Thursday, January 27, 2011

Picking a name

I'm still trying to come up with the right name for my blog. Something that captures my rabbi/spiritual side, my yoga (also spiritual) side, my love of arts and crafts, of spiritual direction, etc.

If I had a personalized license plate it would say Rabbi Eema, but that is not the right name for my blog, since I'm not going to spend too much time writing about being a Rabbi Eema. Although I will share with you now where that name came from.

When Shira and Ari were in Nursery School at the wonderful David Joshua Berg NS at Temple Beth Torah, whose 20th anniversary we will be celebrating at a festive affair on May 13th, their friends would call me Rabbi Susie or Rabbi Moskowitz, but Shira and Ari called me Eema. (Hebrew for Mommy.) And then it was a combination of Danielle and Nike, with Dominic's help, who coined my favorite name yet, Rabbi Eema. If Ari and Shira were calling me Eema, why couldn't they?

Anyway if you have any good ideas for a name, let me know. So far the top choice (created by Shira) is RavYogArt. Let me know what you think.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Ethical Wills - Part II

I recently taught a class on ethical wills and gave the assignment to write an ethical will. I procrasinated but realized that it would be bad if the teacher didn't do the assignment. It was actually a lot of fun, so here is my draft, for now. I hope to have many years to revise it.

Susie Heneson Moskowitz January 1, 2011

Look for the good or the kadosh, the holy, in everyone. I truly believe it is there and when it is hard to find it is because the person has been wounded. It is not your job to take care of everyone or to fix everything, but when you can help people, try to help them and when you are in a position to be tolerant and patient, be that way.

While I believe in righteous indignation and that there are things worth fighting for and wrongs that need to be corrected, I don’t in general think being angry or intolerant is a worthwhile use of time. Instead be patient and remove people from your life who give you ajida (whenever possible). Life is too short to waste your energy on meanness or stupidity.

Be involved in the world, however you choose to define world. It could be your own little corner of the world or you can make a difference on a global scale. I have always been content focusing on my narrow portion of the world and hoping that some of what I do and the ways that I touch people will have a ripple effect.

Nice has gotten a bad reputation; but it is okay to be nice.

Steve, Shira and Ari - Know that I couldn’t love you more. You are amazing people and I have so much respect for you. If I ever criticized you or harped on something it was only because I wanted to help you be the best person you could be and to rise to even higher heights, not because you were deficient in anyway.

Love your family (no matter what).

Money- Give as much of it away as you can. Too much money makes one complacent. Keep enough so that you can be comfortable, be educated and have the opportunity to travel. And then give the rest to the tzedakah projects of your choice. I like to support Israel, women’s rights (especially micro-loans and reproductive health initiatives), diseases that family and friends are afflicted by, Jewish camping and my temple and my schools. Secondarily, I support the environment, museums and culture. But give generously even when you are not sure if you have enough money.

Believe in God and in the oneness of the universe, it makes life more meaningful.

Ethical Wills- Part I

We are pretty good at at writing wills and making sure that our financial affairs will be tended to after we die. But writing a spiritual-ethical will is not common practice. This Jewish concept of leaving an ethical will, laying out values and principles that guide ones life goes back to the Torah, when Jacob leaves each of his children a specific blessing. This practice was popular in medieval times, and there are examples throughout the centuries.

I am blessed to have my grandfather's "Life Lessons" that he recorded in 1999 for his 89 birthday. I don't think he set out to write an ethical will, but this document, written in long hand, though he was quite comfortable on the computer, is a wonderful record of the ideals he valued and the principals that guided his life. I share some of what he wrote here.

Love, Life and Money

Our life is but a twinkle of a star in he infinity of time. A happy productive life depends upon good health, security and a good relationship with others.The evaluation of the important things in life is essential so that we can apportion our time and energy accordingly. Good health requires sensible living, avoiding excess and abuse of our body, obsessions, tensions and anxieties. Our relationship to others should include respect, consideration and compassion. We should have pride in ourselves; conduct ourselves with dignity and avoid envy. We should profit by our mistakes and accept them with equanimity.
Love is the greatest motivating force in life. This includes the love of people, the love of country, the love of occupation, the love of nature and the love and pride in one’s religion. The most important love of husband and wife is a buttress against the misfortunes and hardships that may occur in the course of living. It is the sustaining force in adversity and can with stand the test of time. This love should not be threatened by indiscretions or the unwillingness to make concessions. The exhilaration of living together far exceeds living side by side.
In discussing money, it is apparent in our civilization that this is a necessity for living, raising and educating a family and providing for old age. However, it should not be an all-consuming obsession but rather takes its place in relative importance. A person’s occupation should not be a chore engaged in solely for remuneration. One should derive pleasure in his job with a feeling of accomplishment and pride.
Utilization of one’s money is often a perplexing situation. Earning money may be easier than holding on to it. Actually there is no honest way of easily making money. Disaster frequently is the result of greed, a trait which causes a complete loss of perspective. Money is a trust which we partially use for ourselves and for charity, eventually turning it over to our descendants with the hope that they will use it wisely.

Dr. Justus Irving Kaufman- February 13, 1999