{"id":50695,"date":"2019-03-04T12:13:52","date_gmt":"2019-03-04T10:13:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=50695"},"modified":"2022-09-27T07:12:25","modified_gmt":"2022-09-27T04:12:25","slug":"the-yin-and-yang-of-opening-and-closing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-yin-and-yang-of-opening-and-closing\/","title":{"rendered":"The Yin and Yang of Opening and Closing"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[361,437,494],"acf":{"old_id":"50695","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":48824,"related_cahpter":"168","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Between wide angle appreciation and tight focus commitment","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Deut.15:7 the Torah says <em>\u2018lo t\u2019ametz et levavecha<\/em>\/don\u2019t harden your heart\u2019 against a potential creditor when he approaches you for a loan as the sabbatical year approaches. Rather <em>\u2018ki patoach tiftach<\/em>\/you shall surely open your hand\u2019(Deut.15:8). \u00a0Furthermore, one of the sins listed in the <em>Al Chet<\/em> prayer on Yom Kippur is <em>imutz halev<\/em>, exactly what we\u2019re told not to do in Deut.15:7.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But in Psalm 27:14, we read <em>\u2018chazak v\u2019yaametz libecha<\/em>\/be strong and resolute\u2019, \u00a0literally \u2018harden your heart.\u2019 The same verb <em>amatz<\/em> which appears as a negative in Deut.15:7, is a positive in Psalm 27:14. What\u2019s going on? If <em>imutz halev<\/em> is something we have to repent for, how could we be encouraged to do it 40 days in a row precisely in the season of our repentance?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It helps if we translate <em>\u2018amatz\u2019<\/em> not as \u2018harden\u2019 but as \u2018condense\u2019 or \u2018concentrate\u2019. Think of <em>matza &#8211;\u00a0<\/em>&#8220;condensed bread&#8221; &#8211; likely linguistically related. <em>Amatz<\/em> by itself has neither a positive nor a negative connotation. It all depends on context. We can best understand it by contrasting it with the verb <em>\u2018patach\u2019<\/em> which appears as its opposite in Deut.15:7.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is a moment to be open to all life has to offer. But, eventually, we have to narrow our consciousness, and focus our energies on one cause or one person. This moment of focus is also a moment of commitment. And, commitment is what we\u2019re after in the month of Elul.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The rhythm of <em>peticha<\/em> and <em>immutz<\/em> is central to our daily prayer. We begin the morning prayer service with openness. We say \u2018<em>ma rabu maasecha adonai<\/em>\/how awesome are your creations, O God.\u2019 These words from Psalm 104 are shorthand for a wide angle appreciation for the magnificent variety of God\u2019s creatures.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But, the service moves in the direction of focus. Just before the Shema, we gather the four corners of our tallit, in a visualization of focused energy. The Shema is a moment of commitment to One God. And, commitment is always a narrowing of options.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What follows is the intensification of energy \u00a0that follows from that focus. We can feel the resoluteness in the encouragement to love God \u2018with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To love we need to be open. And, to love, we need to focus on the one. <em>Peticha<\/em> and <em>Immutz\u00a0<\/em>\/ opening and closing are the yin and yang of life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by: johnhain on Pixabay<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":50696,"id":50696,"title":"Dt15-yinyang","filename":"Dt15-yinyang.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Dt15-yinyang.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-yin-and-yang-of-opening-and-closing\/dt15-yinyang\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"dt15-yinyang","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":50695,"date":"2019-03-04 10:08:13","modified":"2019-03-04 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