Creativity is a mitzvah of necessity in our times, especially in light of the pandemic of Covid. Creativity is a response to the impact of future shock and the trauma of the life changing virus which has radically transformed our daily lives.  

Creativity is a mitzvah of necessity in light of what it has meant to be jewish over the course of our Jewish historical experience and especially of what it means to be Jewish in the 21st century. Ellis Rivkin, historian culls the historical pattern of jewish identity and postulates how this pattern should play out in our cyberspace existence on spaceship earth:

“To cherish individuality, to seek out novel possibilities, to enrich oneself through exposure to varied and exotic cultures and to prefer to risk subjective anxiety than to be secure within aged-old objective constraints -to be all these is to be Jewish.”

Ellis Rivkin

(Work in reference to the three Americans who ate of the aliyah apple with creative approaches to Jewish Life in the 21st century bisk and dror , and alexenberg.)

What is your own Mitzvah of Creativity?

As individuals we are free and as Jews we are required to discover our own Mitzvah of creativity and its details. Pay attention to these words of Ellis Rivkin:

“Judaism is the prototype of religions that simultaneously undergird continuity and change. Thus when historical processes were relatively repetitive, Judaism affirmed its commitment to tradition and an immutable revelation. When they churned with novelty, Judaism fashioned new forms: when they threatened traditional notions of God, Judaism discovered that the last word about God had yet to be communicated to Moses or the prophets.”

What forms of creative expression would be meaningful to you as a partner with the creative source of the universe?

• A daily walk in the outdoors to appreciate the miracle of creation and our bodies with their eyes, ears, nose and muscle structure?
• Looking around your living areas for comforting spaces, establishing your own sanctuary space?
• Planning your meals around nourishing ingredients, and perhaps as an outlet of your creativity?

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