Meditating in Middle School

Today, we had a meditation T'filah at The Davis Academy middle school. It may seem like a crazy idea-- close to 200 6th, 7th, and 8th graders sprawled out on the gym floor, meditation music playing in the background, in varying states of meditative repose. But that's what happened. What on earth would lead to someone deciding to undertake such an unlikely and potentially fraught experiment? It's simple really: our kids need it and so do we.

Life is busy. Life is complicated. There's a lot that's asked of each of us. Every day. We all spend a lot of time reviewing past mistakes and anticipating future experiences. And we could all spend a little more time being present for... the present. And attending to all that the moment has to offer.

The Davis Academy Middle School Ark when the gym lights are dimmed for meditation. 

Seven or eight years ago I discovered that my students here at The Davis Academy, from at least 5th grade on up, really like meditating. At first I thought it was some sort of anomaly. But what I've found, consistently, is that they not only like meditating, but that meditation is important for them. We don't meditate often and we don't meditate with great rigor, but when we do meditate you can quickly notice the change in energy. Kids are more relaxed. They're more attentive to themselves and one another. They're more comfortable sharing on the basis of their experience.

Over the years, I've had lots of opportunities to explore meditation with Davis Academy students. Some like it. Some don't. Some feel comfortable doing it. Some don't. Some report significant spiritual, emotional, or intellectual breakthroughs, some don't. Some find it energizing, some find it exhausting. But one thing is clear-- they all find it interesting.

I think meditation speaks to our 5th-8th students because it represents a break from the fast pace of daily life. I think it speaks to them because it allows them to look inside and encounter their true thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and experiences. And I think it speaks to them because it is an authentic methodology for self-transcendence-- for getting a sense of something greater than themselves and for having a chance to connect to it.

Whatever we're looking for is what we will see.

Closed storefront mural, Machaneh Yehudah Market, Jerusalem

There's a common adage that goes (and I'm paraphrasing here), "Whatever we're looking for is what we will see." Psalm 68:20, the basis for the song "Baruch Adonai" asks us to see God's sustaining power in every day and every moment. If we look for this sustaining power can see it? I'm not sure. But if we aren't looking for it, then we're likely to see whatever it is that we're looking for.

"Blessings be to God, who day by day sustains us."

Whatever we're looking for is what we will see. 

"Ever present kindness."

Whatever we're looking for is what we will see.

"Broken shards become whole." 

Whatever we're looking for is what we will see.

"Endless beauty comes our way."

Whatever we're looking for is what we will see.

"Blessings rain, great and small."

Whatever we're looking for is what we will see.

"A warm embrace from a loving friend."

Whatever we're looking for is what we will see. 

As you listen to "Baruch Adonai" (Track 6 on Menschology), enjoy the lullaby feel of the music and try to take to heart the vision expressed in the Psalm and the additional lyrics. You can listen wherever you stream music or on CD Baby.

Love Your Neighbor

It's simple: 

Love your neighbor as yourself.
The rest is commentary. 

Love your neighbor even after they've moved and are no longer your neighbor.

Love your neighbor even before they're your neighbor.

Love your neighbor even when their guests park in front of your mailbox. 

Love your neighbor even when they need to access their yard through your yard. 

Love your neighbor even when they always seem to have a question for you just when you've gotten home from a long day. 

Love your neighbor even if you don't love your HOA. 

It's simple:

Love your neighbor as yourself.

The rest is commentary. 

Love your neighbor even when they don't look like you. 

Love your neighbor even when they don't talk like you.

Love your neighbor even when they celebrate different holy days. 

Love your neighbor even if they call God by a different name. 

It's simple:
Love your neighbor as yourself.

The rest is commentary.
Now go and practice it.

If you want to hear the Menschology version of love your neighbor click here or check it out wherever you stream music. 

Sweetness and Light

Tree of Life made of Davis Academy Student Thumb Prints

For several thousands of years the Jewish People considered themselves to be God's "Chosen People." Our ancestors felt that God has chosen the Jewish People to help realize God's vision for humanity and all creation. Sometimes the idea of being God's chosen people was a source of comfort and a buffer against the difficulties of daily life. Sometimes it was a source of pride and even a rationale for maintaining strict boundaries between Jews and Gentiles. But the central idea behind the idea of being God's Chosen People is this: that Jews are meant to live the teachings of our Torah, both the ethical precepts and the more mysterious mitzvot. To be God's Chosen People means to live a life infused with Jewish values, inspired by Jewish teachings, and in harmony with God's vision of a world redeemed. Achieving this sense of harmony and purpose isn't meant to be experienced as a kind of weight or burden. On the contrary, a life of Torah broadly understood is meant to be sweet and enlightening. Torah is likened to refreshing water, to a living tree, honey as if from a rock, and pure light. 

"Laasok B'divrei Torah" is the blessing that Jews recite before fulfilling the mitzvah of studying Torah. The words literally mean, "to busy oneself with words of Torah." Colloquially, the blessing for the study of Torah asks us "to make Torah our business." Because the Torah is a rich, generous, complicated, and multifaceted text, perpetual study and engagement is the only way that we can authentically live a life rooted in the teachings of Torah. 

When you listen to the Menschology version of "Laasok B'divrei Torah" you'll hear the sweet voices of Davis Academy Middle School students: Elena Dollinger (lead), (ensemble): Rachel Binderman, Annalise Hardy, Amalia Haviv, Rachel Hertz, Shoshana Katz, Ava Stark and Lily Stark.

In addition to the traditional words of the blessing for the study of Torah you'll hear English lyrics that elaborate on the theme of living our Jewish values. Lastly, you'll hear an additional line of Hebrew: Ki ner mitzvah, v'Torah or (the mitzvot are a candle and the Torah is light).

I hope you find this melody sweet and illuminating. You can listen to it wherever you stream music and download it from CD Baby.

Praying with our Feet

5th graders doing written reflection in Birmingham. 

As I'm writing this post our Davis Academy 5th graders are in Birmingham, Alabama Menschology called, "Praying with our Feet."
visiting the 16th Street Baptist Church and Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. It was that very field trip in 2015 that inspired the words and music of the 7th track on

Jews have a long history of praying with our feet. It's part of the inheritance of a people that are perpetually striving to make the world a better place. Whether marching across the Red Sea, from Selma to Montgomery, or for the endless righteous causes of every era, we know what it feels like when our feet our praying.

The phrase, "Praying with our feet" comes directly from Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel who famously said he felt as though his feet were praying when he marched as part of the Civil Rights Movement.

The lyrics to the song speak for themselves, but for those that are wondering, they're meant to evoke themes of the Civil Rights Movement. Justice denied, justice deferred, justice beaten and bloodied, but never losing faith. The lyrics move, step by step, mile by mile, over hills and through valleys, to the mountaintop, and beyond. The words, "Bridge by bridge/ town by town" evoke the strongest images in my mind, images like that of the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

My hope is that Davis Academy students will keep this song in their hearts and on their lips as a way of connecting their own justice work with that of those who have come before them. My hope is that this song will pop into their heads whenever they find themselves enacting the values that we have instilled in them here at The Davis Academy. And my hope is that others who do the work of justice will find inspiration and affirmation in this song.

The Menschology version of "Praying with our Feet" is performed beautifully by Will Robertson, Alex Newberg, Rebecca Good, and Janice Durden.

You can listen to it wherever you stream music, learn more about it on our Davis Rocks page, and download it from CDBaby here.

Love Wins

Love Wins. 

It may not always feel that way.

It may not always be obvious.

It may not mean that there isn't a great struggle to get there or that real pain and suffering aren't inflicted along the way.

But Love Wins.
There may be wounds that never fully heal and scars that always remind.
And there will always be experiences and lives that are left unredeemed.
But Love Wins.
Eventually. 

This is a hard earned truth of the human condition.
If we can recognize it.

The world is sustained by the breath of school children. 

So the Talmud teaches.

Because the breath of school children is the breath of learning.

It is the breath of becoming.

It is the breath of transformation

and the breath of hope.

It is the breath of the open-minded.

The breath of innocence.

The breath of curiosity.

The breath of reflection.
The breath of thirst sated by knowledge eventually toward wisdom.

It is the breath of now and the breath of tomorrow.

The 17th track on The Davis Academy's Menschology is called "Love Wins." But it should really be called, "Love Wins(The World is Sustained by the Breath of School Children").

That's because these two themes merge in the message and melody of this song. Love Wins is a song that honors children, teachers, and everyone who dedicates their life to ensuring that Love Wins. The title of the song is purposefully referential, inspired by and honoring the various causes that have taken "Love Wins" as their motto. For those that care to know, the song was written on 12/14/12 as an emotional reaction to the events of that day.

It is performed beautifully on Menschology by Eva Shell, Kendrick Phillips, and Will Robertson.

If you have thoughts about Love Wins (The World is Sustained by the Breath of School Children) we'd love to hear them. In the meantime, you can stream the song wherever you listen to music or download it here.

Why The Davis Academy Creates Music

With the release of Menschology, The Davis Academy's 3rd full length album of original Jewish music written by our school rabbi, Micah Lapidus, it's as good a time as any to reflect on why The Davis Academy creates music.

That The Davis Academy produces and performs original Jewish music is a point of distinction among Jewish schools and Jewish organizations. Music plays an important role in many Jewish communities, but most communities don't actively support the composition and production of new tunes and melodies. Davis does.

The fact that The Davis Academy supports the creation of new Jewish music tells you a couple of things about Davis:

1) Davis Rocks. You can hear it when you listen to our music, but you can really feel it when you visit our school, especially when we're all together.

2) Davis celebrates the human voice. The human voice is celebrated and honored in countless ways at The Davis Academy. Children literally discover their voice during their years at Davis. They discover what they have to say, what they have to share, and how best to make themselves heard. Discovering one's voice isn't just about learning how to speak or write. We discover our human voice through art, through physical activity, through spiritual reflection, through singing, through recitation of ancient prayers and many other ways. The journey of discovering our voice is a lifelong journey. One way that The Davis Academy celebrates the human voice is by producing new Jewish music that brings our community together in song and invites the many voices of our community to create new expressions of our Jewish and spiritual commitments.

Menschology Performers

Below is a list of the talented members of The Davis Academy Kehilah who graciously participated in the recording of our Menschology CD. It is arranged according to track # and order of appearance. If you appreciate their performance you should let them know!!!!

1.      Caroline Patterson and Will Robertson
2.    Caroline Patterson
3.    Elena Dollinger (soloist);  Ensemble: Rachel Binderman, Annalise Hardy, Amalia Haviv,    Rachel Hertz, Shoshana Katz, Ava Stark, Lily Stark; Bob Michek on drums
4.    Will Robertson (soloist); Caroline Patterson (background vocal)
5.    Will Robertson
6.    Caroline Patterson and Will Robertson
7.    In order of appearance:  Will Robertson, Alex Newberg, Rebecca Good, Janice Durden
8.    Caroline Patterson and Rich O’Dell (French Horn)
9.    Will Robertson
10.    Rabbi Micah Lapidus and Davis Academy 5th graders
11.    In order of apperance: Janice Durden, Darren Rosing, Gracie Kirschner, Magical                 Melodies and Davis Decibelles; Bob Michek on drums
12.     Bob Michek on vocals and drums
13.    Bob Michek on drums
14.    Grant Miller (soloist); Bob Michek on drums
15.     Kendrick Phillips (soloist): Ensemble: Rachel Binderman, Elena Dollinger, Sammy             Effron, Annalise Hardy, Amalia Haviv, Rachel Hertz, Shoshana Katz, Ava Stark, Lily       Stark 
16.   Ensemble:   Daniel Rosen 
17.   In order of apperance:  Eva Shell and Kendrick Phillips
18.  Will Robertson and Rabbi Micah Lapidus