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28 Sivan 5768 July 1, 2008 Dear Friends: In addition to my communal duties as rabbi and spiritual leader, I have the privilege of engaging in profoundly meaningful discussion with congregants and potential congregants on a one-on-one basis. Recently, I was asked in one such encounter, to explain the meaning and purpose of prayer and specifically, why our tradition calls upon us to make so many blessings…. Blessings—b’rachot, are deeply powerful devices that can enable us to change our reality by changing ourselves and others around us. I believe that this is the point of b’rachot and for that matter Prayer—tefillah: to plant small seeds deep within ourselves. These seeds are the seeds of potentiality—the ‘what might’ or ‘could be.’ B’rachot remind us to stop and pause. They force us to slow down and remember our manners (so to speak)—to thank the Giver of All for all we have and for its continualness. B’rachot cause us to reflect upon how we might become better givers—and better human-beings in general. Rebbe Nachman of Bratslav, the legendary 18th century Hasidic master and great-grandson of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Hasidic movement said: “If you are not going to be any better tomorrow than you are today, then what need have you for tomorrow?” Like all growing things, our seeds of potentiality (and if you think about it, a plant’s seed is really the very envelope of potential, waiting in its dormant state for an awakening that will be nothing short of miraculous!), need to be nurtured by elements created just for that purpose, ones that will assist us to reach our destiny, our ultimate goal(s), our very purpose for existence (what ever that may be). Our seeds of potentiality, our uniquely human opportunity to strive towards our raison d’etre, are perhaps what set us aside from other forms of life. The way the rabbis understood b’rachot and tefillot was, in many ways, akin to the way we nurture the potted seed. At times we too lie dormant, yet every once and awhile, with just the right timing, nurturing and self-conviction, we move from our dormant state of ‘what could be,’ into that of ‘what is;’ we ‘burst’ forth with the realization of reaching our goals, our potentials, and realities of life. As water, soil, and sunshine are to the seed, b’rachot, tefillot and ritual practice are our nurturing elements. We need to actively plant these seeds of potentiality, we need to nurture them, and guide them towards that moment in time when they too will reach up to the heavens in all their glory, beauty, and reverence and proclaim God’s active and continual hand in creation. Rabbi Bryan R. Bramly |
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Rabbi Bryan R. Bramly 