Spirituality… in New York?

Anyone who has been to Israel knows that there is more to the Holy Land than shawarma and shakshuka. There’s a certain energy, a spiritual richness infused into every stone, store, and street. It resides among the hills and valleys, and in every taxicab. It’s in the very air.

Back in the States just a few days, I started to feel a spiritual fogginess, an unanticipated heaviness, like pedaling a bike on a suddenly steep hill. The difference was acute and easily noticeable. And it made me sad.

These feelings came along with questions. Why do I live in America? Is it possible to live in Israel, with terror and danger around every corner? Is it possible to raise children in Israel’s polarized religious climate?

And, whether or not I move someday: how can I keep some of that connection, that spiritual ease so fluidly expressed in the Holy Land? Where does one find spirituality in Unholy New York?

I spent this Shabbos at a simcha, among friends. Singing, davening, laughing, talking. Moments of connection to God and man. I was heartened to see that there is spirituality to be found even in America: spiritual unity in these United States.

And so, while it may be more difficult to connect with God in lands outside of Israel, we need not despair. It is possible to grow spiritually wherever we are, though we may need to expend more effort when the spiritual signal is weak. But our efforts are well worthwhile.

We are created with a basic need for God in our lives; spirituality feeds the spirit just as food nurtures the body. When the going gets tough, we need to step up our game, to keep doing what we would be doing to connect to God, only more so. Every attempt to connect brings us closer. Every spiritual action nourishes the spirit.

Think of it as shakshuka for the soul.