Coming out of our caves

I’m thinking it’s time for a sacred pause. Already? you say.

We’re barely out of pajamas, busy seeing every friend around town. 

There’s a bright full moon out, it’s midsummer, we’ve had enough of Covid-19, and the world is gorgeous and beckoning!

But the past year’s shadows are sticky and long. Let’s be cautious and harvest the lessons we’ve painstakingly learned while in our caves this past arduous and uncertain time.

Speaking of caves… reminds me of the zealous 2nd century rabbi, Shim’on bar Yochai, who hid in his cave for 12 years, a fugitive of the Roman empire. When he finally emerged, Rabbi Shim’on was rash and ungrounded, unwittingly burning up the world around him with his gaze alone. 

Instantly, the Bat Kol (the voice of Shechinah) boomed from the heavens: Shim’on: Get back in your cave! And don’t come out until you can be kind to my creation! Chastened, Rabbi Shim’on returned to his cave for an entire year. When he emerged this time, his gaze was that of a healer.* 

Coming out of our caves is more complicated than it looks. After 15 months of interiority, we may feel like hungry ghosts, grabbing and grasping voraciously, in a rush to fill ourselves with life again. Who can blame us? To say it’s been a rough time would be an understatement!

But as the world speeds up, let’s take a page from Rabbi Shim’on’s book and pause. Can we return to our internal landscape—not for another year, but for moments here and there—to exhale, let go of our grip, soften our gaze, and listen to the Heavenly Voice within? She is still and always speaking, telling us that Her world is a delicate flower, a small bird, a tinder box that might ignite at any moment. So, handle with care! 

Let’s heal, not burn her, with our gaze.