For Such a Time as This (Esther 4:14): Spiritual Practices to Ground & Center
Warfare, wildfires, transportation tragedies, and political rancor… We are living in times of what Amanda Ripley terms “high conflict.” How can our spiritual or religious practices help us steady ourselves and respond to these and other challenges as bridgebuilders with greater compassion, courage, and focus? In this month-long series, we invite veteran practitioners and educators to share with us the sacred rituals and ceremonies that help them ground or center themselves.
It is our hope that in reading these brief reflections, you will gain insight and inspiration as you seek to build pluralism in this difficult moment in American and global life.
Ribbono Shel Olam (Master of Eternity)
By Rabbi Ebn Leader
Ribbono Shel Olam,
Please be with me in this difficult time.
I have been asked to share a practice that helps me and might help others face the adversity of our time, and I truly wish that I knew of some new-fangled practice—a spell tailored for this tumultuous moment, a ritual to bring us instant comfort and hope.
But all I have is You, and all I have to offer is this most ancient of practices: “Put it into words and bring it back to God” (Hosea 14:3). This is a practice so old and so simple that it is easy to ignore and to write off as fantasy.
Ribbono Shel Olam, You know how long ago I stopped asking if I believed in You, because it no longer made any difference. One way or another, I trust You—I trust in my longing for You, and I trust Your presence in that longing; may it never end.
I have no words to say to You that have not been said countless times before. But I take comfort in knowing that as I reach out to You, I am not alone; my ancestors are also present, some of whom are smiling as I enter this sacred prayer space. I can hear at least one saying, “So you have also come to dwell with the blessed Holy One in the “valley of the shadow of death” (Psalm 23:4). Take a seat, there is room for you here.”
Ribbono Shel Olam, even when I turn away from You, please, do not leave me alone. When I struggle to put my trust in human beings, help me put my trust in You.
Help me trust that You do your work through human beings, even when they are broken, even when they are overwhelmed, even when they are scared, angry and arrogant, even when they cross over into evil, even when they are not worthy.
Help me do the right thing. Help me be present for those who love me and for those whom I love. Help me be there for my children.
Ribbono Shel Olam, please, keep an eye out for my children.
Please keep an eye out for all the children, especially those who have lost their parents; those who have lost their homes; those who are sleeping outside tonight; those who do not know where they will sleep tomorrow night; those who are hungry and those who can no longer trust that their parents will not be suddenly taken away from them.
Please keep an eye on the child that is within each one of us, please, be there for Your children.
Please cry with me, and please, let me cry with You.
Ribbono Shel Olam, You have given me so much, you have created within me many pathways to You.
I am grateful for the gift of intellect, which allows me to distinguish between honesty and falsehood and to see what is, and for the gift of imagination that allows me to see through the boundaries of my preconceived notions to the truth of what is possible, and of who You are in the world. Help me reach out to You in everything I do.
Ribbono Shel Olam, You are the living breath within my cry to You, and I thank you for this moment. I ask no more from You than this moment, as I continue to try and serve You with love, “For it all comes from You, and all that we give You, we received from Your hand” (1 Chronicles, 29:14).
Rabbi Ebn Leader
Ebn Leader has been a student of Rabbi Arthur Green for 25 years. He joined Green in the founding of the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College, where he taught for 20 years. He was also privileged to study extensively with rabbis David Hartman OBM and Zalman Schachter Shalomi OBM. His published work is in the field of Hasidism and Neo-Hasidism, most notably Speaking Torah – Spiritual Teachings from Around the Maggid’s Table, and with Rabbi Or Rose, God in All Moments: Mystical and Practical Wisdom From Hasidic Masters. He is married to Rabbi Claudia Kreiman, and together they parent two daughters.
