Connected Wisdom Taught Jews of All Bright Center How
No matter what style of Jewish background we come from, all of us have treasured holiday memories. Take a moment to recall your favorite memories from the fall Jewish holidays—Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simchat Torah. Close your eyes and bring some of those shining times to mind. Bask in the warmth of treasured memories for a while, remember the sensations of your heart. Now open your eyes. Are you feeling a bit wistful? Ask yourself this: How would life be different if such deeply meaningful times were an everyday occurrence? Could it even be possible? It is! Connected unity is not just for holidays—it can be an everyday power source. Here is how the All Bright community found the key.
The families of the All Bright Center of Fair Lawn, NJ are a Russian-Israeli community of Jews who have united with the mission of providing educational enrichment to their children through culture. For the young professionals of the All Bright community, the High Holidays provide a reason to gather with family and friends. When All Bright member, Sophia Rosenberg, invited Connected Wisdom of NY to conduct a special fall holiday event aimed at using the holidays to deepen community connection, 25 adults with their 15 children were eager to attend.
Good Guides To Brighten The Path
On October 10th, 2015 a team of 16 professionals from NYC Connected Wisdom arrived at the All Bright Center to guide an experiential journey of discovery in how to manifest the deep meaning felt during the holidays everyday. When all were assembled, Connected Wisdom presenters Albert Kaykov and Anna Faktorovich took the mic and introduced the trainers who were there, “We are from Connected Wisdom, where we aim to build stronger Jewish communities and a better world by bringing people together and creating a space where all can connect openly in deeply meaningful ways.”
They went on to explain the evening’s theme, “As Jews, we have all these colorful holidays, all these traditions, an established culture and heritage, and the underlying purpose for all of this is to truly connect with one another. What we are going to accomplish here today, is to peel off the layers of these holidays until we experience essence of the intention that lays underneath each one. We will identify and extract the REAL hidden meaning behind all Jewish holidays and to distill it for use anytime and anywhere.”
The Connection Incubation Machine
Adults were nested in circles of 10 with 2-3 Connected Wisdom trainers interspersed among 7-8 community members. From the outside, facilitators would introduce holiday-themed questions designed for the incubation of ideas within the intimate Connection Circles where each would circulate. Every participant would take his or her turn to seed the circle’s center with heartfelt contributions and would listen open-heartedly when others spoke. Through the unique process of the Connection Circle, a nurturing environment would be created for collaboratively bringing to life a miraculous nest egg of wisdom among them.
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Pluck The Magic From The Memory
Friends recalled and shared personal holiday sensations and thoughts. During each successive round, participants leaned closer together in heart to discover the sparks of magic contained in every holiday experience. As one, they delved into questions such as: “Beyond the customs of Rosh Hashanah that you keep, what is Rosh Hashanah for you in terms of your internal sensations?” “RememberingYom Kippur, what comes to mind? How does this period of intense self-reflection connect with what is identified as the essence of the Torah, ‘Love thy neighbor as thyself?’” Eating with family and specially invited guests in the impermanent sukkah certainly evokes indelible impressions about our priorities in life—the value of connection with others compared to transient corporeality—the bundling together of the four species, each with its unique qualities, raises stirring questions about the unique contributions of each individual to the society. “How can our different qualities in our families and friendships be used to create stronger bonds between us?” “How can we extend such bonds beyond family and close friends to envelope strangers inside the same warm feelings?” As friends listened to each other and shared, a vision of using the beautifully effective Circle Method to build community took shape. Everything suddenly just clicked into an explosion of joy!
What Goes Around Comes Around—Encircle The Year In Joy
By the time the Connected Wisdom presenters reached the holiday of Simchat Torah it was clear there was no more need for words. The entire community was on fire with the vision of how to use the Connection Circle to illuminate the loving warmth of unity anywhere, anytime. If the heart of Simchat Torah celebration is to dance in joyful circles with the Torah, the All Bright community had reached that state of spontaneous exultation that comes with deep meaningful connection. All present formed one endless circle, made their own music, and danced the hora to Hava Nagilah in stunning synchronicity with the spirit of Simchat Torah. If the shape of the circle is never-ending, it was clear that the potential for connection explosions were too, epicentered in the All Bright community. They had clearly been empowered by Connected Wisdom with a practical tool completely rooted in Jewish tradition that could imbue any day with the sensation of holiday.
Spiral High And Wide
Connected Wisdom is a movement and everyone can get involved. At the evening’s end, host organizer, Sophia Rosenberg, characterized the sensation of the All Bright community as “ecstatic!” The only unanswered question she had was how she could personally become involved in the Connected Wisdom movement. (Of course, her question was answered by the Connected Wisdom staff on hand.)
“I used to think this was something that could only be used for things like work discussions or business meetings, but I started using it in my family a few months ago, I can’t tell you the difference it’s made in the relationships I have.”
Any group with a wish can invite Connected Wisdom to come in and unite them around their specific goals. Connected Wisdom is neither a religious nor political organization, they are unity specialists who can teach how to make dreams come true. Whether the need is between couples, family, work, or community, Connected Wisdom has the tools to make the magic happen. More than a holiday miracle, Connected Wisdom is an everyday miracle.