Rav Ashi said: I saw Rav Kahana, when there was trouble in the world, remove his cloak, clasp his hands, and pray, saying, ‘[I pray] like a slave before his master.’
When there was peace, he would put it on, cover and enfold himself and pray, quoting, ‘Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.’ (Amos 4:12)
Rav Kahana would dress differently, act differently, and pray differently, depending on how he saw the world.
I worry that my prayer is too much the same - dressing the same, in the same posture, saying the same words - unaffected and removed from the world as we see and experience it.
How does our prayer respond to the world? And how much should it exist as a comfortable sanctuary unto itself?
This is one reason why I love leading davening on the ימים נוראים -- wearing a kittel. I am reminded of an organization that helps fight poverty, called "Clothes Make the Man," which donates suits and other work clothes to the homeless. The thinking is, dress the part and you can get a job. My youth basketball coach used to tell us we can't play like a team unless we look like a team, so he always built up the day they gave out the uniforms as the day we became a team.
ReplyDeleteI was involved the other day in a conversation about whether rabbis should wear a suit or look more like the people he/she is serving. How do clothes make the man, for better or for worse? When do our clothing - or cloaking - choices force a separation between us and those around us?
More to the specifics of the sugya you quoted, it strikes me that he takes off his cloak only when there is trouble in the world, as if to say "the gloves are coming off, God. I mean business." One of my greatest rabbinic models once told me that a rabbi should always wear a suit, so that when he gets to where he is going he can take it off. It sends the message to the person you're with that "I'm here, I am taking my jacket off, and I am fully present with you."
On a note of extension, the very same daf tells us that these same men would ritually loosen their belts before eating. Is there a connection here or were they simply preparing for a hefty feast?
Thanks Rami - very interesting thoughts. I imagined the taking off of the cloak more as a sign of lowliness, the slave before the master, but I love your image of the gloves coming off, ready to wrestle with God.
Delete"One of my greatest rabbinic models once told me that a rabbi should always wear a suit, so that when he gets to where he is going he can take it off. It sends the message to the person you're with that "I'm here, I am taking my jacket off, and I am fully present with you."
ReplyDeleteThis. All about this. Thank you Rami.