10 Days of Transforming Pain into Beauty, Day 8, Hope

 by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen

Like heat, hope is invisible. And just as science can make the impact of heat visible, so can artists make the power of hope visible. In fact we all can.

Violeta Noy for ArtistsForClimate.org

Hope is hard to define. I always remember that hope and optimism are not the same thing. Many famous people and many faith traditions have a lot to say about hope. After spending time with many of these definitions and descriptions, I came to think of hope as a state of being, as something that is critical for us humans in order to stay alive. 

I understand making the effort to turn our pain into beauty, even when we don't fully succeed, as an act of hope, an expression of our hope, a statement that life can be better. Given the history of the Jewish people, I see living as a Jew as an act of hope.

What does hope mean to you? How do you make hope visible in your life?

Rabbi Katy Allen is the founder and rabbi of Ma'yan Tikvah - A Wellspring of Hope, which holds services outdoors all year long and has a growing children’s outdoor learning program, Y’ladim BaTeva. She is the founder of the Jewish Climate Action Network-MA, a board certified chaplain, and a former hospital and hospice chaplain. She received her ordination from the Academy for Jewish Religion in  Yonkers, NY, in 2005. She is the author of A Tree of Life: A Story in Word, Image, and Text and lives in Wayland, MA, with her spouse, Gabi Mezger, who leads the.singing at Ma'yan Tikvah.

10 Days of Transforming Pain into Beauty, Day 7, Heat

by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen

I do not do well in the heat. If I overdo it in warm weather, I can get really unpleasantly sick. 

But I am privileged. I don't have a job where I have to work outside in the sun no matter what the temperature. I have mini-splits in my home that provide low-energy-usage cooling that keeps me safely comfortable no matter how high the temperature outside.

I am part of a distinct minority. As temperatures rise and records are broken year after year, the death toll from heat related causes continues to rise. Farm workers, people with schizophrenia, the elderly, and many others are at risk. The rate of suicide rises as temperatures increase. Wildfires become more likely. The situation is deadly.

Beyond the impact on humans, rising global temperatures impact species distribution. Species are shifting toward the poles and higher elevations. Extinction rates are increasing. These changes in turn impact other aspects of ecosystems, such as their ability to store carbon. The web of impact expands.

High heat is invisible to us. It doesn't in and of itself have physical beauty. But scientists can make its presence beautiful though thermal maps. It is a painful beauty.

NASA

Lots of other things are invisible too. Emotional pain, but also love. Hurt feelings, but also compassion. Anger, but also forgiveness.

How do we make our love, our compassion, and our forgiveness visible to those around us? When we do so, we turn the pain in our hearts to beauty.

May we find the strength, the courage, and the determination to turn our invisible pain into visible beauty.

Rabbi Katy Allen is the founder and rabbi of Ma'yan Tikvah - A Wellspring of Hope, which holds services outdoors all year long and has a growing children’s outdoor learning program, Y’ladim BaTeva. She is the founder of the Jewish Climate Action Network-MA, a board certified chaplain, and a former hospital and hospice chaplain. She received her ordination from the Academy for Jewish Religion in  Yonkers, NY, in 2005. She is the author of A Tree of Life: A Story in Word, Image, and Text and lives in Wayland, MA, with her spouse, Gabi Mezger, who leads the.singing at Ma'yan Tikvah.

10 Days of Transforming Pain into Beauty, Day 6, Traveling Species

 by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen

Purple loosestrife is beautiful. It’s vivid purpureal spikes are striking and readily attract our attention.

Katy Z. Allen

But purple loosestrife is an allelopathic plant, when growing in the wrong place, it makes it hard for other plants to survive. It becomes bossy and takes over.

Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org

Before I knew about purple loosestrife’s aggressive tendencies, I simply enjoyed its beauty. Now it’s more complicated. Now, the pain of it’s impact is always combined with its beauty whenever I see it growing in the wetlands near my home. Now purple loosestrife, like so many other beautiful flowers that are damaging ecosystems, is calling out to me to allow the dynamic of holding pain and beauty at the same time to transform me. I don't always want to hear that message.

Yes, I believe that only by seeing the danger and suffering in the beauty can we fully experience all the emotions that climate change and environmental destruction engender within us. And only by experiencing all these emotions can we be fully transformed, and thereby bring positive transformation into the world. 

Can we accept the challenge to do this?

Rabbi Katy Allen is the founder and rabbi of Ma'yan Tikvah - A Wellspring of Hope, which holds services outdoors all year long and has a growing children’s outdoor learning program, Y’ladim BaTeva. She is the founder of the Jewish Climate Action Network-MA, a board certified chaplain, and a former hospital and hospice chaplain. She received her ordination from the Academy for Jewish Religion in  Yonkers, NY, in 2005. She is the author of A Tree of Life: A Story in Word, Image, and Text and lives in Wayland, MA, with her spouse, Gabi Mezger, who leads the.singing at Ma'yan Tikvah. 

10 Days of Transforming Pain into Beauty, Day 5, Fire

by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen

 

Gazing into a campfire is mesmerizing. The flames are constantly moving, shifting, dancing, leaping up, dying down. The coals glisten, brighten, darken. The fire holds memory and ancient connections to our earliest human hunter-gatherer ancestors. Vivid images rise up, of shaggy-haired men and women wearing primitive animal skin clothing sitting around a roaring fire that warned off potential predators and ripping off chucks of roasted game meat from the bone with their teeth to feed themselves.

Fire was critical for the survival of ancient humans and for the development of civilization. But despite all our technological advances, fire remains critical to us today. Even in our modern, highly developed societies, fire is needed to provide heat to protect us from the cold of winter and, albeit often in less “primitive“ forms, to make it possible to cook our food.

Fire is also fearsome and dangerous, and in our climate-changed world it is ravaging forests and towns, indiscriminately killing plant life and wildlife, and human life as well.

 

USFS/Mike McMillan

 

Despite their fearsomeness, like a campfire, raging wildfires are mesmerizing, turning their past and potential future pain to beauty in vivid hues of orange and red and black. And once the fire is gone and even just a short time has passed, the landscape slowly transforms. It springs back to life with new growth, giving rise over time, to a rich new ecosystem of thriving more-than-human life.

USFS/Dorit Buckley

The natural world is programmed to turn the pain of wildfires into a new generation of beauty. What does it take for us to do the same?

 

Rabbi Katy Allen is the founder and rabbi of Ma'yan Tikvah - A Wellspring of Hope, which holds services outdoors all year long and has a growing children’s outdoor learning program, Y’ladim BaTeva. She is the founder of the Jewish Climate Action Network-MA, a board certified chaplain, and a former hospital and hospice chaplain. She received her ordination from the Academy for Jewish Religion in  Yonkers, NY, in 2005. She is the author of A Tree of Life: A Story in Word, Image, and Text and lives in Wayland, MA, with her spouse, Gabi Mezger, who leads the.singing at Ma'yan Tikvah. 

10 Days of Transforming Pain into Beauty, Day 4, Ice and Snow

by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen

 

Growing up in the Upper Midwest and living since then in the Northeast, I have many memories of intense snowstorms, some of them blizzards, as well as less frequent ice storms. Both left death and disruption in their wake. 

 

During such storms, electric power distribution often fails, and hundreds of thousands of people can be without heat and electricity for days on end, making life inconvenient at best and life threatening at worst. This past December's Category 4 storm that crippled Buffalo and other parts of the northern US killed 106 people and left more than $8 billion in damage and more than 7 million people without power.

 

Increasing amounts of moisture in the air due to climate change is increasing the severity of storms, even when it’s cold, by making heavy precipitation more likely and more frequent, thus increasing the disruption and death.

 

Mary North Allen

 

And yet, once such a storm is over and the Sun comes out, the world is transformed into a bright and glittering fairy land. The power may still be out, search and rescue teams may still be at work, and the danger may not be over, but the beauty of the snow-covered landscape can be breathtaking. The world has been transformed.

 

Mary North Allen

 

The question arises, what does it take each of us to transform the bit of the world that is within and around us to something breathtakingly beautiful? To take a step in that direction is the task of these days, and our lives.

Rabbi Katy Allen is the founder and rabbi of Ma'yan Tikvah - A Wellspring of Hope, which holds services outdoors all year long and has a growing children’s outdoor learning program, Y’ladim BaTeva. She is the founder of the Jewish Climate Action Network-MA, a board certified chaplain, and a former hospital and hospice chaplain. She received her ordination from the Academy for Jewish Religion in  Yonkers, NY, in 2005. She is the author of A Tree of Life: A Story in Word, Image, and Text and lives in Wayland, MA, with her spouse, Gabi Mezger, who leads the.singing at Ma'yan Tikvah.

10 Days of Transforming Pain into Beauty, Day 3, Water

by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen

G!d called the dry land Earth and called the gathering of waters Seas. And G!d saw that this was good. --Genesis 1:10

It takes only a few days to die of thirst. The Native American water protectors mantra, "Water Is Life", is very real. Our adult bodies are about 60% water. We literally cannot live without water.

But the saying, "Water, water, everywhere and not a drop to drink," from Samuel Taylor Coleridge's famous Rime of the Ancient Mariner, is equally true. Salt water and once-fresh water filled with toxic pollutants do our bodies no good.

 

We are not alone in our need for water. Life in, on, and above the Earth cannot survive without water. Space exploration of planets and moons seeks out the presence of water as a measure of the possibility of life. With drought, plants shrivel and die and animals migrate or die as well. A lack of enough clean water is a death knell for living beings of all kinds. About 2 billion people around the world suffer from safe water scarcity.

 

The reverse, too much water, can also kill. Hundreds of people die from flooding every year. Hurricanes, extended downpours, and rising sea level are all threats to life as we know it.

 

The blooming of the desert is a known spectacular response to rain in arid parts of the world. A small amount of rainfall works magic, springing long-waiting plants to life, always at the ready to begin the cycle of flowering and seed production when moist conditions arise. In other places, flooding of river plains enriches the soil, making these areas especially fertile grounds.

 

Mary North Allen

 

Nature has evolved to bring the beauty of new growth after too little or too much rain. How do we, too, bring the beauty of new growth, new ideas, new connections, and new courage into our drought-stricken or inundated lives? This is our daily task, our life work, in this climate changing world in which we live.

 

Mary North Allen

Rabbi Katy Allen is the founder and rabbi of Ma'yan Tikvah - A Wellspring of Hope, which holds services outdoors all year long and has a growing children’s outdoor learning program, Y’ladim BaTeva. She is the founder of the Jewish Climate Action Network-MA, a board certified chaplain, and a former hospital and hospice chaplain. She received her ordination from the Academy for Jewish Religion in  Yonkers, NY, in 2005. She is the author of A Tree of Life: A Story in Word, Image, and Text and lives in Wayland, MA, with her spouse, Gabi Mezger, who leads the.singing at Ma'yan Tikvah.

10 Days of Transforming Pain into Beauty, Day 2, Failure

by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen

 

Failure can be so painful. A defeat. A measure of our worthlessness. An embarrassment. A time to bury our heads in the sand. A time to weep. Failure can fill us with despair.

 

But failure can also be an opportunity. It can open doors to new possibilities. It can bring motivation to go deeper.

 

My father was a scientist and early in his career, he had a massive failure with his prime experiment. His colleagues expected him to move onto something else. 

 

Mary North Allen

But he didn’t. He spent his life searching for, and eventually finding, answers to the questions created by his experiment’s failure. He turned his pain into beauty.

 

Mary North Allen

I made a small mistake when planning this year’s Earth Etudes for Elul. I counted wrong. I didn’t have a space left for my own etude.

 

I despaired. I considered putting two together on one day. And then I decided I needed to take responsibility for what had happened, to step back and not write an etude this year.

 

Before I knew it, the space left open in my mind and soul suddenly filled with the thought of writing for the 10 Days of Repentance, and the idea of this project germinated and began to grow. It is now blossoming, and over the coming days, I hope you will agree that I succeeded in turning my pain and embarrassment into beauty.

 

What failures have you experienced recently? How can you turn them upside down and see them as opportunities? How have you done this in the past? What can your experience teach you? 

May our eyes be opened to the unexpected possibilities presented by our failures, and in the process bring new beauty into the world.

 

Rabbi Katy Allen is the founder and rabbi of Ma'yan Tikvah - A Wellspring of Hope, which holds services outdoors all year long and has a growing children’s outdoor learning program, Y’ladim BaTeva. She is the founder of the Jewish Climate Action Network-MA, a board certified chaplain, and a former hospital and hospice chaplain. She received her ordination from the Academy for Jewish Religion in  Yonkers, NY, in 2005. She is the author of A Tree of Life: A Story in Word, Image, and Text and lives in Wayland, MA, with her spouse, Gabi Mezger, who leads the.singing at Ma'yan Tikvah. 

10 Days of Transforming Pain into Beauty, Day 1, Shana Tova!

by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen

The challenge in life is to figure out how to turn our pain into beauty.

Mary North Allen

My mother, z"l, often spoke of the challenge of dealing with pain as she navigated a life marked by trauma and mental crises, as well as profound and beautiful artwork and deep friendships. My brother, a gifted musician, repeats these words often. And lately, long after my mother's passing, they have been resonating strongly with me, informing my life.

 

As we celebrate the New Year and enter Yamim Noraim, the Days of Awe, and the 10 Days of Repentance, one of the two most intense times in the Jewish calendar, I invite you to journey with me through an exploration of turning pain into beauty. As you light the candles to welcome Rosh Hashanah and eat apples dipped in honey to symbolize our desire for a sweet and good year, I invite you to meditate on how these simple traditional rituals are transforming something difficult within you into beauty and hope.

Consider the questions: What pain do you carry? How do you or might you transform that pain into beauty? What is beauty and what does it mean to you? How does transforming your pain into beauty bring you closer to the Holy One of Blessing? How can you express and articulate this process? What related questions bubble up?

As we journey together through these Ten Awe-Filled and Potentially Transformative Days, may all of your questions spiral through you and give life to a renewed state of forgiveness.

 

Shana tova!

Rabbi Katy & Gabi

 

Rabbi Katy Allen is the founder and rabbi of Ma'yan Tikvah - A Wellspring of Hope, which holds services outdoors all year long and has a growing children’s outdoor learning program, Y’ladim BaTeva. She is the founder of the Jewish Climate Action Network-MA, a board certified chaplain, and a former hospital and hospice chaplain. She received her ordination from the Academy for Jewish Religion in  Yonkers, NY, in 2005. She is the author of A Tree of Life: A Story in Word, Image, and Text and lives in Wayland, MA, with her spouse, Gabi Mezger, who leads the.singing at Ma'yan Tikvah.

Earth Etude for Elul 29 - A Flower’s Call

by Rabbi Malkah Binah Klein

Hello!  

 

Hello, there!

Yes, you!

I’m calling to you!

Slow down 

See me

Let me reveal my face to you

 

Let me delight you

and delight in you

Join me in the New World,

the world beyond worlds

that opens through our

face to face

encounter

 

Rabbi Malkah Binah Klein, founder of Merkava, a new organization which supports transformation and healing through creative ritual and spiritual practice.  Her website is thrivingspirit.org.  

Earth Etude for Elul 28 - The Path of Blessing

by Rabbi Josh Breindel

In our journey through the month of Elul, the ancient Rabbis call to us across the years. They encourage us to engage in teshuvah – to turn from destructive behaviors and mend our ways. This practice has a special urgency today, following one of the hottest summers on record.

We know that humanity has great power over our environment and the climate. The Rabbis shared this same perspective. While this midrash (Rabbinic story) was written 1,500 years ago, it’s just as relevant in our own day. 

When the Holy One created Adam, God took him before all the trees of the Garden of Eden, saying to him, “See how good and how fine are my works! Everything that I have made, I created for you. Reflect upon this and do not spoil or lay waste to my world. If you spoil it, there will be none to repair it after you.” (Kohelet Rabbah 7:13)

The midrash concludes without a reaction from Adam. This invites us to ask how Adam might have replied to God’s words. And, by extension, we’re challenged to form our own response to this powerful truth.

Dare we imagine that Adam promised to care for the earth, committing himself and his descendants to tend to it with willing hands, open ears and loving heart?

No matter Adam’s response, we cannot afford to imagine any other answer to God’s warning for ourselves. We do not have the luxury of ignoring this charge with the assumption that the next generation will clean up after us.

This month of Elul is a critical moment for us to consider how the call to teshuvah challenges us to engage meaningfully in the face of climate change. While the reality of human agency in this issue is beyond scientific question, we are blessed by having practical and constructive ways to respond (see the resources at JCAN-MA for some helpful ideas). 

The Rabbis tell us that we must not spoil the earth. Our scientists tell us that our actions are leading to ruin. The holy path of teshuvah, of honestly assessing the impacts of our actions, is the only path that will lead us to blessing. We must recommit ourselves to being good stewards of the earth, lest there be none to repair our world after us.

As the High Holidays draw close, let’s share this story of God and Adam far and wide. Let’s be guided by its wisdom to craft a world in which we – and future generations – will long endure, embracing the wonders of Creation with awe and in joy!

Rabbi Josh Breindel has served at Congregational Beth El (Sudbury) since 2018. Previously, he served nine years as rabbi of Temple Anshe Amunim (TAA) in Pittsfield, Mass. He earned a B.A. in philosophy with a minor in classics and a concentration in legal studies from Brandeis University. He was ordained at Hebrew College, where he also received master’s degrees in Jewish studies and Jewish education. He and his family love to walk the cool green hills of Boston's MetroWest.