Elul Day 22
Dear Elul Writers,
I originally wrote this reflection five years ago, and, while this particular cobb oven no longer exists, I feel confident that my next go at it will stand the test of time.
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When it comes to making a clay oven at home there is no better resource than Kiko Denzer’s Build Your Own Earth Oven, sometimes referred to as the bible of earthen oven guidebooks. As summer began, I knew that I needed an altogether unnecessary project to put my time and creativity into. The fashioning of an earthen oven felt like the perfect way to connect to folk bread-baking traditions, while at the same time taking full advantage of the Georgia red clay available right in our yard.
Of all the steps to constructing an outdoor oven (there are seven), there was one that most intrigued me. It wasn’t leveling the foundation, nor was it setting the hearth. Instead, it was creating the sand form around which the mixture of clay and sand will be placed. This step is referred to as “shaping the void” because you are constructing what will become empty space inside the oven; making a dome of wet sand that will later be removed. Just saying that I was shaping the void, I felt a sense of significance, of richness, and meaning. When neighbors would stop by, I’d point at my sand dome and say, “That right there, that’s the void. I built it.”
During this month of soul-shaping, I am wondering how we might shape the void. It seems natural that we could be more inclined to begin with the structure, focusing on building the walls or shaping the exterior that will be visible to the world. Yet, just as there is no oven without a place to cook, there is no well-adjusted human without a little space within. How can we ensure that there is some room inside of us--space to tend to the fire, to build energy, to create?
Prompt
Lurianic Kabbalah places a great deal of emphasis on the notion of chalal hapanui/vacant space. For the universe to exist, we are taught, the Ohr Ein Sof/ Infinite Light contracted itself to make a hollowed out empty space. Some emptiness, it seems, is required for creation. Today, I invite you to consider how you might carve out a little space within. What steps can you take to hollow out some room for kindling a fire? If, in a week’s time, we are going to recreate ourselves as the new year begins, let’s not forget to first shape the void.
Shabbat shalom and see you on Saturday,
Jordan