Kintsugi is the Japanese art of putting broken pottery pieces back together with gold. This magnificent and unique art is built on the idea that in embracing flaws and imperfections, you can actually create an even stronger, more beautiful piece of art.
When a cup/bowl/plate of pottery breaks, most people will either absorb the loss and throw the useless shards and pieces in the garbage, or they will put the pieces back in their spot with a clear glue, which, once dried, will make the pottery look good as new. Kintsugi, however, which is a 400-year-old technique, allows for the breaks/faults/mistakes to be focused on and highlighted by covering the “scars” with gold, in the pursuit of creating something entirely new, fresh, and different.
Dr. Caroline Leaf, a communication pathologist and clinical neuroscientist specializing in psychoneurobiology, explains that the art of Kintsugi can be used as a metaphor for healing ourselves, and it teaches us an important lesson: Sometimes in the process of repairing things that have broken, we actually can create something more unique, beautiful and resilient.
After discovering and learning about the incredible art of Kintsugi, I couldn’t help but think just how akin Kintsugi is to our concept of Teshuva. Teshuva is not about throwing our mistakes under the rug, forgetting about them and throwing them in the proverbial trash of life. Teshuva is not about fixing our mistakes and becoming the exact same person as we were before.
Teshuva, at is core and essence, is about noticing our mistakes, owning up to them, and then covering them with gold! Teshuva is about embracing our human identity, seeing our flaws, and then applying gold – holiness, kedusha, and purity – to our lives. Teshuva is about creating, or more precisely, finding and revealing something more unique, beautiful and resilient about our selves.
What an incredible imagery that when we blow the Shofar, we are specifically instructed to blow not only the straight blasts, but the broken ones as well. Just as important as hearing the intact calling of the Tekios, is hearing the brokenness of the Shevarim and Teruah.
In this week’s Parshah, we are told that Teshuva is much closer than we think, כי קרוב אליך הדבר מאד. It is very very close to us. Objects in mirror are closer than they appear. The same goes with Teshuva. It’s not out there. It’s not outlandish. It’s not beyond our grasp. It’s right here. It’s inside of you. It’s doable. It’s manageable. It’s waiting for you.
As we continue approaching the High Holiday’s, let us realize that we are like the Kintsugi artist. We are not throwing out and ignoring our mistakes. Nor are we putting them back to become what was, to reach status quo. No, none of that!
We are embracing the brokenness. We are highlighting the mishaps and mistakes. And then we are overlaying those “spiritual battle scars” with gold – holiness, kedusha, and purity. We are becoming more unique, beautiful and resilient, as we embark on the journey of discovering our true selves.
Have a holy Shabbos!
Kintsugi is the Japanese art of putting broken pottery pieces back together with gold. This magnificent and unique art is built on the idea that in embracing flaws and imperfections, you can actually create an even stronger, more beautiful piece of art.
When a cup/bowl/plate of pottery breaks, most people will either absorb the loss and throw the useless shards and pieces in the garbage, or they will put the pieces back in their spot with a clear glue, which, once dried, will make the pottery look good as new. Kintsugi, however, which is a 400-year-old technique, allows for the breaks/faults/mistakes to be focused on and highlighted by covering the “scars” with gold, in the pursuit of creating something entirely new, fresh, and different.
Dr. Caroline Leaf, a communication pathologist and clinical neuroscientist specializing in psychoneurobiology, explains that the art of Kintsugi can be used as a metaphor for healing ourselves, and it teaches us an important lesson: Sometimes in the process of repairing things that have broken, we actually can create something more unique, beautiful and resilient.
After discovering and learning about the incredible art of Kintsugi, I couldn’t help but think just how akin Kintsugi is to our concept of Teshuva. Teshuva is not about throwing our mistakes under the rug, forgetting about them and throwing them in the proverbial trash of life. Teshuva is not about fixing our mistakes and becoming the exact same person as we were before.
Teshuva, at is core and essence, is about noticing our mistakes, owning up to them, and then covering them with gold! Teshuva is about embracing our human identity, seeing our flaws, and then applying gold – holiness, kedusha, and purity – to our lives. Teshuva is about creating, or more precisely, finding and revealing something more unique, beautiful and resilient about our selves.
What an incredible imagery that when we blow the Shofar, we are specifically instructed to blow not only the straight blasts, but the broken ones as well. Just as important as hearing the intact calling of the Tekios, is hearing the brokenness of the Shevarim and Teruah.
In this week’s Parshah, we are told that Teshuva is much closer than we think, כי קרוב אליך הדבר מאד. It is very very close to us. Objects in mirror are closer than they appear. The same goes with Teshuva. It’s not out there. It’s not outlandish. It’s not beyond our grasp. It’s right here. It’s inside of you. It’s doable. It’s manageable. It’s waiting for you.
As we continue approaching the High Holiday’s, let us realize that we are like the Kintsugi artist. We are not throwing out and ignoring our mistakes. Nor are we putting them back to become what was, to reach status quo. No, none of that!
We are embracing the brokenness. We are highlighting the mishaps and mistakes. And then we are overlaying those “spiritual battle scars” with gold – holiness, kedusha, and purity. We are becoming more unique, beautiful and resilient, as we embark on the journey of discovering our true selves.
Have a holy Shabbos!
