Thoughts on Cleaning

Our newest rabbi Toby in her Rosh Hashanah sermon talked about the therapy of cleaning as a reaction to a world which puts increasing demands on us to be afraid. Her thesis was that cleaning is one way in which we can add order to our otherwise chaotic lives. She presented 3 examples of her recent summer cleaning frenzy:

The lesson of the dishes: She has reduced her 4 sets of dishes down to 2, discarding the K-Mart starter set and another set which was intended for the unknowing person who attempted to bring meat into her kosher vegetarian home. She cited Ecclesiastes 3, “to everything there is a season”, saying that in our larger lives, the challenge of Rosh Hashanah is deciding what to keep and what to cast away.

The moral of the tee shirts: She talked about coming across old beat up things of little worth – a holey tee shirt that was once her brother’s, a picture drawn by her niece when she was 8. Things like these are keepers because they serves as reminders that we are not alone in the world, we are part of a larger community.

The message of the Mason jars: She still has numerous Mason jars, originally intended to contain the makings for chocolate chip cookies to be given as gifts. Even though the jars have simply been taking up space, they could be reused for another purpose, much as Judaism teaches us to see things in a new light. Psalm 126 talks about sowing in tears, and reaping in joy.

After a summer of cleaning, her cupboards and her life have taken on a new order. Everything that is left is there for a reason. There has been plenty of time to contemplate the words of Rabbi Nacham of Bratslav, who said, "The world is a narrow bridge. The key to the crossing is not to be afraid."

Along with making me realize how long it has been since I did a major cleaning, she presented the idea of using the physical act of cleaning to restore control to our lives which are constantly bombarded with the struggles all around us. She invariably has such sage advice.

Thank you, Toby!