear within ourselves the yearnings That are struggling for expression.
May we hear You, O God.
For only if we hear You
Do we have the right to hope That You will hear us.
Hear the prayers we offer to You this day, OGod, And may we hear them too
Mav we hear the music of the world, And the infant's cry, and the lover's sigh.
May we hear the call for help of the lonely soul, And the sound of the breaking heart.
May we hear the words of our friends,
And also their unspoken pleas and dreams.
May we hear within ourselves the yearnings That are struggling for expression.
May we hear You, O God.
For only if we hear You
Do we have the right to hope That You will hear us.
Hear the prayers we offer to You this day, OGod, And may we hear them too
Rabbi Jack Riemer (with my updating of pronouns and egalitarian references)
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