Two Pots: A Story of Sharing Ourselves

I never thought of yoga as a Jewish practice…until my yoga teacher opened my eyes to how I want to step into the High Holy Day season. A routine evening of movement and mindfulness became a lesson about the kind of Jew I want to be in the New Year. This past summer, I took up yoga, and at the end of every yoga class, my yoga teacher would walk around the studio and share a story or parable as we lay on our mats. I wanted to share one of his stories* with you:

There was a woman who was a water bearer for her small village. Each day, she would take the dirt road leading up to the village and bring up two pots of water, one attached on each side of a large stick she would hold across her back. One pot was perfect, and carried all the water without spilling a drop, even keeping it cold on the woman’s journey. The pot on the other side of the stick, though beautiful, had a crack and would leak water as the woman made her way back to her village, only half full by the time she reached her destination.

The cracked pot said to the woman one day, “Why do you continue to pour water into me and carry me up to your village when I am so broken that I cannot even carry the water you give me? What use am I to you?”

The woman smiled tenderly and replied, “My dear one, have you not noticed that on the side where you let your stream of water fall through the cracks you have that there are flowers that bloomed along the road? I noticed that you were perfect for allowing beauty to grow here from the ground, so I planted seeds for you to water as I walk along the road. What use are you to me? Your natural ways help to beautify my walk and allow me to notice God’s creations.”

I often ask myself if I have “done” enough. Have I worked hard enough? Have I been kind enough? Have I been keeping better habits than I did the year before? Looking back is natural, but as I look forward to the New Year, I ask myself the flip side of the same question.

What can I do more of? How can I be better?

Sure, of course we want to strive to be better, growth is essential to deepening our relationships with ourselves, with God, with our environment, and with each other. What I learned this year, and only in recent weeks, is that growth is a communal effort. One cannot grow without the help and gifts of others.

We all come with different gifts, talents, perspectives, and backgrounds. These differences allow us to weave together a Temple Shaaray Tefila community where we can learn and grow together. We might even offer something we didn’t realize was needed. Instead of anxiously asking if we have done enough or acted a certain way, what would it look like if we asked ourselves: How can I share with my community what I have to offer? What can I learn from those around me? How can my natural ways help beautify my environment as I interact with God’s creations?

As your Rabbinic Intern this year, I am excited to learn what each of you has to offer and to grow with you, too. I want to take this opportunity to share with you how thrilled I am to be here at Temple Shaaray Tefila, and how grateful I am to Rabbi Ross, Rabbi Greenberg, Cantor Szterenberg, Bill Glenn, and the leadership, staff, and to all of you for the warmth and generosity in making me feel welcomed in to your community. I am looking forward to spending our first Shabbat together this week. May we have a year together of discovering each other’s gifts, growth as a community, and peace in knowing that we are exactly what we need to be.

Endless blessings for a sweet and healthy New Year from my family to yours,

Ranata Shlobin Rabbinic Intern