ShalOOooooooommmmm

by Claire Rosenberg, Staff Writer
January 27, 2011

Om or ‘Aum’ is a symbol and sound familiar to many in the Western World, although its origins are tied to the East. It appears on yoga accessories, home décor (some of which decorates my own apartment) clothing, and in recordings of meditative music by numerous artists. The general consensus is that Om is actually beyond human constraints as a reverberating sound, awareness, and intention, yet there has been an attempt to make it accessible as well, through the letters “A-U-M”, which cover the progression of pronunciation. I have seen numerous attempts to define Om (as well as equivalent insistence that it is beyond definition) but one suggestion that particularly resonates with me, is the assertion that Om is a reference to GD, albeit without the restriction the word G-O-D is subject to when spoken in English. I am so intrigued by this definition because it brings to my mind the term YHWH (or Yaweh) that has long been used in Judaism to describe a higher power without allowing it to become commonplace. The dichotomy between the two terms is striking however, in that YHWH is a name meant to retain its holiness through scarcity of use; that we might remain on a separate plane from GD. Conversely, Om is not only meant to be pronounced, but to allow practitioners to feel all encompassed in the understanding and presence of a creator.

The relationship in philosophy to the term YHWH is not the only thing drawing me to find comfort in the recitation of Om, there is also a more linguistic reason: Om sounds awfully similar to the second half of ShalOM….the word which denotes greeting, separation (of ways) and peace in Hebrew.  The first yoga class I attended drew to a close with a group sounding of ‘Om’, which in my head became Shalom…and to this day I often include a silent ‘Sha’ in my personal recitation as opposed to the low A which traditionally leads into the Om sounding. This melding of cultures and faiths has been a theme of my involvement in yoga and its surrounding culture from the beginning. I will admit that I attended my first yoga class in the simple pursuit of tighter abs, better balance and a solution to persistent back pain, and that while I did find all those things with my practice (Although balance is still a daily struggle on several levels), I became just as intrigued with the culture and history of the practice. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that terms such as Jubu (A Jew who practices elements of Buddhism) have become popular in our culture, and that there are numerous books on the parallels between Yoga and Judaism available at local book stores. The more I learned of Yogic culture and foundations, the more parallels I began to draw between my Yoga practice and my Judaism.

Krishna Das is perhaps the best known American singer of Kirtan music (the chanting of Hindu names for GD) and tours internationally, leading large groups in devotional chanting. Born Jeffrey Kegel, the man known as Krishna Das is technically Jewish, although he is quite vocal about his lack of connection to the Jewish faith…unlike many of his devotees. I have attended 5 of his Kirtans/Concerts thus far, and it has not escaped my notice that many of my fellow participants sport Stars of David, not to mention some rather interesting Tanach-oriented Hebrew tattoos I once spotted, and even the occasional kippah. While he probably did not foresee my application to Judaism, there was one thought in particular shared during my second Kirtan that struck home for me. Krishna Das was making his standard conversational quips between chants and he noted that “It’s not about what we’re saying…I have no clue what I’m saying!  It’s about getting to sing something familiar and comforting, and doing it together, all of us.” Considering the amount of time he has spent at Ashrams in India, I hope that Krishna Das is exaggerating a bit, and does have SOME idea of the meaning behind the chants he leads, but the idea that we are singing to SING, and to come together as a community for some period of time was both inspiring and comforting. In two sentences, a man who publicly admits to being estranged from the religion in which I find so much fulfillment, illustrated how and where I find comfort in it. And again I offer: Judaism and Yoga do not exist on such estranged platforms as one might think.

While I do speak conversationally functional Hebrew and was raised by an Israeli mother, I would be lying if I insisted that I understand every word of the prayers in Synagogue, or more importantly, if I insisted that the bulk of my connection to Judaism is in the precise words of the Torah and the Siddur. Most of my passion is in reciting melodies and sharing experiences with which I am familiar, and to which I tie varied emotional events throughout my life; Jewish and otherwise. Participating in services evokes certain emotions from me; few of them directly related to the number of adjectives with which we can praise GD in Ein Keloheinu.

Admittedly, I never expected that my decision to add yoga to my exercise regimen would open so many doors to evaluating my own spirituality and growing so much in my embrace of it. If anything, my concern was that yoga might bring me to find accommodation in new practices, something it has indeed done, but I’ve also discovered that this widening of my awareness has only made me more steadfast in my connection to the Jewish faith, and to how wonderfully encompassing and welcoming that faith is. My fear that I might move away from Judaism as I discovered new manifestations of spirituality, turned out in the end to be completely unfounded. I could never have anticipated that I would leave my first Kirtan feeling in a way as though I had just experienced a Yom Kippur service…cleansing, reinvigorating, and spiritually powerful, an experience I associate completely and profoundly with my Judaism. I have come to realize over time that words and practices (both physical and emotional) are exactly what you make of them, and that however you choose to practice your spirituality, it will encourage growth in whatever direction you are moving as an individual. I began practicing yoga for better abs, never realizing that the experience would also become one of prayer, with my body as my temple and my teachers as guides allowing me to build my own spiritual journey. As we say at the end of a yoga practice, Namaste. **

*explanation of AUM from http://www.speakbindas.com/meaning-of-word-om/
** Namaste is a Sanskrit term loosely translated to mean: The GD/Goddess spirit in me honors the GD/Goddess spirit in you.

Claire Rosenberg is staff writer for the New Vilna Review. She is also a Jewish semi-professional living in Connecticut, where she teaches, writes, does yoga, and runs the occasional 5k. She spends the majority of her time these days applying to Masters Programs in Israel and creating recipes to post on her vegetarian food blog, www.bokchoybohemia.com.
 
Copyright Claire Rosenberg/The New Vilna Review 2011.