This Is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared

Rabbi Alan Lew was a well-known meditation teacher who wrote the book ‘This Is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared’.

The book is a necessary part of my build up to the High Holy Days, as it describes the process between Tisha B’Av to Sukkot and the cheshbon b’nefesh, or accounting of the soul, that we must undergo to grasp who we are and what we are doing in life, for both ourselves and others. It’s packed with beautiful, impactful writing, that I come back to year over year, such as this:

What is required of us at Tisha B’Av is a simple turn of mind, a turn toward consciousness, a turn away from denial, from the inertia, from the passive momentum of our lives, a turn away from those things that continue to happen unconsciously, and a conscious decision to change.

The book also challenges us to accept who we are, both the good and the bad, at a very deep, visceral level, to come to terms with why we are here and actions we can take, such as praying and meditating, and how the High Holidays can help shape us into becoming better human beings. For example, beginning in Elul last year I’ve started meditating on a phrase from Rabbi David Lida, a Spanish Kabbalist: “Create for me, God, a pure heart, and renew within me an upright heart.”

You’ll probably forget to order the book before next August (when Elul 5781 comes), therefore I would just recommend ordering it now, so that you are not completely unprepared. 😉