Havrutah How-to
- Read the text aloud.
- Summarize the text.
- Read the text aloud again.
- What questions do you have of the text?
- What do you see in the text that might start to answer your questions?
- You can also use the questions below to get your conversation started.
70 Faces of Torah: Wisdom for the 12-Steps, Step 11
Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
Gender neutral
Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood God, praying only for knowledge of God's will for us and the power to carry that out.
Machzor Ashkenaz, Rosh HaShanah, Kiddush 19
On the first night of Rosh Hashana, it is customary to perform several symbolic rituals, to serve as good omens for the coming new year. At the beginning of the evening meal it is customary to dip a portion of the challah in honey and after eating a piece, the weight of an olive, say: “יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְפָנֶיךָ שֶׁתְּחַדֵשׁ עָלֵינוּ שָׁנָה טוֹבָה וּמְתוּקָה—May it be Your will to renew for us a good and sweet year.” Then, take a piece of sweet apple and dip it in honey. First make the blessing, “בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הָעֵץ—Blessed are You, Adonoy, our God, King of the universe, Who creates the fruit of the tree.” After tasting it, repeat the above prayer, “יְהִי רָצוֹן—May it be Your will to renew for us a good and sweet year.” We also eat certain vegetables, the names of which convey the connotations of good fortune, such as carrots which in Yiddish are called mehren (increase), and we say: “יְהִי רָצוֹן שֶׁיִרְבּוּ זְכוּיוֹתֵינוּ—May it be Your will that our merits increase.”
Additional Questions for Discussion
1. What are your working definitions of prayer, meditation, and blesing?
2. Our text discusses a traditional Jewish practice of meditative eating combining symbolic foods and prayer using the prayer formula "yihiyu ratzon" May it be Your will. Traditionally, one would also have made the beracha, the blessing, for the foods being eaten. How might "yihiyu ratzon--may it be Your will" be an expression of seeking conscious contact?
3. Why do you think the custom is to begin Rosh HaShanah with this form of meditative eating?
4. What are your spiritual practices for seeking conscious contact during the High Holidays?