Sound of silence

Sound of silence Close your eyes, and stretch out your arms full length aligned with your shoulders, take three deep breaths and imagine that you are at the most peaceful place you can imagine. When faced with a challenge, a threat or an argument - you feel insecure or unsure how to react, go to that peaceful place. As the challenge you face develops, continue to move back to that place, let your mind be in constant movement to the challenge and then back to that moment. Then you will successfully deal with all challenges.
This was an exercise given by an ex-mossad agent on how to deal in anxious environments. His challenges may have been slightly different, as he came under fire breaking into the house of a terrorist on the shores of Morocco.
But where would that peaceful place be for you?
I often arrive at a quiet sunny beach, with the relaxing sounds of nature, the breeze, the seagulls, the gentle water and my children playing in the background. Relaxing, but movement and sound nonetheless.
We live with sounds and cannot function without them; those that cannot hear develop other senses of feel and sight to make up for it.
Even in serenity there is mild activity, even in relaxation there is slight movement, even in peace there is muted sound.
Which leads us to an interesting idea in this week’s Torah portion: The High Priest was instructed to fashion bells on the bottom of his tunic. The bells softly jingled as he walked and announced his entrance ahead of him.
Is this not a distraction from the emphasis on G-d, drawing undue attention to the High Priest?
These bells reflected the essence of life. They represented the give and take, the hustle and bustle, of movement and growth. The High Priest did not live in a vacuum of spiritual seclusion. He lived in a world where ordinary people struggled.
In this struggle, ordinary people were left wanting. Despite their efforts, they knew they could do better and they always desired more. They found themselves on a growing curve, caught up in a momentum of up and down, to and fro. This movement was reflected in the jingling of the High Priest's bells.
May we have many peaceful, blissful and spiritual moments. Shabbat Shalom.