Chain reaction

April 16, 2009

Nu Magazine - April 16, 2009

Earlier in the year in my tenth grade rabbinics class, we read an article by Rabbi Elliot N. Dorff comparing the act of praying to baseball, America’s great pastime.

Then we were asked to find our own prayer analogies, and write about them. Here’s mine.

Dictionary.com defines prayer as “a spiritual communion with God or an object of worship, as in supplication, thanksgiving, adoration, or confession.”

My understanding of prayer is similar. I think of it as meditation. I find it relaxing. Prayer gives me a few minutes to think about something other than school during the school day. It allows me to thank God and connect to other Jews around the world, because they say the same prayers that I do, daily.

Another activity I find relaxing and meditative is jewelry-making. Once a week I visit a jewelry studio for two hours after school. I’ve been making jewelry for four years. It’s an activity that’s very important to me.

Starting a piece is very exciting; it begins with a streak of inspiration. The need to pray can start like that; being inspired to pray for something or someone.

I spend time getting the drawing for my idea just right, maybe making some changes, or even changing the idea completely. Looking through a Siddur, I can find a prayer like MiSheBerach for an ill family member, or a prayer for peace; there are so many options. I may also stumble upon a different prayer, one that may not have applied to my original inspiration.

The next step in jewelry-making is picking a metal and stone. There is a choice of three metals: brass, copper, or silver, and there are dozens of stones to choose.

A stone can be compared to a tune in prayer; I find using a special or fun tune can make praying more fun, and even more spiritual. Different tunes remind me of different places and people.

The next step in jewelry-making is sawing out the different shapes that will eventually be attached to form the final piece. This is like going from praying individually to praying as an entire group or minyan.

The next step is soldering. Solder is a metal that connects other metals; it acts like glue. Solder is very much like prayer; our connection to God, holding everything together. Prayer holds the Jewish people together.

The final step is shining; polishing the piece so the remnants of visible solder are gone. Polishing is like going below the surface of a prayer to its meaning.

After all of these steps, I have a finished piece, and the satisfaction of being able to wear a beautiful jewel that I worked so hard to create.

After prayer, there are many things I feel; I feel proud to have completed a mitzva, proud to be connected to everyone at Schechter, and proud to be a member of all Jewish people around the world.

Adina Wells, 16, attends Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union.