Ruah, shofar – our consciousness: 35 years of the JCF in Krakow (PL/EN)

It is no coincidence (“chance” is a diminutive of “God”) that the four elements that make up our world and us, i.e. earth, fire, water and air – appear at the very beginning of the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible.

Discussing their presence and causative power in the broadly understood Jewish culture, we have come to the fourth and last one; that is Air.

The word “air” which in Tanakh appears as RUAH has three basic meanings:

      1. SPIRIT (of God) – Ruah Elochim (Judges 6:34, 1 Sam. 16:14, 1 Kings 18:12)

      2. BREATH, INVIGORATING BREATH ( cf. Ezekiel 37; 5, Job 12:10 )

      3. WIND ( Ex. 10:13 Numbers 11:31 )

Looking for the so-called “common element”, which contains the three basic meanings of the word RUAH – Spirit, Breath, Wind and which as a Jewish “sign” is clear to (almost) everyone, this year we refer to a concept / instrument whose sound – due to awareness of breath – expresses both Ruah Elohim, God’s Presence, and our human presence, as frail as it is priceless, and which thanks to the air / wind, reaches and penetrates into the farthest corners of the human soul and world.

And just like the shofar, Jewish Culture Festival is an instrument of our consciousness. It is animated by breath, spirit and wind. The power and impeccability of the sounds we send out into the world depend on self-awareness, on the strength and depth of our breath, on the ability of spiritual alignment and on undisturbed intentions. And on the air, for it gives life to the sound, like the soul that gives life to the body. The shofar will sound at the beginning and end of my lecture.

Fot. Edyta Dufaj

Fot. Edyta Dufaj

Fot. Edyta Dufaj

Fot. Edyta Dufaj

Fot. Edyta Dufaj