“Meditation, Judaism, and Self-Mastery” Let’s reclaim our spiritual heritage!
01-17-2021
We will continue learning from Rabbi Kaplan about using the Amidah as a meditation, focusing on the idea of “the Great, Mighty, and God.”
We will also discuss tips on improving your sitting and standing meditation, using the teachings of Bhante Gunaratana.
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Resource Room for Jewish Meditation
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Student questions
1-seems like Abraham might’ve been the original critical thinker from what you said about his thoughts. Certainly Adam wasn’t if he went along blindly with the snake & Eve 😳
2-if your shifu sees your belly rising and falling as you take breaths, does that count as movement?
3-you have only talked about movement so far, not sound. If you make a sound either during religious prayer or in your Kung fu tests, is that considered a distraction (even if you aren’t aware of it yourself) and would that be considered as similar to movement in King fu?
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The Amidah as meditation:”The great, mighty, and awesome God”
Rabbi Kaplan – “Jewish Meditation” pp 113 – 114
The peak experiences of the Patriarchs
Abraham
Greatness and immensity
Greatness reverberates through one’s entire being
Greatness and love
God we experience
Isaac
Pure strength
Jacob
Vision of God and the ladder
Sweet and beautiful awe
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Jacob: Power to the People
Jacob’s vision: Gen 28.10 – 22
https://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0128.htm
Jose Faur, “Homo Mysticus” pp 173 – 175
José Faur graduated from the University of Barcelona in 1961, with a degree in Semitic Philology and an M.A. in Semitic Languages; the title of his master’s thesis was “La Espiritualidad Judia,” a basic explanation of Jewish spirituality. In 1963, Faur received his rabbinic ordination, and stayed on at the University to receive his doctorate in 1964 (also in Semitic Languages) writing a thesis on “The Masorah to the Targum Onqelos.” Later that year he left Spain to participate in a three-year fellowship at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, under the supervision of the eminent professor of Talmud, Saul Lieberman. In 1966, Faur was ordained as a dayyan in Family Law (Even ha-Ezer) by hakham Matloub Abadi, and in 1968 was again ordained as a dayyan, this time in Civil Law (Hoshen Mishpat). Over the next forty years, Faur taught rabbinic law at the School of Judaica and the Graduate Rabbinical School of the Jewish Theological Seminary, Spertus College, Bar Ilan University, and Netanya Law School.
The Biblical model for prophecy
Bring vision down to earth
Perfect individual vs prophet
Community unity
Prophecy and politics
Elijah vs Elisha
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Student questions
1-seems like Abraham might’ve been the original critical thinker from what you said about his thoughts. Certainly Adam wasn’t if he went along blindly with the snake & Eve 😳
2-if your shifu sees your belly rising and falling as you take breaths, does that count as movement?
3-you have only talked about movement so far, not sound. If you make a sound either during religious prayer or in your Kung fu tests, is that considered a distraction (even if you aren’t aware of it yourself) and would that be considered as similar to movement in King fu?
1- I did the meditation standing up for the 2nd week (tried it last week). Without knowing the suggested points to practice last week, I closed my eyes, was steady, & felt good & focused. Now you say it’s recommended to keep eyes open. I imagine that’s so we are in a ready state, but I tried to open my eyes & it was distracting to see the room. I’m probably too accustomed to keeping my eyes closed from years of previous meditation. What are your thoughts?
2- I realized that I may have made slight internal movements during meditation but they wouldn’t be noticeable to an outside observer. What are your thoughts on whether this is movement or not.
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Best practices for meditation
Bhante Gunaratana, “Mindlfulness in Plain English,”
General rules, pp 57 – 61
Purpose of the postures
Straight back
Clothing
Traditional postures
Chair
The Practice, pp 44 – 47
What is the goal?
Do not change position
Determine a time
Improve naturally
Sit motionless
Be present
Choose a focal point: breath
Physical pain, pp 94 – 95