On Stretching and Unwinding

As I’ve aged I’ve noticed and become much more grateful for the big stretch that I take each morning as I wake up. Especially as my joints and bones tend to creak in the damp winter months, getting out of bed and working my body from head to toe is essential to transition from the constrictions of slumber into the movement of my day.

This is precisely why the rabbis added a blessing to our morning liturgy reminding us to do exactly this stretch work:

Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech HaOlam, Zokef Kefufim.
“Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Sovereign of the Universe, Who straightens the bent.”

This blessing, part of the morning Birkot HaShachar, is essential in its relation to our physical presence each day, but it also reflects the themes of liberation and the restoration of dignity present in Parshat Vaera, themes which are on our minds even more so this week with our hopeful eyes on Israel.

Parshat Vaera continues the story of the Exodus, emphasizing God’s power and the beginning of the plagues that challenge Pharaoh’s authority. Through the signs and wonders Moses performs, God asserts the Israelites’ worth and challenges the power structures keeping them enslaved. Blessed is the one who empowers the oppressed.

In addition to the physical ways the blessing addresses our days, it also reminds us about the way the Israelites are downtrodden under the weight of slavery, and God’s actions in this parshah begin to “straighten” their burdens, paving the way for eventual freedom. Blessed is the one who strengthens the bent.

Moses also begins to gain confidence in his role as God’s agent, embodying the transformation from one who felt inadequate to one who stands tall in faith. Blessed is the one who strengthens resolve.

Sometimes interacting in the world feels just as much like an emotional stretch as a physical one. May we regularly find strength in “unbending” ourselves from the burdens we carry so we can be our full outstretched selves.

– Rabbi Eve Posen

Source: On Stretching and Unwinding