Courage of Heart

Newsletter August 5, 2024 Together, we're #keepingitsacred...

Anyone who is following the Olympics knows that a major theme at the games in Paris this year has been courage. And the courage I’m talking about here is a kind of willful confidence in oneself to perform under pressure.

Note the performance of Noah Lyles who had so much self-confidence, he willed himself beyond having a severe case of childhood asthma, through years of a grueling training regimen, to ultimately win the gold for the USA by .0005 seconds. (Thank you, Omega!) The personal courage his mother encouraged throughout the years gave him the tools to become the fastest man on the planet.

Note also the recent performance of the G.O.A.T. Simone Biles who was actually behind in the women’s all-around individual competition after the first two elements. But, she mustered the courage of hear heart and pushed herself ahead on the beam and floor exercise to capture yet another gold. She could have thrown up her hands halfway through the competition and let her competitor get the best of her, but her courageous heart kept her head in the game and she ended up proving her dominance once again. 

Perhaps this is why Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen has said that, "Mentality is a big part of professional sports." And he would know-- after all he scored gold in the men's 1500m final in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (and is set to race again in just a few hours from the publishing of this newsletter- stay tuned!). There is no doubt that a person's personal confidence can lead one to greatness.

The rabbis recognize the importance of cultivating this kind of positive mentality, too. In the Jewish practice of Mussar, they called this kind of confidence ometz lev— literally “courage of the heart.” It is regarded as a positive character trait to cultivate as it pushes the human spirit to act in the world with conviction when looking to achieve greatness. And not just in the game of sports-- but also in the game of life.

The Torah also encouraged people to have "strength and courage" (chazak v’amatz) when they faced with new or scary situations. They were encouraged cultivate this kind of moral courage in hard times. For instance, in Deuteronomy 31:6, "strength and courage" is what Moses charges the Israelites to have while they were wandering in the wilderness, lest they feel lost and despair. And in Joshua 1:6-7, "strength and courage" is what God charged Joshua to have after Moses’ death, lest his grief incapacitate him from leading the people.

Cultivating a kind of internal courage can help us achieve greatness in all sorts of life pursuits-- including in the realm of community building.

In fact, Friday night, I attended the 5th anniversary of the founding of our sister community Nefesh in Echo Park, CA. Rabbi Susan Goldberg credited the quality of ometz lev (courage of heart) that it took for her and her community members to start something new. Having a courageous heart allowed the community to imagine into the world a new way of doing things against the status quo.

This is much like it has been an act of ometz lev (courage of heart) for us to found and build Keeping It Sacred. It has helped us find strength when others might try to discourage us with the phrase, "but we've never done it that way before." Our courageous hearts have been able to respond, "yes, that's the point." Indeed, our hearts have summoned the strength and courage to build the community that we always dreamed of— one of accessibility for all, modern relevance, and personal empowerment. Our courageous hearts have led the way all along, and they have led us to build this incredible, nerdy and tenderhearted global community together.

Among the best things any of us can do is to encourage one another to cultivate a courageous heart/ ometz lev. This is how we can encourage one another to rise to our own excellence. In championing others, and instilling strength of heart in one another, we all enable one another to reach our peak performance. And we all benefit from that. 

Championing one another and celebrating one another’s championship performances is how we are keeping it sacred.

Together we are keeping it sacred….  

Rabbi Heather Miller

Founder, Keeping It Sacred

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The above is an excerpt from a Keeping It Sacred newsletter. If you want to read the entire newsletter or any from our archives, please head over to: keepingitsacred.com/news 

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Thanks for your interest, and thanks for #keepingitsacred...