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I'm throwing a party and found wonderful caterers, florists,- entertainers and more... all in THE JEWISH NEWS CELEBRATION CONNECTION DIRECTORY ; in the Amazing Marketplace Wake-Up Call Like the High Holidays, Jewish meditation offers opportunities for self-discovery and closeness to God. CHRISTINE STUTZ SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS AWAKE, 0 YOU SLEEPERS ... EXAMINE YOUR DEEDS AND TURN TO GOD IN RE- PENTANCE... YOU WHO ARE WASTING YOUR YEARS IN VAIN PURSUITS THAT NEI- THER PROFIT NOR SAVE LOOK CLOSELY AT YOURSELVES.• IMPROVE YOUR WAYS AND DEEDS. —Maimonides, Helikhot Teshuvah uring the High Holiday season, Jews are in- structed to turn inward and examine their souls, while listening to what God is requesting of them. But for prac- titioners of Jewish meditation, such exercises in self-contem- plation are a regular and ongo- ing process throughout the year. "The practice of meditation actually forces you to confront yourself," says Rabbi Angela Graboys, a Reform rabbi who over the past year has taught several Jewish meditation class- es for the Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore. The Jewish meditation move- ment has attracted many fol- lowers in recent years — as have Eastern religions such as Bud- dhism and Hinduism — because they offer the possibility of ex- periencing the divine on an in- tensely personal level. The mainstream practice of Western religions has stressed an external God, not an internal God. "The appeal in Buddhism and Kabbalistic [mystical] Ju- daism is not to see God as this external force but as an in- dwelling presence in all cre- ation," Rabbi Graboys said. The High Holiday process known as teshuva, or repen- tance, is very similar to the act of meditation, Rabbi Graboys says. It's a turning inward, to enhance one's ability to reach outward to one's fellow man — and upward, to the Almighty. The Selichot service, which precedes Rosh Hashanah and the Ten Days of Repentance, parallels the act of meditation as preparation for prayer, Rabbi Graboys says. In Jewish mysticism, it is taught that divine sparks exist in each person as evidence of hu- manity's oneness with God. It is one's duty to seek out the spark, the goodness, in others and in oneself, says Rabbi Graboys, and haalat ha-nitzotzot, or elevate it. "The ultimate goal of medita- tion is to make people more aware so they can improve the world," she says. "We ask our- selves, 'What can I do to heal D the world and to fan the flames of the holy spark in others?' " During the High Holidays, atonement also can be construed as at one ment, she says, a focus- ing on the unity of creation. "You're aware that all sentient beings have the same process of breath," she says. Jewish meditation and Bud- dhist meditation are similar in that both employ a relaxed up- right posture, a focus on con- trolled, deep breathing, and the repetition of mantras. In Jew- ish meditation, she says, that mantra might be a portion of the Sh'ma prayer, some Hebrew let- ters, or a phrase such as, "The soul you have given me is pure," said in English or Hebrew. In Buddhism, there is no thought of a deity, however. "Jewish meditation centers around an idea of devekut, which is to cling to God," Rabbi Graboys said. "The goal in Jew- ish meditation is a closeness to God." In meditation, as in Judaism, silence and sound have great significance. In the Book of Psalms, it is written, "To God, silence is praise." And in Pirkei Avot, or the Ethics of the Fa- thers, there are many indica- tions that the sages understood the importance of silence, Rab- bi Graboys says. Silence allows introspection, which gives rise to alertness, a heightened awareness of oneself and of God, she says. The blowing of the shofar is "a perfect metaphor for waking up," Rabbi Graboys says. Some Buddhists sound a bell of aware- ness as a call to meditate. Ti- betan monks blow a conch shell to call people to prayer. The Sh'ma prayer commands Jews to wake up and listen: "Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them ... " "In Jewish prayer, we're ei- ther asking God for something or thanking him for giving us something," Rabbi Graboys says. "In meditation, you're just being mindful." Meditation can be frighten- ing, she says, because the silence is awkward. People new to med- itation can be fearful of what thoughts might pop into their heads. "You have to confront your real issues when you h2.--e that - - WAKE-UP page 133