Today, in the age of the internet, many of us bemoan the idea of traipsing down to the post office to mail an overnight package. Or, we cringe at the thought of waiting for the fax to connect, the paper to roll through the machine, and the printing to occur on the other side. Today, we even drum our fingers restlessly, wondering why everyone has not switched to handheld devices to respond to our "important" emails. We expect things now! Not tomorrow, not in a few minutes, but NOW!
Patience, "they" say, is a virtue. In Hebrew, the word for "patience" is "Savlanut". "Savlanut" shares the same Hebrew root as the words for burdens / "sivlot" and porter / "sabal". Patience, can therefore be understood as the ablility to carry a burden. In our case, that burden can often be time, or the burden of waiting. When do we experience this? Waiting for a response from others, waiting in traffic, waiting in line at the grocery store.
So what to do? A practice that I took on last year was to use that waiting time to count my blessings in life. Rather that letting myself get irritated at what I might be missing, I use the opportunity to reflect on what I have.
The month of April at TAE is devoted to Patience / Savlanut. I don't know about you, but I can't wait!
L' Shalom,
Rabbi Ted Riter - Senior Rabbi
