A Jewish Womans
Guide to Living Mindfully
If you are a woman, then you may
have once baked a loaf of bread, offered a single prayer and loved another, like
no one else ever has,
But did you know that to eat, to
pray and to love, are a great deal more than random, transcendent opportunities?
The three mitzvot of the Jewish
woman; to sanctify the produce of our homes, to sanctify time and to
sanctify our sexuality, are the keys that unlock the mystery of living
mindfully.
The souls deep-rooted yearning to
live an inspired life is satisfied in the fulfillment of the mitzvot of the Jewish
woman.
What
Is A Mitzvah?
Remember when you
first went off to college? After all the
extra hours Mom had worked to bring you to
this day, she was proud and a little sad. She seemed to be victorious and a
bit melancholy as she gave you instructions; call home, stay
mindful, and keep in touch. Be
happy. Make a difference. Call home, remember
your roots - call home.
A mitzvah is a call home.
With the creation of man, G-d gave
the human being endless opportunities
and a phone card. Sure, we call when we need money, but we can
also check in all the time, stay
connected, stay true to our roots and keep close
to our Maker. Stay mindful while the world is
losing its head. Even change the world, one divine deed at a time.
The Torah offers the Jewish woman
opportunities that cater to her unique needs and sensitivities. Clothed in physical experiences, these spiritually infused acts become a
link between a woman and her Creator.
Mind and body, heart and soul, calibrate in a transcendent experience of
a fuller life and a happier you.
To
Eat
The Mitzvah of sanctifying ones
produce finds expression in preparing the Shabbat bread loaves. The raw materials used by Sara, the archetype Jewish woman, became a source of
new dynamic energy through the act of separating a portion of the
completed dough, with blessing and meditation. Our sages relate that the
blessing in Saras dough permeated her tent from one Shabbat, to the next. In Temple
times, a portion of the loaves was separated and sanctified to the Temple priests.
Today, when every Jewish home replaces the Holy Temple,
we separate and bless a portion of the produce of our own homes, the Shabbat
bread dough, and consecrate the experience of food, home and creativity.
To
Pray
Flames have become a symbol for
offering up a prayer. In times of joy and in moments of need and even
anguish, the world lights a candle and we sense that G-d is watching,
listening.
The soul of man is the candle of
G-d. These words uttered by our Sages some two thousand years ago,
resonate most powerfully with the lighting of the Shabbat candles, before
sundown, on Friday evening.
The workweek has come to its
end. Life on the fast track has played
itself out to its very last jarring note, and now
the Shabbat lights offer
transformation. The opportunity to make
holy that which, just moments ago, was mundane.
To sanctify time itself.
Across the world Jewish women wave
their hands over the flames, and whisper a hushed prayer blessing
time and the uniqueness of Shabbat. Praying for all their hearts
desires, for loved ones and for humankind.
It is in those precious moments of
deliberate, yet transcendent, reflection that prayer lets loose from its
earthly abode and soars, taking us ever higher on the journey of
self-discovery and ever deeper into a life of soul awareness and inner peace.
To
Love
Intimacy in Judaism is a sacred
and wondrous thing. The physical union of husband and wife is the fusion
of vibrant yet diverse divine matter in a single soul experience.
The ebb and flow of a womans
organic rhythm, dictates the pattern of a couples sexuality. The onset of the feminine cycle determines a time of physical distance for
husband and wife, while promoting creative opportunities for non-physical
communication.
A couple blissfully reclaims their
physical intimacy in a state of sanctity, achieved after a woman
prepares herself for and immerses, in a Mikvah.
The Mivkah, is either a natural
body of water such as an ocean or a river, or a man-made pool constructed in
accordance with specifications deeply rooted in mystical Kabbalistic
sources, the secrets passed from generation to generation. The Mikvah envelops a woman in a womb of
life-sustaining waters, allowing her to experience
a metaphysical rebirth with each immersion into this eternal pool
of life.
The experience of intimacy,
becomes a gift - love consecrated and sustained, in this mitzvah of
Mikvah.