North Star Conversations Transcript: The First and Last Breath—Rabbi Steven Stark Lowenstein
Rabbi Steven Lowenstein describes how every service begins with a deep breath, a reminder that awareness and reflection begin and end with attention to life’s most basic rhythm.
Brandon Gimbel (00:00)
How about mindfulness? I'm wondering if you see, in the practice of Judaism and in your role as rabbi and faith leader, mindfulness as a major or more minor presence.
Rabbi Steven Stark Lowenstein (00:11)
I think it's a pretty major presence. I begin every service that I conduct with "take a deep breath." That's the mindfulness that I'm looking at every day, every moment. The very first thing we're ever going to do in life is take a breath, the very last thing we're ever going to do in life is take a breath, and we're going to take a whole lot of breaths between that very first breath and that very last breath. We should think about how we do that and the mindfulness around that so whether that's meditation or just quieting your heart and closing your eyes and taking a moment at your desk, that's all part of the Jewish wisdom that's 5,786 years old.
Brandon Gimbel (00:50)
Paying attention.
Rabbi Steven Stark Lowenstein (00:51)
Exactly.