Jewish Post, Indianapolis, Marion County, 8 October 2003 — Page 6

NAT 2 Octohci S, 2003

Jewish Post & Opinion

Maybe You’ll Agree

In a previous editorial I mentioned an engaging class I took in San Francisco in 1991 taught by Rabbi Nancy Flam. It was called, "Jewish Perspectives on Healing and Wholeness." Before that time, I had studied Chinese healing at the Acupressure Institute in Berkeley and was fascinated by it. But, as interesting as it was, this new class made me feel as if I had been away on a long trip and had finally arrived home. 1 learned a great deal about Judaism from the class, which was held at Congregation Sha'ar Zahav. It was one of several different kinds of classes offered every year by Lehrhaus Judaica, an adult education program with classes taught by rabbis and Jewish lay leaders. There were many educational opportunities available in the Bay Area to learn different healing practices, especially ones with an Eastern background like the one offered by the Acupressure Institute. What had been missing until then was one from my own tradition. Rabbi Yoel Kahn was not involved in the class but was the rabbi of the congregation where the class took place and where Rabbi Flam was a member. A few years earlier a priest who was putting together an interfaith healing service for AIDS patients asked him if he would create part of the service from Jewish sources. Rabbi Kahn did not know if he would be able to find such material, but he promised to look into it. To his surprise he found more than he expected and put together a fair amount of prayers. When the class ended in December, Rabbi Flam told the students that it is not a Jewish custom to study just for studying's sake; one has to do something with what he or she learned. It could be teaching others or doing mitzvahs (good deeds) such as bikkor cholim (visiting the sick). She continued by explaining that next spring she planned to begin offering regular Jewish healing prayer services. This would be not only for those facing health challenges, but also therapists, children of holocaust survivors, people mourning a loss, and anyone seeking spiritual upliftment during the week. The service was held on Monday evenings twice a month. Rabbi Flam asked the class if anyone would like to contribute something for this new service. Rabbi Kahn had generously offered to have his service be a resource for it. I think a lot of the first draft of the Jewish healing prayer service came from that. Soon after, I spent all day writing and came up with an affirmation that was not particularly Jewish but which nevertheless 1 thought would be a nice addition. It went like this: "I am a precious part of all that exists. There is no separation between God and myself. As I feel this connection, I know I am being filled with divine love and surrounded by infinite perfection. 1 accept this healing energy as if flows unrestricted through my body bringing strength, vitality, and rejuvenation to every cell. I feel this powerful energy cleansing and healing any unbalanced condition in my

body."

The affirmation was included in the first draft, a 12-page cut and paste service. That was what Rabbi Flam decided to use until she had a chance to see which prayers worked well and would eventually be including in a final draft. There were no name credits printed anywhere in that copy except on the back side of the front cover. It said, "Jewish Healing Center," with the address and phone number. Underneath that it said, "A project of the Shefa Fund." That information became outdated a couple years later when the office moved to a different location and took a new

name.

A small group of interested people from the community, some of whom had been in the class, practiced a couple of trial runs with the new service. A woman therapist from

How do we choose? A story in this week's P-O mentions that Hitler killed off more than 200,000 Germans before he began killing Jews. He wanted to rid the German "race" of what he considered inferiors. People who were mentally or physically handi-

capped.

That was clearly wrong. Yet we know that evolution culls out the weakest - those least able to adapt and compete. Now we have the ability, through science and technology, to preserve the weakest. Now we have the dilemma: should we? The lines are far from clear. We need bioethicists to try to draw them for us. We do not want to embark on a path that makes humanity less able physically, more prone to disease, more of a

burden. And we don't want to play God or Hitler. We have a saying that we should go "from strength to strength." Breeding more of our selves who are less able to cope is just the opposite. But we have Stephen Hawking. We have a range of people with schizophrenia, from those who must be hospitalized to those who, with some help, can be productive members of society. Does this make you as uncomfortable, dear reader, as it makes me? I hope so. Because, whatever we do, we should do humanely, ethically, thoughtfully, and with the best interests of ind ividuals and of the world in mind. No easy task. Just something to ponder. Maybe you'll agree... Ed Stattmann

Rohnert Park, a town an hour north of San Francisco, critiqued my affirmation. She said I needed to change the word "unrestricted" to the word "freely" because people will hear "restricted" rather than "unrestricted." I agreed with her and went home with the intention of fixing only that. When I got to my computer, I figured maybe I could improve it even more. The following is what I turned in at the next opportunity. "I am a precious part of all that exists. I am One with the Power that created me. I feel this connection now, surrounding and protecting me. 1 am safe and secure. With every breath, healing energy enters my body and flows freely, bringing strength, vitality, and rejuvenation to every cell. As

my awareness of this perfect presence gets stronger, I feel it creating vibrant health and harmony in my body, mind, and spirit. "Joy now floods into my life as I experience the wonders and miracles daily, morning, noon, and evening. Every day I feel more alert, alive, and enthusiastic about life. Because of my connection to all of life, as I improve, those around me feel better. I am uplifted and grateful. The Creator's infinite love fills me at all times, and my love for myself and others is growing deeper. I am relaxed, content, and at peace." Since I was the one making copies of the service, I replaced the original affirmation with the new one for all new copies made. To be continued. Jennie Cohen

How To Kill A Business In Ten Easy Steps

1. Don't advertise. Just pretend everytjody knows what you have to offer. 2. Don't advertise. Tell yourself you just don’t have the time to spend thinking about promoting your business. 3. Don’t advertise. Just assume everybody knows what you sell. 4. Don’t advertise. Convince yourself that you've been in business so long customers will automatically come to you. 5. Don’t advertise. Forget that there are new potential customers who would do business with you if they were urged to do so.

6. Don’t advertise. Forget that you have competition trying to attract your customers away from you. 7. Don't advertise. Tell yourself it costs too much to advertise and that you don’t get enough out of it. 8. Don't advertise. Overlook the fact that advertising is an investment in selling — not an expense. 9. Don't advertise. Be sure not provide an adequate advertising budget for business. 10. Don’t advertise. Forget that you have to keep reminding your estab-

lished customers that you appreciate their business.

You decide... it's your business in good times or bad.