A Message From Our President

Friends,

I enjoy social media. I admit I don’t find posts that are rants about one thing or another enjoyable. However, I really enjoy Facebook posts that are memes that make me giggle or videos of a family singing a parody of song that reflects some relatable aspect of everyday life and highlights the humor of it.

There are also inspirational aspects of social media I like. Each day I look for a post from a friend that writes a brief history lesson and connects it to current events.

I have another social media friend, a colleague from my days as a teacher, who posts a few thoughts about each day and what she feels she learned from her

interactions with humanity throughout her day.

One of my colleague’s recent posts resonated with me. She posted she was making an effort to become a human being. Wow! Aren’t we already human beings? My friend posted she felt she was a “human doing” instead of a “human being”. Always rushing to the next thing on her “to do” list, making plans of what “to do” next, how to entertain herself and her family in leisure time… and it was exhausting. In the post my friend said she needed to stop and be still, to find quietness in her day, to just be a human who was simply “being”.

This post caused me to reflect for quite some time as I realized I am a “human doing” and needed to strive to become a “human being”.

I thought about what I do to be a “human being”, to find inner peace, stillness and just be. Three things came to mind. Firstly, I make a daily declaration of faith through reciting the Shema in the morning and evening. Secondly, I exercise several times a week. Exercise allows me to shake off any cobwebs in my head and forget about my “human doings” for about 45 minutes or so a few times a week. The third way I strive to become a “human being” is attending services, either in person or virtually.

For some reason, the first two, for me, are easier than stopping for a block of time each week and attending services. However, every single time I stop “human doing” and attend services I immediately become a “human being”. The peace and sense of stillness I receive while attending services always amazes me. It is strange how I always forget how services allow me to be a “human being”, until I am at our Temple or tuned into our virtual service. Listening to our Rabbi, Yossi Liebowitz, and following the service as he leads it, I am still, at peace, and I am a “human being”.

What do you do to strive to be a “human being”? Are you able to think of at least three things you do to allow stillness in your life? It is my hope that our Temple is in your top three and attending services gives you peace and stillness to stop feeling like a “human doing” and simply become a “human being”.

I wish you peace, love, laughter, and many moments of just being this month and beyond.

Tina Lyon