As we get closer to the high holidays and prepare ourselves through teshuvah – returning –again -and once again, our work of forgiveness, growth and understanding feels somewhat like a dance. Some refer to selichot (forgiveness) as a dance with the divine energy (YHVH) who is our willing dance partner. Back and forth we move and twirl through our emotions of anger, sadness, joy, pleasure, frustration and relief.
In the Torah, after the sin of the golden calf, the holy one gives Moses the 13 middot – holy divine attributes that we can use to meditate on for divine forgiveness. We know we are forgiven for our misdeeds – missing the mark - and we attempt to make improvements on ourselves and in the world. Some improvements stick and some are more difficult to attain, and so we return again to the dance.
It is no accident that we begin our Selichot service this Saturday night with der Broiges Tanz (Yiddish for The Anger dance). After dancing and acting out der Broiges Tanz with gestures of stomping, pointing fingers and fists, crossing arms and turning one’s back, we flow into der Shulem Tanz (the Peaceful dance), which is accompanied by the Yiddish song “Lomir Zich Iberbetn” (Let’s Make Up) – dancing a joyous, uplifting, freylekhs dance, circling and weaving our energy in and out. We all wish forgiveness and healing could be as easy and as quick and as fun as these dances are to do and sometimes it is. The physicality of dance and movement adds spiritual energy to move our prayers. This was and is well-known and practiced by Hassidic Jews as well as Sufi’s, Native American indigenous people and spiritual people around the world.
One of my favorite memories of Kol Nidre services with Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb was her tradition of beginning our Kol Nidre service every year by having the congregation rise up and dance in place to the niggun of der Broiges Tanz.
You will get your chance this weekend to celebrate with Rabbi Lynn at Shabbat on Friday evening with arts, dance, theater and music and then study about selichot on Saturday morning. On Saturday evening, come share your prayers with all the prayers and energy of our community at our Selichot: Dance of Forgiveness and Havdalah service.