“Going through the Motions”

Rabbi Mendel Kaplan, Chabad @ Flamingo

The summer is just about over, no question about that.  Southbound birds, multi-coloured leaves and the steadily dropping temperature are all definite indicators of the seasonal shift. And for Jewish people, that means the High Holidays loom ahead.

It may not come as a surprise to you that many Jews don’t look forward to this tradition-heavy, high-level spirituality period. Thoughts of past New-Year synagogue experiences seem to induce pounding hearts, sweating and pallor. Attitudes range from “let’s get it over with” to “all the ‘Holidays’ do for me is make me feel queasy”. To so many, it’s just another one of those unpleasant stops in the swiftly moving journey called life.     

While reflecting on the irony of Jewish people dreading what ought to be the spiritual trip-of-the-year, I thought about another irony of the recent summer ‘vacation’ outings. Many of the long road trips, amusement-park rides and cruises on bumpy seas were less than enjoyable because they triggered bouts of nausea.

“How ironic it would be if there was some possible connection”, I mused.

So I decided to investigate the phenomenon known as ‘motion sickness’, and am surprised by what I learned. It seems that researchers are learning more and more about what causes the uncomfortable waves of nausea, as well as what people can do to ride out their summer in a shade other than green.

Apparently, the trademark symptoms of motion sickness nausea, including a pounding heart, sweating, pallor, light-headedness, and an upset stomach, are usually the result of mixed messages being sent to the brain. One activity that often brings it on: reading in the car. “Your inner ear senses that your body is moving, yet your eyes are fixed on the page,” explains Helen Cohen, Ed.D., associate professor of otolaryngology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. The same thing can happen when you fly or sit below deck on a boat: Your inner ear senses movement, but your eyes see stationary surroundings.

When describing the our ancestors leaving Egypt, the Torah states (Duet. 33:1)

 “These are the journeys of the Children of Israel.” Technically speaking leaving the  land of Jewish slavery should be called a single journey. The other (42) trips through the desert were toward the Promised Land of Israel. Why would the Torah use the plural form (journeys) to describe a single trip?

Our beloved Rebbe would often explain this with the following:  In Hebrew, ‘Egypt’ is called Mitzrayim, a word that means narrow and tight (Maytzarim). The Torah urges us to recognize the journey of life as an ongoing ‘redemptive process’ called  “Yetzias Mitzrayim”. In the words of our Sages “ B’chol dor v’dor chayav adam lirot et atzmo ke’ielu hu yatza mi’mitzrayim”, freely translated “ in every generation one must view the exodus as a personal experience”.

 In other words, in our search to better and perfect ourselves we need to constantly strive to reach higher and greater heights. Instead of being satisfied with how far we have come, or what we have achieved, we should look forward to how much more we can still do. This sort of ‘moving on’ attitude usually demands the courage to leave behind the habits we may have become accustomed to, to modify our behavior in order to continue to grow. In poetic words we might say “to reach spiritual freedom, one must first escape spiritual constraint”.

Clearly however, we aren’t talking about a single trip, but rather the journeys of a lifetime. For what you find difficult or constraining ‘today’ becomes easy ‘tomorrow’, as you go on to tackle new challenges and move on to climb new heights.

Yet although life may be a journey, it certainly isn’t about reaching your destination more quickly.  Instead it’s how well you ride out the trip, which brings us back to our focus on ‘motion sickness’.

Our soul’s inner ear senses the constant spiritual movement of our ‘journey’, leaving our own little ‘Egypt’ to reach new freedom and greatness. The problem is, too many of us are focused on the narrow page of selfishness and material success. Our spirit senses movement but our material perspective makes us see stationary surroundings. And so our psyche is constantly being assaulted by conflicting signals. Mixed messages are constantly being sent to our consciousness.

By now the connection may be a bit clearer. Not unlike physical motion sickness, the aforementioned ‘spiritual queasiness’ might just be caused by the same phenomenon. Imagine that!

If the disorder is similar, logic would say, so is the solution. Instead of focusing on small and petty details, join us at The Family Shul and learn how to see beyond. Get more involved in ‘shul life’, study more Torah, do more mitzvoth and discover how you can connect to the spiritual energy that is out there. This year avoid the ‘motion sickness’, come on in, and experience an enjoyable High Holiday season that you won’t forget.

Wishing you and your loved ones a wonderful, happy and sweet new year, peace in Eretz Yisroel and for all of our people wherever they may be. May we all be reunited in the Promised Land with Moshiach, speedily in our days, amen!

Rabbi Mendel Kaplan