Sing, Sing, Sing: Thoughts on Psalm 105
Sing, Sing, Sing: Thoughts on Psalm 105
We all have habits of mind, well-worn neural pathways down which our minds go racing when we are anxious, when we lie down to sleep or simply when we are idle.
Rebbe Nachman calls these habits לסטים הדעת - thieves of consciousness. They are the habits of mind which draw our consciousness towards harmful, destructive places, places from which it can be difficult to extract ourselves.
Its easy to see these “thieves” overtake children who, even more than adults, are confronted by a world they can't fully understand or control. So, when they are frustrated, they cry and scream and tantrum, which seems to be a worse experience for them than it is even for those around them. They are overtaken by the thieves of consciousness and don't know how to extract their minds.
Often, we adults often don’t know how to do that either. We lie awake at night, our consciousness drawn to places that are neither productive nor pleasant, and we are often as powerless as a child to bring our awareness somewhere else - anywhere else. Sometimes we try to escape consciousness altogether with drugs or alcohol or mindless TV (which is called “mindless” for good reason) but we often lack the resources to deliberately take control of our consciousness.
The Psalmist reminds us, however, that we can not only elude the thieves of consciousness, but we can resist them as well. The Psalmist opens Psalm 105, the 8th of Rabbi Nachman’s Tikkun HaClali, like a slam poet, spitting out ten ways of claiming control over our minds. The first, of course, is to give thanks always, a powerful practice that is prominently part of Psalm 90.
The second is to sing - שירו לו זמרו לו. Sing, sing sing! Singing is the antidote to panic. It forces us to breathe, gives voice to our soul even - perhaps particularly - when we don’t have words. As R. Nachman put it “A holy melody has the power to bring one to the level of prophecy. Music is the foundation of true attachment to the Holy One.”
Or, as our local sage Pete Seeger put it “Once upon a time, wasn’t singing a part of everyday life as much as talking, physical exercise, and religion? Our distant ancestors, wherever they were in this world, sang while pounding grain, paddling canoes, or walking long journeys. Can we begin to make our lives once more all of a piece? Finding the right songs and singing them over and over is a way to start. And when one person taps out a beat, while another leads into the melody, or when three people discover a harmony they never knew existed, or a crowd joins in on a chorus as though to raise the ceiling a few feet higher, then they also know there is hope for the world.”
It is, without a doubt, beautiful and powerful to sing with another or sing with a group. But even quietly, even alone, even when it is just us being tortured by the thieves of consciousness, we can sing, we can sing, we can sing. and even the saddest song can help us bring our consciousness where we need it to be.
Fri, March 29 2024
19 Adar II 5784
Today's Calendar
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Friday ,
MarMarch 29 , 2024Mini Minyan Led By Luke Wygodny
Friday, Mar 29th 5:30p to 6:00p
Mini Minyan (for ages 2-12) is a service for welcoming Shabbat with song and dance that is led by our Music Director Luke Wygodny. -
Friday ,
MarMarch 29 , 2024Potluck Shabbat Dinner & Kabbalat Shabbat at BHA Led by Luke Wygodny
Friday, Mar 29th 6:00p to 8:00p
Please join us for a pot-luck Shabbat dinner in the BHA common room. We will communally clean our space in anticipation of lighting the Shabbat candles followed by Kabbalat Shabbat services led by Luke Wygodny. -
Wednesday ,
AprApril 3 , 2024Morning Minyan at BHA and on Zoom
Wednesday, Apr 3rd 8:45a to 10:00a
Whether you have been davvening with tallis and tefillin for years or you don’t know how to say those words you just read, come and be part of this most intimate of Jewish liturgical moments! BHA Members will lead services at BHA and on Zoom -
Wednesday ,
AprApril 3 , 2024Masa LASS Class - 5th Grade & Up
Wednesday, Apr 3rd 4:30p to 6:00p
Learn Shabbat Service Prayers. -
Wednesday ,
AprApril 3 , 2024Ruach! A BHA Community Group
Wednesday, Apr 3rd 7:00p to 9:00p
Ruach is the perfect place to ask: Where do we and don’t we find connection to Judaism? What would make us feel more connected? Ruach offers a monthly gathering to ground us in the Jewish calendar, to celebrate life events of the members, to learn together, debate, support one another and ask questions.