‘I believe in God, but not as one thing, not as an old man in the sky. I believe that what people call God is something in all of us. I believe that what Jesus and Mohammed and Buddha and all the rest said was right. It's just that the translations have gone wrong.’
John Lennon
Last nigh I went to an interesting event. It was a special celebration of the last day of Hanukkah, Rosh Chodesh ( the name for the first day of every month in the Hebrew calendar, marked by the birth of a new moon) , ‘And the Jewish Goddess’ ( quoting the host) .
What was fascinating about this Hanukah evening is it’s diversity of people, jewish or not jewish, that I would describe this ritual as more spiritual rather than religious.
After the ceremony of lighting menorah candles, there was a musical performance. Josh played flute. The composition combined not only traditional jewish melodies, but also some ethnic, middle eastern and Indian motifs.
The most powerful (for me) was ‘Women’s Circle’. An attractive woman (pretty extravagant looking I have to say, he had a hippie vibe to her, braids and tattoos), who apparently used to be a jewish theology teacher, explained that it is an ancient shamanic jewish ritual women performed back in the day on Rosh Chodesh. Rosh Chodesh (meaning “the head of the month”) is a holiday that marks the first day of each month on the lunar calendar, or new moon cycle. Women have been coming together for thousands of years to learn about everything from ancient Jewish wisdom and the physical health of their bodies to tracking the cycles of the moon. New cycle, obviously, is a symbol of rebirth, recreation, reproduction.
We all set on the floor, held each others hands, closed your eyes. ‘Now, go deep into your mind and look into the most painful substance that hurts you and and no longer serves you and start making sounds of healing it’ We were all singing like in chorus. The ritual was about 3 minutes long.
Despite of how how skeptical I am, I ave to say that it was a true spiritual healing experience. The was also something magical about holding hands. It gave that sense of unity and empowerment. I don’t thinkI experienced this before - the intake of strong female energy. At the back of my head, I still had that pre programmed stereotype: female/feminine means weak, male means powerful. Well, in that 3 minute women’s cycle ritual, I had a boost of inner power and strength. For sure.