 |
||||||||
|
 |
|
||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
 |
|
By Shayna Lester, Teacher of Everyday Holiness One of the great blessings of my life journey is working with incarcerated Jewish women as a volunteer chaplain and a spiritual director. Whenever I walk into the chapel, I feel as if I am on holy ground. A sanctuary has been created where Jewish women can learn about Judaism through classes, prayer, music, and community as well as weekly Shabbat services and holidays. This year we built a beautiful Sukkah, a rarity I believe in most prisons. We are teaching Judaism at the deepest level possible. At the beginning of this secular year, I began teaching the 10 Commandments from a psycho-spiritual perspective. We also are studying Mussar, using Everyday Holiness: The Jewish Spiritual Path to Mussar by Alan Morinis, and last month, Alan spent an evening with our women. Studying the 10 Commandments, we were challenged with some important questions around self-discovery. When we got to the 8th Commandment, “Thou Shalt Not Murder,” the discussion centered on how we murder another's spirit by our words and actions. I brought Everyday Holiness to the prison that day and read the chapter on silence. Part of Alan's discussion is on the use of ethical language and the idea of remaining silent rather than saying something that could be hurtful. The women were moved by that message since speaking loshon hora (gossip), espousing anger, and other negative speech is a huge problem in prison. They wanted to study the rules of loshon hora and as we studied those rules they learned how to be more cautious about their speech and the speech to which they would listen. In an art project, they made pins that looked like the Rolling Stones’ album cover with a mouth and tongue hanging out, but the women also printed the words “No Loshon Hora” and “Guard Your Tongue.” They began wearing the pins and non-Jewish inmates asked about the pins and if they could wear them too. Soon, half the prisoners were wearing the pins. Even the prison warden and a few guards were wearing them, as did I and Rabbi We also heard that the Warden and a few guards wore a pin as did the Jewish Chaplin, Rabbi Moshe Halfon and myself. It was while studying loshon hora that the women asked when they could begin Mussar study and soon after Alan agreed that Everyday Holiness would be a perfect text to use as a tool for spiritual self-discovery. Now deep into the study of Mussar, we are reading it from cover to cover, a slow process, as just going into the introduction promotes meaningful, revealing discussions. Women who hear about this class are doing everything they can to get permission to attend. Last week we began studying the middah of humility (anavah). As we finished the class, the women were talking among themselves about how deep and powerful the work means to them, and they all say they’re committed to change as a result of all they are learning. One woman acknowledged “it takes time to absorb concepts which are learned intellectually to the point that we are able to weave them into our moral fiber. But, we must keep in mind that to truly change is always a lengthy and gradual process. Much like cooking a slow stew." I know these teachings are one of the greatest assets in the rehabilitation of the women who attend these Mussar classes. We have already seen how lives can be changed, even in prison by learning Jewish ethics. Ethical issues are an important place to focus in order to have a better life both within the prison walls and when/if they leave. The holiness I feel doing this work is beyond anything I would have ever imagined. My own personal journey is highly enriched by not only witnessing the growth of women that are incarcerated, but also from all that I am learning as a result of these studies. We have flourished and grown so much over these last months. Shayna Lester is a Volunteer Chaplain, a Volunteer State Prison Chaplain, Jewish Spiritual Director, Marriage and Family Therapist, and Jewish Interfaith Minister. Read the Announcements to find out how you can get involved and support the work of bringing Mussar to Jewish prisoners. |
|
|
||||
