Masks, Masks, Masks - it's all we hear about! And while the CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain, there continue to be way too many people struggling with the wearing of the Mask. Why? If it could be what keeps you or others from getting sick, or worse spreading it to our most vulnerable, why not comply? Wearing masks isn't easy, it is uncomfortable, hot, and may even make breathing for some of us a little more challenging. Not to mention, air is elemental and many of us have been using our breath consciously, to help heal, to lend focus, to ground and center us, and to quell anxiety. Judaism has long understood the importance of breath - and has linked it to the very soul of each individual.
(ב) וְהָאָ֗רֶץ הָיְתָ֥ה תֹ֙הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ וְחֹ֖שֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תְה֑וֹם וְר֣וּחַ אֱלֹהִ֔ים מְרַחֶ֖פֶת עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַמָּֽיִם׃
(2) the earth was total chaos, and darkness was over the face of the [primeval] deep and a ruach of God hovered over the surface of the waters.
(ז) וַיִּיצֶר֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהִ֜ים אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֗ם עָפָר֙ מִן־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה וַיִּפַּ֥ח בְּאַפָּ֖יו נִשְׁמַ֣ת חַיִּ֑ים וַֽיְהִ֥י הָֽאָדָ֖ם לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ חַיָּֽה׃
(7) the LORD God formed the adam from the dust of the earth. He blew into its nostrils the breath of life, and the adam became a living being.
והדמיון בזה האויר הנשאף מפני שאי אפשר לעמוד בלעדיו שעה אחת בשום פנים המציאו הבורא יתברך בעולם והזמינו הזמנה שאינה נמנעת משום אדם באיזה מקום שיהיה ובכל עת וזמן ומפני שהצורך גם כן למים אלא שהם יכולים לעמוד בלעדיהם יותר ממה שיכולים לעמוד בלתי האויר שלחם הבורא על פני כל הארץ וקבצם במקום מיוחד שהולכים בעלי חיים אליו איננו נמנע מהם אלא שאינם בכ״מ כאויר ומביאים אותם בדמים לקצת בני אדם מה שאין כן באויר והם מזומנים לקצת החיים יותר מקצתם והאויר שוה במציאותו והשגתו לכלם תמיד על ענין אחד.
For example, the air that is breathed - since one cannot possibly exist without air for any length of time, the Creator has so provided, that at no time and in no place shall a human being be deprived of it. And since human beings, while also needing water, can exist without it for a longer period than they can without air, the Creator distributed it over the entire surface of the earth, collecting it however in particular places to which creatures go and from which they are not excluded. But such places where water is collected are not found everywhere as is the case with air. Water has to be bought with money by some people. This is not the case with air. Water is more readily obtained by some than by others, air exists for all and is obtained by all equally and in the same way.
- Before there was anything to speak of there was the "ruach" of God. That same Ruach was breathed into humanity and it is life sustaining. What kind of relationship does this set up with our "Creator"?
- Are we entitled to the air we breathe? or should we be grateful for the air we breath?
Does this mean that every time we breathe we are imbibing a bit of God within us? To the modern mind such an outlook is absurd. Air is just another part of the physical world. It may be virtually invisible and somewhat undetectable, but it is no less physical than a rock or a finger. But to the ancient world such an obvious assertion was not at all warranted. Air was so non-physical as to be downright spiritual. It was so omnipresent as to be on par with God. The air was permeated with the breath of God. Perhaps it was the breath of God. At the very least, it was clear that in the initial formation of ‘the man’, and likely in all subsequent human beings, only God could infuse that first breath of life, the nishmat hayim. Only God could make that inanimate body made of dust of the ground come alive.
All subsequent breathing would be the responsibility of the living being. This leads to a rather fascinating observation about how the Biblical mind saw the act of breathing. Every single breath was the imbibing of the breath of God. Breathing is the most constant activity that we do, at least on a semi-conscious level. We tend to take breathing for granted, except at those moments when we have some sort of problem, like when we are out of breath or the air is bad. Perhaps in Biblical times such a pedestrian view of breathing would not have been possible. The air was infused with the breath of God. It possibly was the breath of God. Breathing was the act of taking God’s breath into one’s self. It was an act of great holiness and awe. It was anything but mundane. ("The Neshama – Breath or Soul?" (FourQuestionsofJudaism.com))
All subsequent breathing would be the responsibility of the living being. This leads to a rather fascinating observation about how the Biblical mind saw the act of breathing. Every single breath was the imbibing of the breath of God. Breathing is the most constant activity that we do, at least on a semi-conscious level. We tend to take breathing for granted, except at those moments when we have some sort of problem, like when we are out of breath or the air is bad. Perhaps in Biblical times such a pedestrian view of breathing would not have been possible. The air was infused with the breath of God. It possibly was the breath of God. Breathing was the act of taking God’s breath into one’s self. It was an act of great holiness and awe. It was anything but mundane. ("The Neshama – Breath or Soul?" (FourQuestionsofJudaism.com))
- Have we taken our life-breath for granted up until this moment? How does wearing a mask make us more conscious - maybe even as conscious as our biblical ancestors?
ורב לטעמיה דאמר רב אין אדם אוסר על חבירו דרך אויר
And Rav follows his regular line of argument here, as Rav said: One person does not impose restrictions upon another person by way of the air. Since the lower balcony is far from the higher one, it does not prohibit it, although it can make use of it by means of the vacant airspace between them, albeit with difficulty.
- This text is a talmudic discussion regarding shared property and the theft of common shared resources that might occur. Can they share water, walls, etc. Air is different. There can be no restrictions when it comes to Air. How might we use this legal understanding of Air, given we are being "forced" to wear a mask? Might some argue that our air being "stollen" from us?
- Do you feel the wearing of a mask infringes upon your rights? When is it ok to limit individual liberties?
Wearing a Mask is hard - but it is meant to protect us and the people in our community. We can do this and it may be a beautiful way to connect with our ancient past in helping us recognize the precious and holy in the very air we breathe. Below are two such ways to stop and meditate and pray with the breath in mind. Might we use this before we don the mask? or upon coming back inside our home after a walk outside, or visit to the grocery store?
כי מתער אומר אלהי נשמה שנתת בי טהורה אתה יצרתה בי אתה נפחתה בי ואתה משמרה בקרבי ואתה עתיד ליטלה ממני ולהחזירה בי לעתיד לבא כל זמן שהנשמה בקרבי מודה אני לפניך ה׳ אלהי ואלהי אבותי רבון כל העולמים אדון כל הנשמות (adon kol haneshamot) ברוך אתה ה׳ המחזיר נשמות לפגרים מתים
When one awakens, he recites:
My God, the soul You have placed within me is pure (elohai neshamah shenatatah bi tehorah).
You formed it within me,
You breathed it into me,
and You guard it while it is within me.
One day You will take it from me and restore it within me in the time to come.
As long as the soul is within me (kol zman shehanshamah b'kirbi), I thank You,
O Lord my God and God of my ancestors, Master of all worlds, Lord of all souls (adon kol hanshamot).
Blessed are You, O Lord, who restores souls to lifeless bodies (baruch atah hashem hamchazir neshamot lifgerim metim).
"If you want to return …[to God]… you must make yourself into a new creation. You can do this with a sigh! We never stop breathing - releasing the stale air and drawing in fresh air. Our very lives depend on this. The physical air we breathe has its root above....The sigh begins when you draw in extra air. This is similar to what happens just before a person dies: he draws in extra air and then the spirit leaves him. Every exhalation is the death of the moment that has passed, in preparation for the birth of the new moment. Thus when you take a deep sigh, you release yourself from …the old and impure and open yourself to the pure air [in order to receive new vitality.] This is Teshuvah, returning from impurity to pure, from old to new, in order to gain new life. The very body is renewed, because "Sighing breaks a person's whole body" (Berachot 58b), and therefore the body is remade."
Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, Adapted from Chayei Moharan #37
Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, Adapted from Chayei Moharan #37