Rabbah Gila Caine: The Covenant of life

by Rabbah Gila Caine

(Edmonton) – What did Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe mean when he taught that “Gratitude and thanksgiving are not merely good virtues, but rather the essence of the soul!”?

I think he wanted to teach us that recognising the good around us is an essential part of what it means to be human. This isn’t about feigning thankfulness or feeling coerced into an “attitude of gratitude” (yuck!). Rather, it’s the joy of seeing our children or partners, or pets, enjoying themselves, hugging someone we love and recognising expressions of life in the world within and around us.

Rosh Hashana, the New Year, is not merely a celebration of creation, but more fundamentally it’s a celebration of the existence of life in the universe.

Lift your head up and out of our planet Earth – there might be life out there in the Milky Way, or in other far-away galaxies, but we haven’t found it yet.

What we have here is precious for its rarity and for its very existence, and in the grander scheme of things there’s no difference between us and a sea urchin, between humans and moss.

I like exploring ideas through prayer and ritual language, and have found the best way to express my thoughts on this is by writing up a covenant between us and all life on Earth. I wrote the original in Hebrew and have added a translation into English (but the original says it better….)

Rosh Hashana is an opportunity to renew our covenant with all life on Earth, and with it, our commitment to the sanctity of life our tradition teaches. It begins within us and our own community, with a pledge to centre life-giving narratives in all that we teach and do. Our work is to dig deep and wide within our tradition to find all the richness of life it holds for us, and uplift that.

We’ve had enough of death and pain.

There is room for those at specific moments in our calendar but the majority of our communal effort and the foundation of all that we teach and do must focus on our inherent vitality and on the courageous, life – giving beauty which is the essence of our spirit.

Our Torah is Torat Ḥayim, a Torah of life.

May this year be a year of good and healthy life for all Am-Yisrael, and all Creation.

Shana Tovah.

Rabbah Gila Caine is the Spiritual leader at Temple Beth Ora in Edmonton.