Divine Stopping at the Very Beginning
(לא) וַיַּ֤רְא אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶת־כׇּל־אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֔ה וְהִנֵּה־ט֖וֹב מְאֹ֑ד וַֽיְהִי־עֶ֥רֶב וַֽיְהִי־בֹ֖קֶר י֥וֹם הַשִּׁשִּֽׁי׃ {פ} (א) וַיְכֻלּ֛וּ הַשָּׁמַ֥יִם וְהָאָ֖רֶץ וְכׇל־צְבָאָֽם׃ (ב) וַיְכַ֤ל אֱלֹהִים֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י מְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֑ה וַיִּשְׁבֹּת֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י מִכׇּל־מְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשָֽׂה׃ (ג) וַיְבָ֤רֶךְ אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶת־י֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י וַיְקַדֵּ֖שׁ אֹת֑וֹ כִּ֣י ב֤וֹ שָׁבַת֙ מִכׇּל־מְלַאכְתּ֔וֹ אֲשֶׁר־בָּרָ֥א אֱלֹהִ֖ים לַעֲשֽׂוֹת׃ {פ}
(31) And God saw all that had been made, and found it very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. (1) The heaven and the earth were finished, and all their array. (2) On the seventh day God finished the work that had been undertaken: [God] ceased* on the seventh day from doing any of the work. (3) And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy—having ceased on it from all the work of creation that God had done.
Sanctification and Stopping the Manna
(א) ויברך, ויקדש. בֵּרְכוֹ בַּמָּן, שֶׁכָּל יְמוֹת הַשָּׁבוּעַ יוֹרֵד לָהֶם עֹמֶר לַגֻּלְגֹּלֶת, וּבַשִּׁשִּׁי לֶחֶם מִשְׁנֶה, וְקִדְּשׁוֹ בַּמָּן, שֶׁלֹּא יָרַד כְּלָל בְּשַׁבָּת, וְהַמִּקְרָא כָּתוּב עַל הֶעָתִיד:
(1) ויברך … ויקדש AND GOD BLESSED … AND HE SANCTIFIED — He blessed it through the Manna, that on all other days of the week there should fall for them (the Israelites) an Omer for each person, whereas on the sixth day there should fall twice as much of that bread. So, too, He sanctified it through the Manna, that it should not fall at all on the Sabbath (Genesis Rabbah 11:2). This verse is written here with reference to what would happen in the future.
On Stopping?
Tich Nhat Hanh
Gata:
I have arrived.
I am home. In the here.
In the now.
I am solid.
I am free.
In the ultimate I dwell.
[Transcribed portions of the video below)
Some of us continue to run even in our sleep in our dreams
because running has become a habit
we run in our sleep in our dreams
I have arrived I am home-- I don't want to run anymore
you want to really rest.
You like to listen to the music of your breathing in and out
your heart is playing music
like that you can enter your sleep peacefully and with much pleasure.
The practice of stopping is very crucial in the Buddhist tradition.
There are moments when we don't do anything -- we just sit there and lie down
but our bodies have not stopped. There is a tension in our bodies.
The body does not have the capacity to rest. To stop.
Stopping does not just mean just stopping the mind it means stopping the body.
because the body has the habit of running
there is a feeling of restlessness in the body....
you can help the body to stop you can help to stop the mind.
you practice with body and mind at the same time. Not just the mind.
The Buddhist term for stopping is Shamata. In Pali ---Samata.
The first meaning of Shamata is stopping. Without stopping you cannot do much......
You can stop at the time you walk, you can even stop while you run. Jogging meditation. Because you are not running after something. You are not searching for something at all. You are at peace in the present moment. That is the meaning of Shamata.
....
You need a strong will and a big desire in order to stop.
Because the habit of running is very strong in us. in our mind and in our body.
Tich Nhat Hanh
Gata:
I have arrived.
I am home. In the here.
In the now.
I am solid.
I am free.
In the ultimate I dwell.
[Transcribed portions of the video below)
Some of us continue to run even in our sleep in our dreams
because running has become a habit
we run in our sleep in our dreams
I have arrived I am home-- I don't want to run anymore
you want to really rest.
You like to listen to the music of your breathing in and out
your heart is playing music
like that you can enter your sleep peacefully and with much pleasure.
The practice of stopping is very crucial in the Buddhist tradition.
There are moments when we don't do anything -- we just sit there and lie down
but our bodies have not stopped. There is a tension in our bodies.
The body does not have the capacity to rest. To stop.
Stopping does not just mean just stopping the mind it means stopping the body.
because the body has the habit of running
there is a feeling of restlessness in the body....
you can help the body to stop you can help to stop the mind.
you practice with body and mind at the same time. Not just the mind.
The Buddhist term for stopping is Shamata. In Pali ---Samata.
The first meaning of Shamata is stopping. Without stopping you cannot do much......
You can stop at the time you walk, you can even stop while you run. Jogging meditation. Because you are not running after something. You are not searching for something at all. You are at peace in the present moment. That is the meaning of Shamata.
....
You need a strong will and a big desire in order to stop.
Because the habit of running is very strong in us. in our mind and in our body.
The semantic field of Tibetan shi and Sanskrit shama is "pacification", "the slowing or cooling down", "rest". The semantic field of Tibetan né is "to abide or remain" and this is cognate or equivalent with the final syllable of the Sanskrit, thā.
The Tibetan term for samatha is shyiné (Wylie: zhi-gnas). According to Jamgon Kongtrul, the terms refer to "peace" and "pacification" of the mind and the thoughts.
from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samatha
The Tibetan term for samatha is shyiné (Wylie: zhi-gnas). According to Jamgon Kongtrul, the terms refer to "peace" and "pacification" of the mind and the thoughts.
from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samatha
Shabbat with an Ethical Dimension: Stopping + Release
(ח) זָכ֛וֹר֩ אֶת־י֥֨וֹם הַשַּׁבָּ֖֜ת לְקַדְּשֽׁ֗וֹ׃ (ט) שֵׁ֤֣שֶׁת יָמִ֣ים֙ תַּֽעֲבֹ֔ד֮ וְעָשִׂ֖֣יתָ כׇּֿל־מְלַאכְתֶּֽךָ֒׃ (י) וְי֨וֹם֙ הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔֜י שַׁבָּ֖֣ת ׀ לַיהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֑֗יךָ לֹֽ֣א־תַעֲשֶׂ֣֨ה כׇל־מְלָאכָ֜֡ה אַתָּ֣ה ׀ וּבִנְךָ֣͏ֽ־וּ֠בִתֶּ֗ךָ עַבְדְּךָ֤֨ וַאֲמָֽתְךָ֜֙ וּבְהֶמְתֶּ֔֗ךָ וְגֵרְךָ֖֙ אֲשֶׁ֥֣ר בִּשְׁעָרֶֽ֔יךָ׃ (יא) כִּ֣י שֵֽׁשֶׁת־יָמִים֩ עָשָׂ֨ה יְהֹוָ֜ה אֶת־הַשָּׁמַ֣יִם וְאֶת־הָאָ֗רֶץ אֶת־הַיָּם֙ וְאֶת־כׇּל־אֲשֶׁר־בָּ֔ם וַיָּ֖נַח בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֑י עַל־כֵּ֗ן בֵּרַ֧ךְ יְהֹוָ֛ה אֶת־י֥וֹם הַשַּׁבָּ֖ת וַֽיְקַדְּשֵֽׁהוּ׃ {ס}
(8) Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy. (9) Six days you shall labor and do all your work, (10) but the seventh day is a sabbath of your God יהוה: you shall not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, or your cattle, or the stranger who is within your settlements. (11) For in six days יהוה made heaven and earth and sea—and all that is in them—and then rested on the seventh day; therefore יהוה blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it.
Rest and Revolution
(יב) שָׁמ֛֣וֹר אֶת־י֥וֹם֩ הַשַּׁבָּ֖֨ת לְקַדְּשׁ֑֜וֹ כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר צִוְּךָ֖֣ ׀ יְהֹוָ֥֣ה אֱלֹהֶֽ֗יךָ׃ (יג) שֵׁ֤֣שֶׁת יָמִ֣ים֙ תַּֽעֲבֹ֔ד֮ וְעָשִׂ֖֣יתָ כׇּֿל־מְלַאכְתֶּֽךָ֒׃ (יד) וְי֨וֹם֙ הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔֜י שַׁבָּ֖֣ת ׀ לַיהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֑֗יךָ לֹ֣א תַעֲשֶׂ֣ה כׇל־מְלָאכָ֡ה אַתָּ֣ה וּבִנְךָֽ־וּבִתֶּ֣ךָ וְעַבְדְּךָֽ־וַ֠אֲמָתֶךָ וְשׁוֹרְךָ֨ וַחֲמֹֽרְךָ֜ וְכׇל־בְּהֶמְתֶּ֗ךָ וְגֵֽרְךָ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בִּשְׁעָרֶ֔יךָ לְמַ֗עַן יָנ֛וּחַ עַבְדְּךָ֥ וַאֲמָתְךָ֖ כָּמֽ֑וֹךָ׃ (טו) וְזָכַרְתָּ֗֞ כִּ֣י־עֶ֤֥בֶד הָיִ֣֙יתָ֙ ׀ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔֗יִם וַיֹּצִ֨אֲךָ֜֩ יְהֹוָ֤֨ה אֱלֹהֶ֤֙יךָ֙ מִשָּׁ֔ם֙ בְּיָ֥֤ד חֲזָקָ֖ה֙ וּבִזְרֹ֣עַ נְטוּיָ֑֔ה עַל־כֵּ֗ן צִוְּךָ֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ לַעֲשׂ֖וֹת אֶת־י֥וֹם הַשַּׁבָּֽת׃ {ס}
(12) Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy, as your God יהוה has commanded you. (13) Six days you shall labor and do all your work, (14) but the seventh day is a sabbath of your God יהוה; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your ox or your ass, or any of your cattle, or the stranger in your settlements, so that your male and female slave may rest as you do. (15) Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and your God יהוה freed you from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore your God יהוה has commanded you to observe the sabbath day.
"Self Care as Political Warfare"-- What does that mean?
“I had to examine, in my dreams as well as in my immune-function tests, the devastating effects of overextension. Overextending myself is not stretching myself. I had to accept how difficult it is to monitor the difference. Necessary for me as cutting down on sugar. Crucial. Physically. Psychically. Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”
--Audre Lorde, 1998 Collection of Essays, A Burst of Light
Commentary: "That resistance must have a communal approach or the most vulnerable among us will be the ones who hurt the most......
Self-care cannot be an “act of political warfare” if the only battle you’re waging is against your frown lines with $110 moisturizer. Community care is about using our power and bandwidth to support and provide for our communities when the systems we exist in don’t. We need to ask ourselves what we can do politically, socially and in our relationships to offset the harm our governments and institutions are already doing to our communities. If that seems like too big of a burden to bear, maybe it is, but that brings me back to the roots of self-care......
None of this is easy. Self-care can feel onerous sometimes but it’s really more spiritual. It takes constant gut checks, commitments to self-reflection and restraint... It requires rest and revolution. You can’t have one without the other.
by KATHLEEN NEWMAN-BREMANG
https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2021/05/10493153/reclaiming-self-care-audre-lorde-black-women-community-care
“I had to examine, in my dreams as well as in my immune-function tests, the devastating effects of overextension. Overextending myself is not stretching myself. I had to accept how difficult it is to monitor the difference. Necessary for me as cutting down on sugar. Crucial. Physically. Psychically. Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”
--Audre Lorde, 1998 Collection of Essays, A Burst of Light
Commentary: "That resistance must have a communal approach or the most vulnerable among us will be the ones who hurt the most......
Self-care cannot be an “act of political warfare” if the only battle you’re waging is against your frown lines with $110 moisturizer. Community care is about using our power and bandwidth to support and provide for our communities when the systems we exist in don’t. We need to ask ourselves what we can do politically, socially and in our relationships to offset the harm our governments and institutions are already doing to our communities. If that seems like too big of a burden to bear, maybe it is, but that brings me back to the roots of self-care......
None of this is easy. Self-care can feel onerous sometimes but it’s really more spiritual. It takes constant gut checks, commitments to self-reflection and restraint... It requires rest and revolution. You can’t have one without the other.
by KATHLEEN NEWMAN-BREMANG
https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2021/05/10493153/reclaiming-self-care-audre-lorde-black-women-community-care
Practices for the week:
What does it mean to stop?
What does it mean to stop?
- To disrupt?
- To destabilize?
- To go home?
- What does "self-care" mean for you? How might you practice "self-care"?
- If you are moved, journal about these practices/your experience of them. What gets in the way of these practices?