Stand Up Straight, but Not Too Straight!

Torah Meets Yoga

It's a holy attribute to stand up straight, only not too straight!

In last week's Torah reading, God said “I'm the one that brought you out of the narrow place: I broke the bands of your yoke to walk tall.”  Stand tall-  komemiyut. This word is also in the blessing of God's love for us we say before the Shema. 

 The Magid of Mezrich taught that cattle walk with their head bent down to the ground, and when we humans act like animals so too are our heads bent down- but to the base things in life. If instead we walk upright with our head up, we're looking heavenward.  

Sounds like a great solution, right? Just hold your head up, right? Well, to a degree. However,  I don't believe it's that simple.

If we're only looking up, what happens?   Only looking up we can miss what's in front of us leading us to a physical collision or to trip up on our interactions with others verbally and/or emotionally. While all of our actions are ultimately between us and God (Ben Adam LaMakom.)  Yet there is also the core idea that teshuvah - return to our true nature - is not complete unless we make things right with our fellow people (Ben Adam LeChavero.)

What's more, symbolically, when we are only looking up, our noses are in the air! That is not the kind of standing tall God wants. Our rabbinic Sages taught that it is forbidden to walk too tall - that we should not have a sense of excessive pride.

The Sfat Emet rectifies the idea of word komemiyut-  He taught that when Redemption comes we'll be able to devote ourselves to the Source of Life while fully upright, but in this world we have to bend in awe. 

The great challenge of our lives is to come from humility, but within balance: to be standing tall yet in humble awe. Not too low and not too high. Like the Mountain Pose in Yoga:  straight spine, yet a bit supple. A tall strong core, yet heart open.  Arms reaching up heaven,  yet shoulders relaxed. 

Blessing Holy One, take us out of our narrow space, into an upright yet humble stature.

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