Spiritual experiences

This is such a wonderful question and our team has appreciated the opportunity to discuss it.

Now, as we continue to deal with the ongoing challenges of Covid, it’s especially important to be aware of our spiritual needs and take proactive steps to meet them.

Regarding kabbalat Shabbat, one of us has had some meaningful times getting together with a few other families or mothers to say it. The rest of us have been saying it at home with our children. To do this successfully, making it clear to the children what the ground rules and expectations are, teaching them what they need to know, and communicating why it’s important to you are essential. Even with that, behavior can be hit or miss. But knowing that you are actively invested in creating a spiritual moment at the onset of Shabbat is itself valuable, and those moments when family members really do join in prayer can be powerful.

Also, depending on the logistics, it might sometimes be possible for you to attend kabbalat Shabbat and switch off so your husband can go to Ma’ariv.

Keep in mind that even when we can’t do everything we would ordinarily do, choosing what’s most important to us, even to do on a less frequent basis, can spiritually sustain us.

Aside from kabbalat Shabbat, a couple of us have joined Tehillim groups and relish those short bursts of prayer.

Unsurprisingly, a number of us also find inspiration in learning Torah. Making a chevruta with a friend, even by phone, even for just a half hour a week, can be life-changing. Learn whatever speaks to you and see where your connection over Torah takes you.

You might also try to choose a prayer or beracha that you already connect to and to say it with intentionality every day. See if you can feel that hit’alut (uplift) in that intimacy of saying something you really feel to God.

Think back to other moments or aspects of your life when you have felt hit’alut, whether in nature or listening to music, or engaging in creative activity. See if there is a way to integrate it, even just through mental imagery, into your week.

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