Every day during my three-month, silent meditation, retreat at IMS in 2011, I sat, walked and strolled contemplatively for some 4-7 miles on the beautiful property and woods surrounding the center. Whether in the sun, rain or snow of that cool New England Autumn and frigid early Winter I ventured out to behold the magnificent sky, land and water. This particular day filled with gorgeous bursts of color and clear fresh air was incredibly alive and nourishing.
To take an extended break from a driven life to wade deep into silence is a blessing unlike any other. In that place every color is more briliant. Every breath is fuller. Every insight more profound. Every moment rising and passing is examined and recognized as a rich treasure.
True, my blog title is “The Rabbi Speaks,” and it is indeed full of words. But sometimes as the Sages say, there is more wisdom in silence. It is not a surprise that the Hebrew words medabber, speak, and midbar, desert are related. To live a life of spirit one must – from time to time – step out of the noisy, clamoring world and enter a vast expanse, open like the desert, to find quiet calm and inner stillness. Only in that place where the constant chatter of ones own mind can finally settle can one finally hope to hear the “still small voice” whispering a deeper truth – a truth more profound than any other.
The Rabbi Speaks 