Contemplative Practices in Action 8] the Islamic Tradition

 8] A Comprehensive Contemplative Approach from the Islamic Tradition 

Aisha Hamdan

Islam is more than simply an organized religion; it is a way of life that penetrates every thought, emotion, and action of its adherents. Com- prehensive guidance is provided for even the most mundane aspects of life and encompasses the religious, spiritual, psychological, physi- cal, social, political, and economic. Foundational to this system is the development of human potential and purification of the soul. This is achieved through complete submission and obedience to Allah, our Creator. Through this process, the human being experiences inner peace, contentment, and bliss, the elusive elements that humans have strived to attain since the beginning of their existence. The soul is pro- vided with the food that it longs for through prayer, supplication, reading of the Holy Qur’an, remembrance of Allah, etc. In times of adversity and tribulation, the believer calls upon Allah, relies upon Him, and seeks refuge in Him, only to find the pressure of life washed away like dust on a rainy day.

The Arabic word for contemplation and reflection is tafakkur. The

ability to reflect, to contemplate, and to understand is one of the greatest blessings that Allah has bestowed upon humans.1 Through proper use of this ability, the human should easily find the truth of Allah’s Oneness and Uniqueness and develop a keen desire to worship Him. This understanding frees him from the traps of Satan and engagement in mindless and useless pursuits. It inspires him to pre- pare for the Hereafter and focus on the important things in life, which,

 

in turn, leads to inner peace, contentment, and general well-being. In the Islamic framework, contemplation is generally thought to be a specific form of remembrance. For purposes of this chapter, I will broaden the definition to encompass other traditional practices and attitudes.

Islam offers a comprehensive system of contemplative practices primarily for preventive purposes. This chapter will introduce the primary contemplative practices  within  traditional  Sunni  Islam. The foundation of contemplation is the five daily prayers through which the believer is consistently linked to his Creator. This is sup- ported by other contemplative practices such as remembrance of Allah, reading of Qur’an, supplication, and specific contemplation. The specific description and details of these practices are elucidated in the Qur’an and the Sunnah (practices or way) of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and can even be traced back to previous Prophets (peace be upon all of them). Focus- ing on the spiritual modeling of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the essential components of these contemplative practices will be presented with an emphasis on the nurturing of attitudes and beliefs and the resultant benefits for devotees. The empirical literature related to the practices will be reviewed as well as current or potential applications in various settings. Finally, sug- gestions for future research will be addressed, highlighting the need to explicate the mechanisms of action in the religiosity/spirituality and mental health link.

CONTEXT

The formal prayers in Islam are the main source of contemplative practice for Muslims. All of the previous prophets sent by the Creator of the heavens and the earth were commanded to perform the prayers and the movements in the prayers were common among them.2 After Abraham (peace be upon him) built the Ka’bah in Makkah (present- day Saudi Arabia), he said, as mentioned in the Qur’an, “O Lord, I have settled some of my descendents in an uncultivated valley near Your sacred House, our Lord, that they may establish prayer.”3 Abraham also said, “My Lord, make me an establisher of prayer, and [many] from my descendents. Our Lord, and accept my supplication.”3

While referring to the Prophets Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (peace be upon them), the Qur’an says: “And We made them leaders guiding

 

[men] by Our command, and We inspired to them the doing of good deeds, establishment of prayer and giving of zakah (alms-giving).”3 Allah revealed to Moses (peace be upon him), “Indeed, I am Allah. There is no deity except Me, so worship Me and establish prayer for my remembrance.”3 Jesus (peace be upon him) said, “Indeed, I am the servant of Allah. He has given me the Scripture and made me a Prophet. And He has made me blessed wherever I am and enjoined upon me prayer and zakah (alms-giving) as long as I remain alive.”3

After the testimony of faith, formal prayer was the first religious duty made obligatory upon the Muslim community, three years before the emigration of the Prophet and a group of believers from Makkah to Madinah. The significance of the prayer is supported by the fact that its obligation was ordered in heaven by Allah Himself during the Prophet’s night journey  from Makkah to Jerusalem  and then into the heavens (Israa’ and Mi’raaj).4 Initially Allah ordered 50 prayers per day, but these were reduced several times (on the recommendation of Prophet Moses) until they were 5. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) then said that Allah proclaimed, “These are five prayers and they are all (equal to) fifty (in reward) for My Word does not change.”5

Prayer is one of the pillars of Islam, a basic foundation upon which other aspects are built. Most scholars agree that not praying and deny- ing its obligation is disbelief and takes the person outside the folds of Islam. Millions of Muslims around the world regularly complete their five daily prayers. In fact, throughout the world, at any one time, there are Muslims praying. There may be variations due to culture or reli- gious sect, but the Sunnah (practices or way) of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is clear, detailed (see discussion below), and should be followed. Regarding the more informal practices of supplications, remembrance of Allah, and specific contemplation, many Muslims regularly engage in these practices, again with variations that may or not reflect the practices of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

DIMENSIONS OF THE PRACTICE

This section will first provide detailed instructions regarding the formal practice of the five daily prayers in Islam. This will be followed by a discussion of the more informal practices including remembrance of Allah, supplication, and specific contemplation.

 

FORMAL PRACTICE—OBLIGATORY PRAYERS

The five formal, daily prayers are an obligation for each Muslim who is mature and sane. They are completed in a structured format in the Arabic language and at specific times throughout the day. The decree for prayer is mentioned several times in the Qur’an: “Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times.”3 “Maintain with care the [obligatory] prayers and [in particular] the middle [i.e., ’asr] prayer and stand before Allah, devoutly obedient.”3 “He has certainly succeeded who purifies himself and mentions the Name of his Lord and prays.”3

Prayer is a fundamental practice in Islam and it indicates the human’s intention and desire to submit to and worship Allah. It frees the individual from associating partners with Allah and is essential for purification of the soul. Allah mentions, “You can only warn those who fear their Lord unseen and have established prayer. And whoever purifies himself only purifies himself for [the benefit of] his soul. And to Allah is the [final] destination.”3 Prayer provides the believer with a continuous source of strength, protects and purifies him from sinful behavior, develops his character and conduct, instills self-discipline and perseverance, and leads to feelings of peace and contentment.

It is not only a matter of praying, but rather “establishing the prayer,” which entails performing the prayer according to the guide- lines of the Qur’an and Sunnah (in terms of manner, time of prayers, and attention during prayer). Devotion to prayer is a characteristic of the true believer. In describing the believers, Allah states, “They are humbly submissive in their prayers”;3 “And who (strictly) guard their prayers”;3 and “Those who believe in the Hereafter believe in it [the Qur’an], and they are maintaining their prayers.”3 The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) also described the prayer in its proper time as being the best deed. Abdullah ibn Masood, one of his companions, said, “I asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), ‘Which deed is most beloved to Allah?’ He replied, ‘The prayer in its proper time.’ ”5

Sulaiman Nadwi describes the prayer in the following way: “What is Salat (Prayer)? It is the expression of devotedness by the created to his Creator with his whole being, i.e., heart, tongue, feet and hands; it is the remembrance of the Most Merciful and the Most Gracious; it is the thanksgiving for His limitless favors; it is the praise and adoration

 

for the eternal beauty of His creation and acknowledgement of His Unity and Greatness; it is the communication of soul with the Beloved Lord; it is the complete obeisance by body and soul to the Master; it is the dedication of one’s internal feelings; it is the natural music of one’s heart-string; it is the tie of relationship between the Creator and the created and the latter’s strong bond of devoutness; it is the comfort for the agitated and uneasy mind; it is the solace for the restless soul; it is the remedy for the hopeless heart; it is the natural internal call of a receptive and sensitive mind; it is the purpose of life and the essence of existence.”2

Times of the Prescribed Prayers

The following are the specific times for the prayers:

Dawn (Fajr): from the first light appearing in the sky until sunrise Noon (Thuhr): from the decline of the sun (about 20 minutes after

it has reached its zenith) until ’asr

Afternoon (’Asr): from mid-afternoon (when the length of a shadow is equal to the length of its object) until maghrib

Sunset (Maghrib): from the disappearance of the sun until “isha”

Night (“Isha”): from the disappearance of the red glow in the sky (about one and a quarter hours after sunset) until midnight (halfway between maghrib and fajr)4

Conditions of Prayer

Certain conditions or prerequisites are required before beginning the prayer:

1. Knowledge that the time for prayer has arrived.

2. Ablution (wudhu’)—see description below.

3. Cleanliness of body, clothing, and place of prayer (free from blood, vomit, urine, excrement).

4. Proper covering of the body—men must cover from the navel to (and including) the knees as a minimum; women must cover all of the body except the face and hands.

5. Facing the direction of the qiblah (the Ka’bah in Makkah).

6. Intention in the heart to perform a particular prayer.4

 

Ablution

Prior to the formal prayer, the person must perform wudu or ablution. Prayer, in fact, is invalid without proper ablution. Ablution involves washing several body parts as described below:

1. Having the intention in the heart to purify oneself for prayer.

2. Saying “In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.”

3. Washing the hands three times.

4. Rinsing the mouth and nostrils three times.

5. Washing the face three times.

6. Washing the right forearm including the elbow three times, fol- lowed by the left forearm.

7. With water on the hands, wiping over the head and hair once, then the ears with the thumbs and index fingers.

8. Washing the right foot including the ankle three times, followed by the left foot.

Note: In some cases, a person must complete ghusl or a full bath.

This would be required for the following: (1) ejaculation of sperm due to sexual desire, (2) contact between genitalia of husband and wife, (3) completion of woman’s menstruation, (4) completion of postpartum bleeding, and (5) upon converting to Islam.

Components of the Prayer

The following are the components of the daily prayer:6

1. Turn one’s face and whole body toward the Qiblah (Ka’bah in Makkah), intending by the heart to perform the prayer that he wants to fulfill, whether it is an obligatory prayer or a supereroga- tory prayer. He should make a sutra (i.e., a barrier in front of the worshipper).

2. Say “Allahu Akbar” (Allah is the Greatest) and look downward to the place of prostration. While saying this, the worshipper should raise his hands to the level of the shoulders or near to the lobes of the ears.

3. Put the right hand over the left hand and left wrist, and put them both over the chest.

 

4. It is recommended that the worshipper recite this opening suppli- cation, saying: “Praise and glory be to Allah. Blessed be Your Name, exalted be Your Majesty and Glory. There is no god but You.” He may say any other supplications that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) used to say in his prayers.

5. The worshipper then says “I seek protection of Allah against the accursed Satan, In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful,” and recites al-Fatihah (opening chapter of the Qur’an): “[All] praise is [due] to Allah, Lord of the worlds— the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful, Sovereign of the Day of Recompense. It is You Alone we worship and You Alone we ask for help. Guide us to the straight path—the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked [Your] anger or of those who are astray.”

6. The worshipper bows in “ruku,” raising his hands up to the level of his shoulders or ears while saying “Allahu Akbar,” then bends down, making his head and back on one level and putting his hands with the fingers spread on his knees. He should say thrice at least: “Glory be to my Lord, the Almighty.” It is advisable to say in addition to that, while bowing: “Glory be to Thee, O Allah, and I praise Thee, forgive me my sins.”

7. To raise the head up from bowing, raise the hands to the level of the shoulders or ears, saying “Allah listens to him who praises Him.” While resuming the standing position, say: “Our Lord, praise be for Thee only, praises plentiful and blessed as to fill the heavens, the earth, what in between, and fill that which will please Thee besides them.” The worshipper is advised to put his hands on his chest, as he had done before he bowed.

8. To prostrate saying “Allahu Akbar,” the worshipper should touch the ground with his hands before touching it with his knees, if that is possible for him. His fingers and toes should be directed toward the Qiblah, and his hands should be stretched, the fingers close together and not separated. In prostration, the worshipper should make sure that these seven parts touch the ground: the forehead, the nose, both hands, both knees, and the internal parts of the toes. Then the worshipper should say thrice or more: “Glorified is my Lord, the Exalted.”

It is recommended for the worshipper to increase supplications during prostration because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “As for bowing you should glorify your Lord

 

during performing it, as for prostration, you should do your best to supplicate and ask for more from Him, because your supplica- tions during prostration are more worthy to be accepted.”

9. He should raise his head from prostration saying “Allahu Akbar,” then lay his left foot flat on the ground and sit upon it, keeping his right foot erected, his hands on his thighs and knees, and say “O my Lord, forgive me, have mercy on me, guide me, provide me with your blessings and console me.”

10. To prostrate again saying “Allahu Akbar,” repeat during the prostration what was done and said in the first prostration.

11. Then the worshipper raises his head saying “Allahu Akbar,” taking a pause similar to the pause between the two prostrations; this is called “the pause for rest.” Then the worshipper rises up and stands, reads al-Fatihah and some other verses of the Qur’an, and does just as he did in the first unit of prayer.

12. If the prayer consists of two units of prayer (i.e., morning prayer), the worshipper sits after the second prostration, with his right foot erect, sitting on his left foot laid down, putting his right hand on his right thigh, all his fingers close-fisted save the index finger (or keeping both the little and ring fingers closed, while rounding his thumb and middle finger in a ring shape), which he uses to point out as a sign for his monotheistic belief, and his left hand is put on his left thigh. The worshipper recites the fol- lowing: “Greetings, prayers and the good things of life belong to Allah. Peace, mercy and blessing of Allah be on you, O Prophet. May peace be upon us and on the devout slaves of Allah. I testify that there is no god but Allah and I testify that Mohammed is His slave and messenger. O Allah, bless Mohammed and his family as You blessed Ibrahim and his family. You are the Most-Praised, the Most-Glorious. O Allah, bestow Your grace on Mohammed and his family as You bestowed it on Ibrahim and his family. You are the Most-Praised, The Most-Glorious.”

13. The worshipper then asks Allah’s protection from four evils, saying “My Lord, I ask your protection from torment of the Hell, torment of the grave the trials in life-time and after death, and from the impostor Antichrist.” He may supplicate to Allah at this time.

14. The worshipper terminates his prayer by turning his face to the right, and then the left, saying “Peace and mercy of Allah be on you” each time.

 

15. In case of a three-unit prayer (i.e., evening) or a four-unit prayer (i.e., noon prayer, late afternoon prayer) the worshipper stands up after reciting the Tashahud according to the manner stated before, and raises his hands up to the level of his shoulders saying “Allahu Akbar.” The worshipper puts his hands over his chest as it has been explained before, and recites only al-Fatihah. He then completes the prayer as described above.

NONOBLIGATORY PRAYERS

In addition to the five obligatory prayers, there are nonobligatory, optional prayers that the worshipper may engage in during specific times or situations. They have generally been legislated to make up for any deficiencies in the performance of obligatory prayers. There are several prayers in this category, but the primary ones include the following:

1. Sunnah prayers (regular practice of the Prophet) before or after the formal prayers (two units before fajr, four units before dhuhr and two or four after it; two units after maghrib, two units after “isha”).

2. Night prayers (tahajjud)—includes 11 or 13 units of prayer usually done after one has slept and best during the last part of the night; taraweeh are prayers performed at night in congregation or indi- vidually during the month of Ramadan.

3. Witr prayer—final prayer of the night, which concludes the vol- untary night prayers so that they become an odd number.

4. Mid-morning prayer (duha)—two to eight units from when the sun is about a spear’s length above the horizon continuing until the sun reaches its meridian.

5. Friday prayer (Jumu’ah)—congregational prayer that is  obliga- tory for men (women and children may attend, but are not required to do so); consists of two units replacing the four units of dhuhr prayer, which is preceded by a sermon given by the imam (religious leader).

6. Holiday (Eid) prayers—following the month of fasting of Ramadan and on the tenth day of Hajj (pilgrimage); special congregational prayer of two units held after sunrise followed by a speech by the imam.

 

INFORMAL PRACTICES

In addition to the regular obligatory prayers mentioned above, there are several other more informal tools the worshipper may utilize to maintain serenity throughout the day. These include remembrance of Allah (dhikr), supplication (du’a), and specific contemplation and reflection.

Remembrance of Allah (dhikr)

Believers are encouraged to remember Allah throughout the day. Allah says, “O you who have believed, remember Allah with much remembrance and exalt Him morning and afternoon. It is He who confers blessing upon you, and His angels [ask Him to do so] that He may bring you out from darknesses into the light. And ever is He, to the believers, Merciful.”3 “And when the prayer has been con- cluded, disperse within the land and seek from the bounty of Allah, and remember Allah often that you may succeed.”3 “Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allah. Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured.”

The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Shall I inform you of the best of your deeds, the one that raises you most in rank, most purifying to your Lord, which is better for you than giving gold and silver and better for you than meeting your enemy and striking their necks and them striking your necks?” They said, “Certainly, [tell us].” He said, “It is the remembrance of Allah, the Exalted.”1 He (peace and blessings be upon him) also said, “The simili- tude of the one who remembers his Lord and the one who does not remember his Lord is like the similitude of death and life.”5

There are two different types of dhikr or remembrance of Allah.

The first is the more formal or ritualized form wherein the individual remembers Allah at specific times and occasions throughout the day, using the precise words as they were transmitted by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). The prayer itself as mentioned above is the most important of the formal type of remem- brance of Allah.1 Allah says, “Indeed, I am Allah. There is no deity except Me, so worship Me and establish prayer for My remembrance.”3 Other times of formalized dhikr include following each of the five daily prayers, in the morning and evening, before and after eating, upon entering or leaving the house, upon entering or leaving the mosque, upon entering or leaving the bathroom, after sneezing, etc.

 

It is important to mention that one must do one’s best to use the exact wording of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and to avoid innovation (e.g., repeating the word Allah or one of Allah’s Names), which was not done by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) himself.

The other type of remembrance of Allah is the constant, unwavering form in which the individual is continuously mindful of Allah as he conducts his daily routine and activities. This entails a higher level of spiritual development and is achieved by dutifully and devotedly prac- ticing the first type of dhikr. It can also be achieved by remembering the true purpose of life and our ultimate goal, which is the Hereafter.

Supplication (du’a)

Allah says, “And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad) concern- ing Me, then (answer them): I am indeed near. I respond to the invoca- tions of the supplicant when he calls on Me.”3 Supplication is another form of worship that is beneficial for purification of the soul and for overcoming any tribulation that an individual may face. Supplication demonstrates the worshipper’s sense of humility, powerlessness, and weakness while affirming Allah’s Power and Ability to respond and carry out His decree. If the supplication is made with sincere intention, it can relieve worry and distress, and bring a sense of peacefulness. Allah responds to each supplication and may fulfill the person’s hopes by executing that which is requested; if not, He will give something better. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “There is no Muslim who supplicates Allah with a supplication that does not contain anything sinful or asks for the ties of kinship to be broken save that Allah gives him one of three things: either He will give him what he asks for soon, or He will delay it for him for the Hereafter or He will keep a similar evil away from him.”1

There are many types and examples of supplications used by

the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Anas reported, “The most frequent invocation  of  the  Prophet  (peace and blessings be upon him) was: ‘O Allah! Give us in this world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good, and save us from the torment of the Fire.’ ”7 To relieve anxiety and distress, he would say, “There is no-one who is afflicted by distress and grief, and says, ‘O Allah, I am Your slave, son of Your slave, son of Your maidservant; my forelock is in Your hand, Your command over me is forever executed and Your decree over me is just. I ask You by every

 

name belonging to You which You have named Yourself with, or revealed in Your Book, or taught to any of Your creation, or You have preserved in the knowledge of the Unseen with You, that You make the Qur’an the life of my heart and the light of my breast, and a depar- ture for my sorrow and a release for my anxiety,’ but Allah will take away his distress and grief, and replace it with joy.”8

Supplication is also beneficial as a form of protection. The suppli- cant may pray to Allah for refuge from distress, heading it off before it occurs. For example, the Prophet Muhammad would say, “O Allah, I seek refuge with You from grief and worry, from incapacity and laziness, from cowardice and miserliness, from being heavily in debt and from being overpowered by men.”7 Several of the remembrances that are prescribed for Muslims throughout the day are supplications and may include this preventive aspect.

Specific Contemplation and Reflection

This is the category that is generally considered when discussing contemplation. An important type of specific contemplation is reflect- ing upon Allah’s creation in nature. This is mentioned many times in the Qur’an. “Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day are signs for those of under- standing—who remember Allah while standing or sitting or [lying] on their sides and give thought to the creation of the heavens  and the earth saying, ‘Our Lord, You did not create this aimlessly; exalted are You [above such a thing]; then protect us from the punishment of the fire.”3 Through contemplation of nature, the believer draws closer to Allah in awe of His strength and power to create such amazing beauty. It increases his faith, love, and gratitude for the many bounties that he has received from Allah. It should also make one aware of how dependent he is upon the Creator for everything and reduce any tendency for arrogance.

The believer is also encouraged to contemplate death and what will happen to him in the grave, on the Day of Resurrection, and in the Hereafter. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Increase your remembrance of the destroyer  of pleasures: death. No one thinks about it during times of straitened circumstances except that it makes it easier upon him. And no one thinks about it during times of ease except that it constrains it upon him.”1 This type of contemplation reminds the individual that he will not live forever, but that he will move on to another life. He will then work hard to

 

prepare for that Day by engaging in more good deeds and avoiding sinful behavior.

Related to remembrance of death is the realization of the true nature of existence in this worldly life. Life is only a transient phase that is filled with various diversions and fleeting pleasures. Allah says, “And the worldly life is not but amusement and diversion; but the home of the Hereafter is best for those who fear Allah, so will you not reason?”3 and “And present to them the example of the life of this world, [its being] like rain which We send down from the sky, and the vegetation of the earth mingles with it and [then] it becomes dry rem- nants, scattered by the winds. And Allah is every, over all things, Perfect in Ability. Wealth and children are [but] adornment of the worldly life. But the enduring good deeds are better to your Lord for reward and better for [one’s] hope.”3 Having the realization of the fleeting nature of this world leads the believer to become detached from it and to deal and cope with it in the appropriate manner.1

CULTIVATION OF ATTITUDES

From the perspective of Islam, Allah created humans with the potential for both good and evil. The test for every human being is to choose which of these characteristics he will support and develop and which he will attempt to control or eliminate.1 Allah says in the Qur’an, “And [by] the soul and He who proportioned it and inspired it [with discernment of] its wickedness and its righteousness. He has succeeded who purifies it, and he has failed who instills it [with corruption].”3 The choices that he makes will be reflected in his behaviors, thoughts, and emotions.

In order to support the contemplative practices mentioned above, it is important for the believer to follow the guidance of Allah in all areas of life and work on developing noble and virtuous characteristics. The character traits that one should strive to develop include humility, honesty, patience, trustworthiness, gentleness, justice, etc. This is the path of purification of the soul and the path of moderation and balance. As the human would be fulfilling his natural inclination to worship Allah, there will be no conflict in his personality or distress. Good mental and emotional health can also be attained by restraining the negative attributes of the self (i.e., jealousy, greed, anger, etc).

Purification of the soul and subsequent personality/character devel- opment occurs by bringing out what is best in the soul and minimizing

 

or completely eradicating its evils.1 The soul can be purified through performance of acts of worship such as prayer, fasting, charity, etc. Purification is also achieved by obeying the commands of Allah, avoiding the prohibited, and being conscious of Allah at all times. Islam offers a comprehensive model of living that encompasses the psychological, physical, social, political, and economic, and thus guidance is provided for every area of life. The guidance comes from the Qur’an and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (peace and bless- ings be upon him).

SPIRITUAL MODELS

The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) provides not only the ideal model to achieve inner serenity and well- being through the contemplative practices described above but also an overall philosophy and approach to life. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was conferred the status as a final and universal role model for Muslims until the end of time. His exam- ple is one of exceptional morality, righteous behavior and character, and outstanding skills, all of which are characteristics that reflect his position as a Prophet.9 The Holy Qur’an refers literally to the status of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) as a role model: “There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allah often.”3 The Arabic word uswa in the verse means example or model that should be obeyed and followed. A person who follows another imitates their behavior, attitude, and style. This verse shows the importance of Prophet Muhammad’s Sunnah (way or path) in the lives of Muslims who practice his way in almost every aspect of life.

Following the Prophet’s Sunnah is a form of obedience to Allah. Allah

says, “Whoever obeys the Messenger verily obeys Allah; but if any turn away, We have not sent you to watch over their (evil deeds).”3 Any knowledge that came from the Messenger actually originated with Allah. Several verses in the Qur’an order the Muslims to follow and obey the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). For example, Allah says, “Say, Obey Allah and obey the Messenger. But if you turn away, he is only responsible for the duty placed on him and you for that placed on you. If you obey him, you shall be on right guidance. The Messenger’s duty is only to preach the clear (message).”3 This verse

 

indicates that the person who obeys the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) will be on right guidance.

The Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported through the Ahadith, and consists of his sayings, actions, and

silent approvals. These are considered inspiration from Allah and are second only to the Qur’an in terms of significance and evidence. The Prophet’s Sunnah has been preserved in books, the most famous of which are Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. The Prophet’s Compan- ions recorded or memorized his statements and actions, which were transmitted from generation to generation by scholars. A strict method- ology of Ahadith was developed to determine authentic (sahih) Ahadith from those that were weak or fabricated.

REVIEW OF THE THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL LITERATURE

The main area of empirical literature in relation to Muslims and the religiosity and practice of Muslims pertains to mental health. There is limited information related to physical health, although several articles focus on fasting during Ramadan and various health outcomes.

RELIGIOSITY AND MENTAL HEALTH

Researchers investigating the relationship between religiosity and mental health in Muslim populations have focused on several varia- bles, primarily religious coping, well-being, happiness, life satisfac- tion, marital satisfaction, anxiety, and depression. Several researchers have also looked at death anxiety and suicidal thoughts/behaviors, anti- social behavior, and alcohol use/abuse. Researchers of religious coping have found that Muslims commonly engage in religious coping when faced with challenges or traumas in life.10 In their study of 38 parents of children diagnosed with cancer in the United Arab Emirates, Eapan and Revesz found that 100 percent of the participants relied upon reli- gion to cope with the experience.11 Religious coping would obviously involve some of the contemplative practices discussed above.

Several researchers have reported a positive association between Islamic religiosity and well-being, happiness, life satisfaction, overall mental health, and marital satisfaction.12–14 Some of these have used single-item, self-ratings of level of religiosity, but others have utilized

 

religiosity scales that encompass beliefs alone or beliefs and practices. For example, in a cross-sectional study of 1,000 Pakistanis ranging in age from 16 to 80 using a religiosity scale (beliefs and practices), Suhail and Chaudhry found a positive relationship between religiosity and well-being.13

Some of the above-mentioned researchers as well as others have reported a negative association between Islamic religiosity and depres- sion and anxiety, in general,15,16 as well as between religiosity and stress, death anxiety, suicide, alcohol use/abuse/dependence, and antisocial behavior/delinquency.17–19 These associations remained even after con- trolling for such variables as gender, age, social class, marital status and ethnicity. The results are similar to those reported with non-Muslim populations.

RELIGIOUS PSYCHOTHERAPY WITH MUSLIMS

At least four studies have found that a form of religious psycho- therapy may be effective with Muslim clients who suffer from anxiety, depression, and bereavement.20–23 Participants in the religious psychotherapy groups in each of these studies responded significantly faster than those receiving standard treatment. For several of the stud- ies, the positive outcomes were maintained at six months follow-up.

Razali, Hasanah, Aminah, and Subramaniam studied the effective- ness of religious-sociocultural components in the treatment of Muslim patients with generalized anxiety disorders and major depression.23 Negative or maladaptive thoughts of participants were identified and altered to correspond with traditional Islamic beliefs derived from the Qur’an and hadith (sayings and customs of the Prophet Muhammad [peace and blessings be upon him]). Discussions regarding other reli- gious issues and cultural beliefs related to the illness were conducted, and advice was provided to change behavior to correspond with the customs of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Contemplative practices such as prayer, reading of Qur’an, and remembrance of Allah were also generally encouraged. Patients receiv- ing additional religious psychotherapy showed significantly more rapid improvement in anxiety or depressive symptoms than patients in the control group at 4 and 12 weeks.

Azhar and Varma randomly assigned patients (n = 64) to either a reli- gious psychotherapy group or to standard psychotherapy without religious content.20 Both of the groups were given weekly psychotherapy

 

and mild doses of antidepressant medications. The study group was given additional religious psychotherapy each week (15–20 sessions). After one month and three months of therapy, patients receiving reli- gious psychotherapy showed significantly more improvement than the control group on depressive symptoms (Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression). At the end of six months, this difference became nonsignificant.

Azhar and Varma conducted a similar experiment to the one men- tioned above, but with 62 patients with generalized anxiety disorder.21 After three months of treatment, the study group had significantly better improvement than the control group, indicating that they responded faster to religious psychotherapy. At six months, no signifi- cant difference was found between the groups.

The same authors carried out a similar study with 30 patients experiencing bereavement.22 There was significant improvement in depressive symptoms (using the Hamilton Depression Scale) in the study group as compared with the control group on day 30, 90, and

180. The authors concluded that patients responded faster to religious psychotherapy than conventional psychotherapy.

In summary, the evidence indicates that being religious and engaging in religious practices, such as the contemplative practices mentioned above, has a beneficial effect upon the psychological and emotional health of Muslim adherents.

APPLICATIONS/INTERVENTIONS

Due to the religious nature of these practices, application would be limited to Muslim clients or patients, rather than being used for the gen- eral public. For this reason, the most appropriate settings for integration would be medical, psychological, or pastoral care. Examples of religious psychotherapy with Muslim patients have already been described in the empirical section. These therapeutic strategies could readily be inte- grated into standard psychotherapy to enhance treatment outcomes or to speed the process of recovery.

In health care settings, physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals may support patients who wish to include contempla- tive practices in their daily routines. This would initially require completing a brief spiritual history with the patient to gather infor- mation  regarding  the  importance  of  religion  in  his  or  her  life. It may be appropriate to refer some patients to an imam, Muslim

 

chaplain, or community resources for assistance and guidance in car- rying out their religious practices. Being a medical patient often poses special challenges, leading to questions regarding acceptable choices and behaviors.

For example, there are special rulings regarding formal prayer that may apply to the medically ill patient. He must do every obligatory aspect of the prayer to the extent possible. In cases of difficulty or hardship, the prayer may be revised according to the following:

1. The sick person must perform the obligatory prayers standing even if bending or leaning against something (i.e., a wall or stick).

2. If he is unable to stand, then he may pray sitting (sit cross-legged during standing and bowing positions).

3. If he is unable to pray sitting, then he should pray on his right side, facing the Qiblah. If he is unable to face the Qiblah, he may pray in any direction he is facing.

4. If he is unable to pray on his side, then he may pray on his back, with his feet toward the Qiblah, attempting to raise his head in that direction. If he is unable to direct his feet toward the Qiblah, then he may pray in the direction he is facing.

5. The sick person should bow and prostrate in prayer, but if he is unable to, he should indicate by inclining his head, making the prostration lower than the bowing.

6. If he is unable to incline his head in bowing and prostration, he should indicate with his eyes, closing them a little for bowing and closing them more tightly for the prostration.

7. If he is unable to incline his head or indicate with his eyes, he should pray with his heart (intentions), reciting and intending the bowing and prostrating in his heart.

8. The sick person must offer each prayer at its stated time. If it is difficult for him, then he may combine the dhuhr and ’asr prayers as well as the maghrib and “isha” prayers.24

Special supplications are also available for those who have medical or mental health problems, such as the following: “O Allah, Lord of the people, take away the disease and cure me; You are the One Who cures and there is no cure except Your Cure—a cure that leaves no disease,” or “O the Lord of Glory and Honor, O Ever Living One, O Eternal One, I seek help through Your mercy.”

 

NEW RESEARCH DIRECTIONS

It is important to note that the Muslim believer/worshipper is in no need of scientific evidence to demonstrate the efficacy of these beliefs and practices. It is sufficient that it is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an and that he feels it in his life. For those interested in research outcomes, it would be beneficial to conduct further research in the area of mechanisms of action.

Park, for example, suggests that one way to study the influence of religiosity/spirituality on health is to focus on “the role of the explicit and implicit health-related influences that various traditions and ways of being religious or spiritual impart to global meaning systems, and thus, indirectly, to health.”25

The theodicies of various traditions are suggested to have an impact upon beliefs, goals, and values, which may then influence mental health on multiple levels and through multiple pathways. Some exam- ples of possible influences might include methods of dealing with stressors, general orientation toward life, and explanations for tribula- tions and sufferings. The theodicy of Islam is rich in this regard as it provides a comprehensive guide to life. Further research and investi- gation would elucidate the specific components and mechanisms by which Islamic beliefs and practices impact upon both the mental health of its adherents. This may include such components as under- standing the nature of this life, reliance upon Allah, hopefulness, understanding the purpose of afflictions, remembering the Hereafter and the rewards that will be obtained for patience, etc.

CONCLUSION

Islam offers a comprehensive system of contemplation that guides the individual to the straight path that results in tranquility and happi- ness in this life, and will lead him to Paradise in the Hereafter. The most fundamental aspect of contemplation in this framework is the five daily, obligatory prayers. These are enriched by various other practices including nonobligatory prayers, remembrance of Allah, supplication, specific contemplation and reflection, and following the teachings of the Qur’an and Sunnah, as modeled by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). The ultimate purpose of these acts of worship is the realization of tawheed or belief in and worship of one true God, Allah. The individual who implements these practices is

 

submitting to Allah and thus fulfilling his true purpose in life. The spiri- tual and psychological contentment that is experienced is beyond description and has the capability to prevent or alleviate any type of mental disorder or suffering.

REFERENCES

1. Zarabozo, J. (2002). Purification of the soul: Concept, process, and means. Denver, CO: Al-Basheer.

2. Nadwi, S. (1994). Worship in Islam. Karachi: Darul Ishaat.

3. Saheeh International. (1997). The Holy Qur’an: Arabic text with corre- sponding English meanings. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: Abul-Qasim.

4. Umm Muhammad. (1994). The path to prayer with a description of the Prophet’s prayer. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: Abul-Qasim.

5. Az-Zubaidi, Z. A. A. (Compiler). (1996). Summarized Sahih Al-Bukhari. Saudi Arabia: Darussalam.

6. Ibn Baz, A. A. (1992). Prophet Muhammad’s manner of performing prayers. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Presidency of Islamic Researchers IFTA and Propaga- tion. Available at http://www.themodernreligion.com/prophet/prophet

_prayer.htm.

7. Al-Mundhiri, Z. A. (Compiler). (2000). Summarized Sahih Muslim. Saudi Arabia: Darussalam.

8. Al-Munajjid, M. S. (1999). Islam’s treatment for anxiety and stress. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: International Islamic.

9. Al-Mubarakpuri, S. (1996). The sealed nectar: Biography of the Noble Prophet. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Dar-us-Salam.

10. Ai, A. L., Peterson, C., & Huang, B. (2003). The effect of religious- spiritual coping on positive attitudes of adult Muslim refugees from Kosovo and Bosnia. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 13(1), 29–47.

11. Eapen, V., & Revesz, T. (2003). Psychosocial correlates of pediatric cancer in the United Arab Emirates. Supportive Care in Cancer, 11(3), 185–189.

12. Abdel-Khalek, A. M. (2006). Happiness, health, and religiosity: Sig- nificant relations. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 9(1), 85–97.

13. Hunler, O. S., & Gencoz, T. (2005). The effect of religiousness on marital satisfaction: Testing the mediator role of marital problem solving between religiousness and marital satisfaction relationship. Contemporary Family Therapy: An International Journal, 27(1), 123–136.

14. Suhail, K., & Chaudhry, H. R. (2004). Predictors of subjective well- being in an Eastern Muslim culture. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23(3), 359–376.

15. Amer, M. M., & Hovey, J. D. (2007). Socio-demographic differences in acculturation and mental health for a sample of 2nd generation/early immigrant Arab Americans. Journal of Immigrant Minority Health, 9, 335–347.

 

16. Lopes Cardozo, B., Bilukha, O. O., Gotway Crawford, C. A., Shaikh, I., Wolfe, M. I., Gerber, M. O., & Anderson, M. (2004). Mental health, social functioning, and disability in postwar Afghanistan. Journal of the American Medical Association, 292(5), 575–584.

17. French, D. C., Eisenbery, N., Vaughan, J., Purwono, U., & Suryanti,

T. A. (2008). Religious involvement and the social competence and adjust- ment of Indonesian Muslim adolescents. Developmental Psychology, 44(2), 597–611.

18. Jahangir, F., & ur Rehman, H. (1998). Degree of religiosity and vul- nerability to suicidal attempt/plans in depressive patients among Afghan refugees. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 8(4), 265–269.

19. Karam, E. G., Maalouf, W. E., & Ghandour, L. A. (2004). Alcohol use among university students in Lebanon: Prevalence, trends and covariates: The IDRAC University Substance Use Monitoring Study (1991 and 1999). Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 76(3), 273–286.

20. Azhar, M. Z., & Varma, S. L. (1995a). Religious psychotherapy in depressive patients. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 63, 65–168.

21. Azhar, M. Z., & Varma, S. L. (1995b). Religious psychotherapy as management of bereavement. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 91(4), 233–235.

22. Azhar, M. Z., Varma, S. L., & Dharap, A. S. (1994). Religious psycho- therapy in anxiety disorder patients. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 90(1), 1–3.

23. Razali, S. M., Hasanah, C. I., Aminah, K., & Subramaniam, M. (1998). Religious-sociocultural psychotherapy in patients with anxiety and depression. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 32(6), 867–872.

24. ar-Rumaikhaan, A. S. (Compiler). (2004). Guidelines and fataawa related to sickness and medical practice. London: Invitation to Islam.

25. Park, C. L. (2007). Religiousness/spirituality and health: A meaning systems perspective. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 30, 319–328.

 

CHAPTER 9

Contemplative Practices in Action 7] Jewish Contemplative Practices and Well-Being

 7] “The Eternal Is with Me, I Shall Not Fear”: Jewish Contemplative Practices and Well-Being  

Zari Weiss and David Levy

Over the centuries, most religious traditions have developed practices that support the cultivation of a contemplative approach to life. Judaism is no exception. Indeed, many of the practices that have traditionally been considered central to living a Jewish life have a strong contempla- tive orientation, and such practices can be helpful in alleviating the stress of everyday life. In the following pages, we will look at three practices in particular—prayer, meditation, and Sabbath time—that we have found valuable not only in our own practice, but also in teaching and counsel- ing others.

The coauthors of this paper come to this exploration with distinct but overlapping backgrounds. Rabbi Zari Weiss was ordained at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1991, a five-year post- graduate educational institution, and has served as a rabbi in a number of capacities. Trained in the art and practice of Spiritual Direction at the Mercy Center in Burlingame, California (a Catholic-based institution), she also has worked as a spiritual director/companion with individuals and groups since 1993. She was a founding instructor, and taught for six years in a national program to train other Jews in Spiritual Direction from a Jewish perspective, and she has offered workshops and classes to rabbis and rabbinic students.

David Levy is a professor in the Information School at the University of Washington. Trained originally as a computer scientist (with a PhD from Stanford University), he too has been trained in Spiritual Direction

 

at Mercy Center, and has practiced as a spiritual director, although to a lesser extent than Rabbi Weiss. In his academic work for the past decade, he has explored how contemplative practices and perspectives may help us to understand and alleviate the stress of information overload and the acceleration of daily life.

Both authors, then, are teachers, spiritual directors, and practicing Jews. The religious and spiritual practices we explore in this chapter are ones that that we ourselves have engaged in and experienced. Because our backgrounds and practices are not identical, we ask the reader to understand that we have adopted the first-person plural—“we”—with consideration and care. In most of the issues addressed in this chapter, it is probably less important to know which of us has the greater experi- ence with a particular practice than that we both stand behind the asser- tion we are making. In certain cases, however, which will be clear below, we have found it useful to use “I” for both rhetorical and pedagogical purposes.

THE PRACTICES IN CONTEXT

It is challenging to summarize a long-standing and widespread reli- gious tradition such as Judaism in just a few words. But it might be said that Judaism’s central concern over the thousands of years of its existence has been in maintaining the sacred relationship between the Jewish people and God. Its central sacred texts, which include the Torah and the Talmud, recount the history of this relationship in its formative years and provide laws and guidance (called mitzvot, which we prefer to translate as “sacred obligations”) intended to maintain the vibrancy and sanctity of the relationship with the Divine. One of the central mitzvot, for example, obligates Jews to “love the Eternal your God, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might” (Deut. 6:5). Jews are told to speak this truth at all times, when they sit in their house and when they go out on the street, when they go to sleep at night and arise in the morning. In other words, they are to love God at all times. Many of the other laws and customs of Judaism reinforce the importance of fulfilling this sacred obligation in all areas of life: in their interactions with others, in their care of those less fortunate, in their responsibility toward the environment and natural world.

It needs to be said, however, that not all Jews—not even all practicing

Jews—observe all the mitzvot. Modern Judaism is divided into a number of “movements,” the best known of which are Orthodox, Conservative,

 

Reform, and Reconstructionist Judaism. These differ in a number of ways, including the extent to which they prescribe adherence to tradi- tional practices. The vast majority of American Jews, however, are unaf- filiated: they do not belong to any movement, do not attend religious services regularly, and observe few if any Jewish holidays. Such individ- uals may report that they are “spiritual” rather than “religious,” and to the extent that they recognize their Jewish identity, it may be more as cultural Jews (appreciating the food and the humor, for example) or in terms of a commitment to social justice, which remains a strong Jewish value.

Yet without question, Judaism’s rich treasure trove of practices has been a source of comfort and solace, strength and stability for thousands of years. Its texts, rituals, and daily practices have offered many people support in stressful and uncertain circumstances. One charming anec- dote illustrates this well:

Sam happened to meet his rabbi on the street one day, and told him of all the troubles he had suffered during the past year. He wound up with: “I tell you right now, rabbi, it’s enough to make a man lose his religion.” “Seems to me, Sam,” the rabbi told him quietly, “it’s enough to make a man use his religion!”1

Not all people, however, know how to “use religion” in a way that offers comfort and solace, strength and stability. Particularly in our modern, assimilated world, where many have been distanced, or worse, alienated from the rich resources that are a part of Jewish tradition, these texts, rituals, and practices may seem inaccessible or foreign. As Plante and Thoresen write, “The lack of skills in using spiritual prac- tices may be the single missing ingredient that inhibits the kind of spiri- tual growth that leads to better health and well-being”;2 this is as true for those in the Jewish community as it is for the broader population.

In our work as teachers and spiritual companions to others, we have had the opportunity and privilege of helping others gain access to these practices and make use of them in their own lives. In particular, it has been our growing understanding of what might be called a more con- templative approach to Jewish practice that has provided a valuable means to access the tradition in new ways. It is clear that a more con- templative approach can help bring about comfort and solace, strength and stability, and can reduce stress.

In this chapter, we will focus on three areas of Jewish practice: prayer, meditation, and Sabbath time. We could easily have chosen

 

three other practices, or three dozen examples of Jewish religious and spiritual practices. The tradition is vast, and many of  the customs and rituals that make up Jewish life provide opportunities for adding meaning and dimension to life.

Each of the contemplative practices we discuss has a long and diverse history. For most of Jewish history they were embedded in a complete Jewish “way of life” that was largely inseparable from the larger Jewish patterns of day-to-day living. Today, except for the most Orthodox Jews, this is no longer the case, and in today’s consumerist society, many Jews are likely to choose certain practices and reject or ignore others.

Jewish prayer is a form of both verbal and nonverbal communion that can be used to praise, petition, thank, or simply communicate with God. In biblical times prayer was largely spontaneous and unscripted (the Torah records, for example, that “Isaac went out into the fields and prayed” [Gen. 24:63]). In time, these spontaneous prayers were recorded and collected, and eventually organized into a set order of specific prayers to be recited at three different times of the day. It is this form of prayer that is most familiar to Jews today. However, there are various places within the tradition where other forms of prayer are described and even encouraged. These include spontaneous prayers from the heart, recitation of a verse from the liturgy or Scripture, and personal kavannot, or introductory meditations. The contemplative approaches to prayer that we will discuss below are largely from this latter group.

Jewish meditation has a long, complex, and somewhat confusing history. The first problem is simply the meaning of the term meditation. An often-cited passage in the Talmud (Berachot 5:1) states that in prepa- ration for prayer the ancient rabbis used to “incline their hearts to God” for an hour. This is now taken as evidence that some form of preparatory meditation was practiced more than 2,000 years ago. Others have sug- gested that the Tetragrammaton, the Divine name spelled out with the four Hebrew letters Yod Hay Vav Hay (often indicated in Roman letters as YHVH), was the sound of the breath, perhaps providing some further evidence for the existence of a form of breath meditation. Today, espe- cially under the influence of Western Buddhist practice, a number of Jewish practitioners have rediscovered or reinvented a wide variety of forms of Jewish meditation, including meditating on a phrase or verse (mantra meditation), visual focusing on the letters of God’s divine name (YHVH), and chanting. In the section on meditation below, we will highlight a few of these approaches.

 

Finally, probably no practice has deeper historical or spiritual roots than the observance of the Sabbath. Genesis, the first book of the Hebrew Bible, states that God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. From this came the understanding that Jews must emulate the Divine by themselves resting every seventh day. While the nature and extent of Sabbath practice differs widely today, the basic idea of separating one day a week from the hustle and bustle— and the stress—of daily living seems well suited for today’s 24/7 living.3 In our discussion of incorporating Sabbath time into our cur- rent busy lives, we suggest several contemplative practices that are based on traditional ways of observing the Sabbath.

DIMENSIONS OF THE PRACTICES

Before looking at the specific practices, we want to suggest that their role in health, well-being, and stress-reduction can be viewed and understood from three perspectives: spiritual or theological, physical or physiological, and emotional.

SPIRITUAL/THEOLOGICAL

Any particular practice may help the practitioner put life into a broader or more spiritual perspective. Various studies have shown that gaining a broader perspective is helpful in encouraging well-being and reducing stress. In their essay on meditation, for example, Shauna L. Shapiro and Roger Walsh write: “From a growth perspective, it is essential to learn ways to free ourselves from the artificial and unnec- essary limits we impose, as well as to learn to expand our world views. This liberation involves recognizing and letting go of old structures and boundaries and evolving to more complex worldviews.”4 We will see that various Jewish practices—such as meditating on a verse or line from Scripture, or observing Sabbath time—can help people experi- ence freedom from artificial limits and expand their worldviews.

At times a broader perspective is attained in a generalized way; it may entail a specific feeling or sense of God’s presence. In his article “Prayer and Health,” Kevin S. Masters writes that “persons who during their prayers felt like they were experiencing an interaction with God or had feelings of increased peace were also the ones more likely to report greater levels of well-being.”5 Indeed, cultivating a sense of

 

connection to God or God’s Presence is a core component of many Jewish practices: prayer, meditation, even Sabbath time.

PHYSICAL OR PHYSIOLOGICAL

Various studies have shown that spiritual practices create physio- logical changes or responses in the body, which by their very nature, reduce stress. In their article “Prayer as Medicine: How Much Have We Learned?” Marek Jantos and Hosen Kiat describe “the relaxation response,” one of the effects of meditation first characterized and named by Herbert Benson.6 “Meditation,” Jantos and Kiat observe, “is known to produce desirable physiological changes, such as slowed breathing, reduction in heart rate, a drop in blood pressure, peripheral warming, slower brain wave activity (marked by an increase in alpha and theta activity), and a hypometabolic state. People practicing medi- tation, irrespective of their religious persuasion, report feeling more spiritual and experiencing an enhanced sense of psychological and physiological wellbeing, peace and tranquility.”7 As we will see, a variety of Jewish practices, including prayer, meditation, and Sabbath time, can also create physiological changes in the body, leading to a state of well- being, a phenomenon that was noted by rabbis and teachers thousands of years ago.

EMOTIONAL

It is believed that religions and spiritual practices can also have a positive impact on our emotions. Jantos and Kiat write: “A third mecha- nism by which prayer is seen as exerting its positive impact on wellbeing is by means of the positive emotions it engenders.”7 One of the studies they cite is that of M. E. McCullough, whose research suggests that prayer improves mood and leads to a state of calm that extends to other areas of the life of the person praying.8 They also cite the work of Candace Pert, whose book Molecules of Emotion: The Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine lays out some of the effects of positive emotions in the body; and they observe that “positive emotions generate physiologi- cal changes that have far-reaching consequences on our health and well- being. The positive emotions of peace, joy, hope, faith, trust and love, associated with prayer, can lead to physiological changes affecting a person’s state of wellbeing.”9 Such emotions are fostered by a variety of Jewish practices, including prayer, meditation, and Sabbath time.

 

A CONTEMPLATIVE APPROACH TO JEWISH PRACTICE

What constitutes a contemplative approach to Jewish practice? Rather than starting by referencing what has been written on this topic over the ages, we prefer to illustrate it by drawing an example from our own work as spiritual directors and teachers. It concerns the use of a verse—“The Eternal is with me, I shall not fear”—as the subject of prayer and meditation.

Often in our work as spiritual companions, our directees (i.e., clients) come to the session frazzled from the stress of the day: their bodies are tense, their hearts are racing. Sometimes they are filled with anxiety, sometimes with fear; they may be coping with illness—their own or that of a loved one; they may be anticipating a major life change, such as a loss of employment or the end of a relationship. The stress is palpable— recognizable in their shallow breathing, their tense muscles, their rigid body posture.

In our role as spiritual directors, our job is not to fix, nor even neces- sarily to make people feel better—though often that happens as a result of this work. Rather, it is to help people see their lives or situations from a broader, spiritual perspective.

Most people who arrive with a high level of stress, anxiety, or fear have a desire—expressed explicitly or implicitly—to reduce their level of stress and live with a greater sense of peace, calm, or equanimity. When asked directly, they may acknowledge that they wish they could feel a sense of trust—in God, in the Universe, in Something Bigger— but they also admit that they do not have any idea how to access, or cultivate, such a sense. This is the opening for which we look and listen. It is an opening no bigger than the eye of a needle: the longing of the heart (or soul) for a connection to Something Beyond the Self. From a Jewish perspective, it is the longing for a life lived in relation- ship with God/The Mystery/Ein Sof. (Ein Sof, one of the Hebrew names for God, literally means “That Which is Without End.”) To live in this way is to live the contemplative life.

Though there are times that belief leads to experience, most often, we have seen, it is experience that leads to belief. And if experience doesn’t arise on its own, it can be invited, or perhaps better, awakened.

The following example illustrates this. It is based on a session one of us conducted with a directee who had entered the office feeling very stressed.

 

“I wonder,” I say out loud to the directee, “if there is a prayer or a phrase or some verses from a prayer that might help you feel that sense of calm or peace that you are seeking?” Many times, I haven’t thought consciously about any particular prayer or verses when posing the question; it is only afterward that something comes to mind. Some- times, the last four lines of a well-known prayer known as Adon Olam may come. It is a prayer that is traditionally said at the end of a service. (In some communities, it is also said at the beginning.) We don’t know for certain when the prayer was written or by whom; scholars believe that it is at least 1,000 years old. It has been a part of the service since the fifteenth century. During services, it is often sung to a very upbeat or even boisterous melody (perhaps because everyone is so relieved that the service is finally over!); as a result, the beauty and power of the words’ meaning is often lost. The last four verses of the prayer are quite beautiful; they suggest, almost more than any other verses from Jewish liturgy, the sense of trust that many of us long for—and the comfort that often comes with that trust.

“B’yado afkid ruchee”—“in His hand, I place my spirit.” I recite the first phrase to my directee. “Of course we know that God doesn’t have a hand and isn’t a He—it’s just a metaphor.” The person usually nods. “But can you imagine, for just a moment, placing your soul in God’s hand, in The Eternal’s hand?” I watch as the person shuts her eyes and brings the image to mind. “It’s such a beautiful image, isn’t it? Now .. . can you allow yourself to rest in it?” I continue gently. I watch as the directee’s breath becomes slower and her body begins to relax. “B’eyt eeshan v’ah’ee’rah—when I sleep and when I wake,” I continue translating. “Imagine what you would feel like, if you started and ended each day this way, allowing yourself to rest, for just a few minutes, in God’s hand.” “V’im ruchee g’vee’a’tee,—and with my spirit my body too.” The release of tension in her body is now visible. “Adonai lee, v’lo ee’rah—The Eternal is with me, I shall not fear.” I pause, and ask: “What would it be like not to feel fear?” My directee’s eyes well up with tears. “It means that no matter what happens, everything will be okay.” “Okay,” I repeat the word, knowing that it doesn’t neces- sarily mean that everything will be great, or even good, but simply that, on some level, against the larger backdrop of the greater Mystery of the world and of life, everything will be all right.

“Finally,” I then say, “I wonder if this is something you can return to throughout the day, when you are feeling stressed or anxious. Maybe you can recite these verses, which I’d be happy to write out for you, or perhaps you might just return to the image of resting in God’s hand.

 

Is this something that might be helpful?” She answers yes; our time together has given her access not only to Jewish Tradition, but also to God, in a new way. It is a way that is meaningful not only in terms of her Jewish way of life, but also in terms of specific practices that may help reduce her stress and, as a result, bring about a greater sense of peace and calm.

A life lived in relationship with Something Beyond the Self: for most people caught up in our rushed, overly busy, and stress-filled culture, this is an ideal that is hard to achieve. Many people assume that to live in such a way they must seclude themselves in a monastery or convent, or disengage from their daily routines by attending an extended retreat. And while these choices certainly can be helpful for some, they are not realistic for most. There are other ways that one can cultivate a more contemplative life, even in the midst of our ordi- nary, everyday activities. Indeed, in our work as spiritual companions and teachers, we have found three Jewish practices that are particu- larly helpful in cultivating the contemplative life: prayer, meditation, and Sabbath time. We now turn to these practices.

THREE JEWISH CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICES

PRAYER

Traditional Jewish practice specifies that one pray three times a day: morning, afternoon, and evening (these prayer services are known as shacharit, minchah, and ma’ariv). Today, generally only those who are at the more observant end of the spectrum fulfill this obligation; most contemporary Jews probably do not pray at all, and only a small per- centage may set aside time for daily prayer.

Because people bring the real stuff of their lives to spiritual direction, and the stuff of life is, by nature, stressful, most people enter our office filled with stress. While the purpose of Spiritual Direction is not to alle- viate the stress, alleviating it and living with greater calm and equanimity is often part of the person’s longing or desire.

In our work as Spiritual Directors, then, we might ask in our first session if the person has any sort of a daily or regular spiritual practice. Most often, people do not. We ask if it might be reasonable to set aside some time, as little as five minutes and as much as an hour, for such a practice. Even a few minutes, particularly at the start and at the end of the day, we explain, can go far in creating a sense of greater calm or

 

equanimity, which can be accessed throughout the day. Together with the directee we think of what might be the most realistic time of the day to build it in, given the actual circumstances of their lives (family, work, etc.).

We have found prayer to be particularly helpful in leading to feel- ings of calm and equanimity. As Kevin Masters writes, “The English word prayer comes from the Latin precari meaning to entreat or ask earnestly. Curiously, this is the same root found in the word precari- ous. Indeed, many pray when life seems precarious and it is during times of illness or great need that prayer is perhaps most widely acknowledged and practiced. There seems to be an almost intuitive notion among people of faith in many cultures that prayer and health are related.”5

There are three prayers from Jewish tradition that we have found to be particularly helpful. The first prayer, part of the morning liturgy, is found in a section known as Birchot HaShachar, Blessings of the Dawn. Traditionally this prayer is said immediately upon awakening in the morning: “Modeh (modah for a woman) ani lifanecha: I am grateful before You, Sovereign that lives and endures, she’he’chezarta bi nishmati b’chem- lah, for you have restored my soul to me in graciousness, rabbah emuna- techa, great is your lovingkindness.” Though many Jews may, in fact, have grown up saying this prayer, most are unaware of its deeper mean- ing. They probably have always recited it in a rote or formulaic way.

We often begin with this prayer as a starting point for building a meaningful spiritual practice. The prayer can be said in just a minute, but its effects can last throughout the day.

We invite the directee to consider why the prayer might be recited immediately upon awakening. If they don’t know, we explain that upon awakening, a person realizes that she has not died during the night; on the contrary, she has been blessed with another day of life. Furthermore, we point out, the word nishmati, a contraction of nesha- mah sheli, my soul, is related to the word nishimah, breath: when we breathe in, we can become aware of our soul, the unique soul that is implanted within each one of us. As we then pause to become aware of the life-breath that flows through us, we also can become aware of the Ultimate Breath-of-Life, God/the Source, which has granted us the gift of another day. Often, as our awareness expands, the burdens which all- too-often weigh us down lighten, and our hearts somehow feel lighter, filled with gratitude instead. Gratitude is an almost guaranteed antidote to stress: when we take the time to become aware of the gift of life, of the life-breath that fills us, our breathing slows and grows deeper, our

 

“hearts” (in reality, probably, our muscle and nerve systems) become less tight, instead opening to whatever gifts the day may bring. This awareness may result in positive emotional feelings, which in turn may have physiological effects. As the feelings help reduce stress and anxiety, they can promote a more positive outlook, which in turn can strengthen the will to live life more fully, one more day.

We sometimes use a different prayer when the directee gives evi- dence of a negative self-image or depression, a prayer that can lead to a more positive self-image, and to feelings of acceptance and self- love. This prayer too comes from the section of prayers known as the Morning  Blessings.  “Elohai  neshamah  sh’natatah  bi .. . My  God, the soul that you have given me, it is pure,” it begins. This first line alone is sufficient to shift someone’s perspective. We invite the directee to become aware of his soul. This is something that most people have never even considered. “Think of your unique essence,” we might suggest, “the part of you that is uniquely you.” And then we repeat the words of the prayer, and encourage him to become aware, if he is able, of the pureness of his soul. “Separate from the layers of ‘stuff’ that we accumulate over the course of our lives, which result from our own behaviors or our personality flaws, Judaism teaches us that our soul is pure. And God knows that.” The tightness in his body begins to release; there is a letting go, a release. Again, we explain how in Hebrew the word for soul, neshamah, and the word for breath, neshimah, are related. Our breath connects us to our soul; every time we take a breath, we have the opportunity to remember the pure, precious soul inside us, the soul that also connects us to God. We sit patiently, watching as the directee’s breath gradually begins to flow more freely, and as the muscles begin to relax. There is a sense of acceptance and compassion; with these more positive feelings comes a softening of the heart, a release of the physiological tension that often accompanies self-judgment.

Finally, there is another prayer (actually a declaration) that we often draw upon in our work, the Shema. Often translated “Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One,” the Shema, we believe, is a statement of equanimity. It affirms that all—the good, the bad, and the ugly—are a part of the Mystery of Life, a part of the underlying Unity (One, in Hebrew, Echad) that is present in all existence. Tradi- tionally Jews recite the Shema morning and evening: when they rise up (u’vkumecha) and when they lie down (uv’shachb’cha) (Deut. 6:4–9). In the bedtime version of this prayer, there is an additional prayer that can be found only in traditional prayer books; for some unknown reason

 

many liberal prayer books have left it out. In this version, there is a para- graph in which the person reciting it forgives those who have harmed her, and asks forgiveness of anyone whom she has harmed. “Can you imagine saying this at the end of every day?” we ask, knowing what a profound spiritual practice forgiveness can be. The opposite—not forgiving—creates tremendous stress in the body: it leads to repressed anger, guilt, hurt—all of which are emotions that cause restriction, tightness, as opposed to expansiveness, openness. To forgive—even just to make the effort to forgive—makes the heart soften into a more supple state; that suppleness ripples out through the muscles, and stress is reduced. With forgiveness comes a letting go. Affirming the Unity of Life, and letting go of anger and hurt—what more profound spiritual practice could there be?

MEDITATION

Meditation in Jewish tradition takes many forms. In our work as Spiritual Directors, we have found several meditative practices to be particularly helpful in creating a more expansive consciousness, a deeper sense of peace and equanimity. Many people come to Spiritual Direction with an expressed desire to feel a connection to God more often throughout their daily lives, not only during the time in the morning or evening when they are engaged in some sort of spiritual practice. When we meet with them, we often explain the age-old prac- tice of meditating on a verse, particularly the verse from the book of Psalms: Shi’vi’ti HaShem L’negdi Tamid. “I place the Eternal before me always” (Psalms 16:8). Some do this by sitting in front of a wall hanging, known as a Shi’vi’ti, a traditional wall card, poster, or plaque with the verse from Psalms on it. Some of these wall hangings are elaborate works of art, with beautiful illustrations and other scriptural verses surrounding Psalms 16:8. The Hebrew letters of God’s name (YHVH) are often arranged vertically; they become the focus for visual meditation. Various teachings throughout the ages describe this practice: “Many people write the name YHVH on a piece of parchment .. . and keep it in front of them while they pray, according to the way of ‘I have placed the Lord before me always.’ And this brings awe of God into their heart and clarifies your soul to purity.”10 They then strive to keep the image of God’s name before them throughout the day, without any external visual aids. Visualizing God’s name encourages one to be aware of God’s Presence—in every

 

action, in every interaction. One delightful folktale tells of the holy Rabbi Yaakov Koppel Hasid of Kolomaya, the disciple of the Baal Shem Tov (the founder of Hasidism), who would repeat the line from Psalms at all hours of the day, nonstop. He would even repeat it during the hours of work and business. It is said that even the gentiles called him “The Shvittinik [the Shiviti person].”10 In our work with individuals, we might make a copy of a Shi’vi’ti that can be found in certain prayer books; we suggest they experiment with the practice of meditating on God’s Divine name as a means to remind them to strive to be aware of God’s Presence at all times.

Of course, one can enter into a meditative state without focusing on a particular verse, but rather, simply by immersing oneself in a con- sciousness of God’s presence or existence in the universe. Various great teachers from Jewish tradition spoke of this practice, known as hitbonenut. Following is one teaching of Moses Maimonides, the great thirteenth-century physician and philosopher:

What is the way to love and fear G-d? When a person contem- plates (hitbonen) His great, wondrous deeds and creations, seeing through them His boundless, infinite wisdom, he immediately loves, exults, and is ecstatic with a passion to know the great Name. This is, what King David meant when he said, “My soul thirsts for G-d, for the living Deity.” (Psalms 42:3)

When one thinks about these things, he immediately becomes awed and abashed. He realizes that he is but an infinitesimal creature, lowly and unenlightened, standing with his diminutive, deficient mind before the Perfect Mind. David thus said, “When I see Your heavens, the work of Your fingers .. . what is man that You consider him?” (Psalms 8:4–5)11

In other words, Maimonides suggests, by pausing and seeing beyond what appears on the surface a person can become aware of the various ways that God is or might be present: in any created object, in an event, in any experience of life. When he is able to do this, he will be filled with an awareness of God, and will realize his own minuteness relative to the magnificence of the Great Mystery of the Divine. His sense of self will recede, and his awareness of God will move to the forefront.

To help them imagine this state of consciousness, we might invite our directees to close their eyes and see themselves against the backdrop of the mystery of all life. We might ask if they are aware of God’s role in

 

that mystery, as well as their own place in it. Often they sink into silence, and we sit quietly together, humbly aware of the Mystery of Life of which they, and we, are a part.

Kevin Masters writes “persons who during their prayers felt they were experiencing an interaction with God or had feelings of increased peace were also the ones more likely to report greater levels of well being.”5 Indeed, we have found that from the meditative state that is achieved, whether through visualizing God’s name and becoming increasingly aware of God’s Presence, or sitting against the backdrop of the mystery of life, there often emerges a deep sense of calm and tranquility. With that sense of calm and tranquility often comes a letting go of the obses- sive concern with things that in our day-to-day lives seem so important.

SABBATH TIME

As noted earlier, the theological basis for Sabbath observance is found in Genesis: “The heaven and the earth were finished, and all their array. On the seventh day God finished the work that He had been doing, and He ceased on the seventh day from all work that he had done. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because on it God ceased from all the work of creation that He had done” (Genesis 2:1–3). This understanding has led Jews over the ages to emulate the Divine pattern and to abstain from all work from night- fall on Friday evening to nightfall on Saturday (the Jewish day begins at sunset). The English word “Sabbath” is a direct translation of the Hebrew “Shabbat,” which means “rest.”

Over the centuries there has been much discussion and debate about this apparently simple prescription. What exactly is meant by work, and what is meant by rest? Does work refer simply or primarily to physical exertion, or perhaps to paid labor? What about intellectual work? Does rest refer to the abstention from effort, or to leisure activ- ities? And what exactly is the purpose of the Sabbath? While it would carry us too far afield to discuss these points now, it is worth pointing to one traditional answer to the last of these questions. The intent behind Sabbath observance, the ancient rabbis suggested, is to cel- ebrate Creation. Jews, they argued, were to abstain from creative acts in order to savor and appreciate the created world—to enjoy it, as the following description points out:

Work can make man free, but one can also be a slave to work. When God created heaven and earth, says the Talmud, they went

 

on unreeling endlessly, “like two bobbins of thread,” until their Creator called out to them, “Enough!” (Talmud Chagigah 12a). God’s creative activity was followed by the Sabbath, when He deliberately ceased from His creative work It is thus not

“work,” but “ceasing from work” which God chose as the sign of His free creation of the world. By ceasing from work every Sabbath, in the manner prescribed by the Torah, the Jew bears witness to the creative power of God. He also reveals Man’s true greatness. The stars and the planets, having once started on their eternal rounds, go on blindly, ceaselessly, driven by nature’s law of cause and effect. Man, however, by an act of faith, can put a limit to his labor, so that it will not degenerate into purposeless drudgery. By keeping Sabbath the Jew becomes, as our Sages say, domeh l’Yotzero—“like his Creator.” He is, like God, work’s master, not its slave.12

One of the prayers from the Sabbath liturgy expresses this senti- ment well: “Those who keep Shabbat by calling it a delight will rejoice in Your realm. The people that hallows Shabbat will delight in Your goodness. For, being pleased with the Seventh Day, You hallowed it as the most precious of days, drawing our attention to the work of Creation.”13

Here then is an understanding, and a practice, that speaks to the stress of living in both the ancient and the modern world. For surely the work- ing day in all cultures, past and present, has been filled with the stress of physical and mental labor: continuously engaging in acts of creation and productivity, continually striving for achievement. The Sabbath is con- ceived as a day to let go of the willful striving for productivity; it is instead a day to appreciate the simple experience of being alive, to feel gratitude for the marvels and mysteries of the created world. Abraham Joshua Heschel’s well-known passage speaks to this understanding: “He who wants to enter the holiness of the day must first lay down the profanity of clattering commerce, of being yoked to toil      He must

say farewell to manual work and learn to understand that the world has already been created and will survive without the help of man. Six days a week we wrestle with the world, wringing profit from the earth; on the Sabbath we especially care for the seed of eternity planted in the soul  Six days a week we seek to dominate the world, on the seventh

day we try to dominate the self.”14

In our work as Spiritual Directors and teachers, we have found some of the traditional practices and customs of Shabbat to be a valuable

 

starting place for helping to create islands of calm in the otherwise hectic and hurried lives of our directees. Here are three simple prac- tices that can be used to create a few moments, an hour, or a full day of Sabbath time.

One custom practiced by more observant Jews entails going to a mikveh, a natural or artificial body of water in which one fully immerses, in preparation for the Sabbath. Short of going to a mikveh, one can simply wash in hot water. The following description, based on various traditional teachings, helps explain the benefits—not only physical, but spiritual as well—of this practice:

It is a traditional practice to wash in hot water before Shabbat. The hot water will change your body-feeling, removing any neg- ativity and the weekday “set,” and ready you for the renewal that comes with Shabbat. Bodily cleanliness also has a spiritual effect. It is hard to feel spiritually pure when you are physically unclean; conversely, being clean in body natural conduces to a feeling of spiritual cleanliness.10

For those who hope to incorporate some sort of Sabbath time into their lives, we might suggest that they prepare by taking a hot bath, allowing themselves to linger in the water for a while. As is reflected in the above teaching, water—particularly hot water—can have healing and transformative qualities. As they relax in the water, preparing themselves physically, spiritually, and emotionally for the sacred time they are about to observe, their muscles relax, and stress is released.

Alternately, for a shorter period, they might simply do a ritual hand washing, to delineate sacred time from ordinary time. Even symboli- cally, pouring water over one’s hands can suggest a release from nega- tivity or a sense of letting go of the past (stress) and opening to the future (a new way of being). We might suggest singing a lovely melody set to a verse from the Prophet Isaiah: “Draw water in joy, from the living well. Mayyim Chayyim. Waters of Life. Shalom.”

The second suggestion is based on the traditional practice of wel- coming the Sabbath by lighting candles. The flame of a candle is a universal symbol of God’s Presence, as well as of the soul and the spiritual; indeed, there is something transformative that can happen when one lights candles, demarcating one period of time from another. One teaching, for example, says “On the holy Sabbath, whose inner meaning is the spiritual elevation of all the worlds .. . the

 

Sabbath candles serves to symbolize the elevation of the soul and of holiness.”10 We might suggest then, that to begin a period of sacred time, whether an hour or a day, our directees light a candle and sit in front of it for at least a few moments, meditating on the flame, open- ing to God’s Presence, or simply sitting quietly.

Finally, the third practice comes out of the traditional understanding of the Sabbath as a time to abstain from working. Over the centuries, to decide what was permitted and what was prohibited on the Sabbath, the ancient rabbis had to grapple with what exactly constituted work (the word for work in Hebrew is melakhah). While the details of their understanding is mainly relevant for Jews who fully observe a traditional Sabbath, the underlying principle they came up with is more broadly applicable: on the Sabbath, Jews are to abstain from the ordinary, task-oriented practices of the workweek in order to remember and feel gratitude for the gift of God’s creation. Thus Grunfeld, referencing the writings of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, one of the foremost Jewish thinkers of the nineteenth century, writes, “Man .. . is engaged in a constant struggle to gain mastery over God’s creation, to bring nature under his control. By the use of his God-given intelligence, skills and energy, he has in large measure succeeded in this. He is thus constantly in danger of forgetting his own creaturehood—his utter and complete dependence on the Lord of all things. He tends to forget that the very powers he uses in his conquest of nature are derived from his Creator, in Whose service his life and work should be conducted.”12

Taking this principle into our work with directees, we may suggest that they create sacred time by unplugging for a period of time from all their devices: BlackBerry, computer, telephone, etc. For many this is a radical notion and takes some getting used to; it makes them realize that they do have some choice in whether they are always “on” or sometimes “off,” and forces them to confront their own addictions and attachments to these tools. We have found that for some, the prac- tice of unplugging is liberating, providing periods of quiet and calm.

THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL LITERATURE

There is an extensive and growing literature on the value of Buddhist meditation as a source of stress reduction and general wellness (see else- where in this volume). There is also an active literature that explores the efficacy of prayer, both from a specifically Christian and from a multi- denominational perspective. Yet as far as we know, there are no scientific

 

studies that have addressed specific Jewish practices of the form we have been discussing here.

A considerable amount of work, however, has been done over the last decade or two on the topic of healing from a Jewish perspective. This body of work may have some relevance for the subject of spiritual practice and well-being; as far as we know, however, scholarly studies have not yet been conducted. This would be an area that would be fruitful for further research and exploration.

APPLICATIONS

Our experience suggests that it is a select group of people who are drawn to a more contemplative approach to Jewish practice. But there are limited opportunities within the mainstream Jewish community for such people to study and experiment more deeply. Some more spiritu- ally oriented retreat centers do exist, and in addition to three or four programs training Jews in Spiritual Direction, there is also now an Institute for Jewish Spirituality, which introduces Jewish professionals (rabbis and cantors), and more recently, laypeople, to a more contem- plative approach to Judaism. This program is growing in popularity, and satellite programs are being offered at various places around the country.

It is currently hard to know to what extent this approach might be of interest to the majority of the Jewish population if it were to be more widely available. For such people, we would hope, there may be value in creating opportunities for ongoing learning and experi- mentation, as well as additional resources, such as this collection, for study.

CONCLUSION

The Jewish practices we have described in this chapter—prayer, meditation, and Sabbath time—are rich and multifaceted. While each of them clearly has correspondences in other traditions, the specifically Jewish manifestations we have discussed here have deep roots in Jewish history, texts, and culture. A Jewish person searching for solace, com- fort, and healing may well find it in non-Jewish practices; indeed, it is well known that many Western Jews now fill Buddhist and Hindu meditation halls well out of  proportion  to  their representation in the larger culture. But there is a kind of healing that we have both

 

experienced and witnessed that occurs when one makes peace with one’s own tradition and is able to find sustenance through it. It is the rare individual who, when looking for peace and stress reduction, is likely to embrace a full Jewish life. It is much more likely that such an individual may adopt one or more of the practices discussed here, and gain some of what she is looking for not only through the techniques themselves but through the power of their connection to a vast and life-giving tradition.

REFERENCES

1. Schur, T. G. (1993). Illness and crisis: Coping the Jewish way. New York: National Conference of Synagogue Youth, 79.

2. Plante, T. G., & Thoresen, C. E. (Eds.). (2007). Spirit, science, and health: How the spiritual mind fuels physical wellness (p. 6). Westport, CT: Praeger.

3. Muller, W. (1999). Sabbath: Finding rest, renewal, and delight in our busy lives. New York: Bantam Books.

4. Shapiro, S. L., & Walsh, R. (2007). Meditation: Exploring the farther reaches. In T. G. Plante & C. E. Thoresen (Eds.), Spirit, science, and health: How the spiritual mind fuels physical wellness (pp. 57–69). Westport, CT: Praeger. See p. 60.

5. Masters, K. S. (2007). Prayer and health. In T. G. Plante &  C. E. Thoresen (Eds.), Spirit, science, and health: How the spiritual mind fuels physical wellness (pp. 11–24). Westport, CT: Praeger.

6. Benson, H. (1975). The relaxation response. New York: Avon Books.

7. Jantos, M., & Kiat, H. (2007). Prayer as medicine: How much have we learned? Medical Journal of Australia, 186(10 Suppl.), S51–S53.

8. McCullough, M. E. (1995). Prayer and health:  Conceptual  issues, research review, and research agenda. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 23, 15–29.

9. Pert, C. B. (1999). Molecules of emotion: The science behind mind-body medicine. New York: Touchstone.

10. Buxbaum, Y. (1990). Jewish spiritual practices. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson.

11. Kaplan, A. (1978). Meditation and the Bible. New York: Samuel Weiser, 132–138.

12. Grunfeld, D. D. I. (2003). The Sabbath: A guide to its understanding and observance. Jerusalem: Feldheim, 16–17.

13. Mishkan T’filah: A Reform Siddur (2007). New York: Central Conference of American Rabbis.

14. Heschel, A. J. (1985). The Sabbath: Its meaning for modern man. New York: Farrar, Straus and Young, 13.

 

CHAPTER 8