Contemplating the Stars

Contemplating the stars is an informal name for a meditation that focuses on the night sky. It’s also known as stargazing meditation, but as a Jewish practice, contemplation of God is a key aspect.

For most of our waking existence, we think with the intellectual mind. When we see a rose, we recognize it by its name, recall the facts we’ve read about it, and remember its beauty in our grandmother’s backyard. To contemplate it, we go deeper: we see the veins in each petal, notice its color and perfume, and maybe see a bit of ourselves in its essence. In Judaism, this is hitbonenut, a way of thinking that expands our consciousness and self-understanding. Contemplating God’s creation is the most powerful form of hitbonenut, and one of the best places to do it is outside on a starry night. Who are we in this infinite expanse of the universe? How is it that God created all of this, yet cares for each of us individually?

To help the mind focus, a mantra is used. Ribbono shel Olam, which means “Master of the Universe,” connotes the One who is concealed behind the stars. When a person repeats this mantra during contemplation, the object of contemplation becomes a link between the individual and God. This meditation elevates stargazing to a mystical experience.

The rich history of meditation in Judaism is rooted in major Jewish texts. Until the Jewish Enlightenment, the century-long intellectual movement that began in the 1770s, the practice was widespread. Intellectualism came at the expense of mysticism, and by 1840, all references to meditation disappeared from mainstream Jewish literature, even in Kabbalah, the mystical branch of Judaism.

Contemporary rabbis are leading a resurgence of meditative practices to return Judaism to its introspective origins. The first formal Jewish meditation focused on the Hebrew alphabet, considered the divine language of God and the portal to uniting with all of creation. American Orthodox Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan suggested contemplating the stars based on the same concept, drawing from a verse from the Zohar, a Kabbalistic commentary on the Torah: “Lift your eyes on high, and see who created these, the One who brings out their host by number, He calls them all by name _… ”

The mantra Ribbono shel Olam originates with the eighteenth century Chasidic leader Rabbi Nachman, a major proponent of conversing with God. If you don’t know what to say, Nachman advised, repeat Ribbono shel Olam.

Contemplating the stars is one of the simplest, most accessible forms of Jewish meditation—no knowledge of Hebrew or Judaic philosophy is needed, and the practice itself is far removed from complex concepts and ritualistic prayers. It combines two different forms of Jewish meditation—contemplation and mantra—and allows room for modifications according to personal interpretation.

In Kabbalah, the normal mode of thinking is called mochin de-katnuth, or the “mentality of childhood.” The term for more advanced thoughts or states of consciousness is mochin de-gadluth, or the “mentality of adulthood.” Meditation teaches us how to direct our thoughts, which gives us the ability to permanently shift into the mentality of adulthood. Contemplation, specifically, sharpens our ability to concentrate and to experience the intricate beauty of God’s creation in everyday life. Stargazing has its secular fans, too. In Tim Ferriss’s book Tools of the Titans, it’s frequently mentioned by TED Talk-giving icons and entrepreneurs as a way to gain perspective and quell anxiety.

A large-scale study at the University of California, Irvine found that feeling a sense of awe in the presence of something greater than the ourselves can encourage altruistic, helpful, and positive social behavior. Researchers recruited two thousand people to participate in five different experiments to gauge the effects of awe-inducing scenarios. After watching a video or gazing at something in their environment that elicits the emotion, participants played a game that demonstrated behavior within a group. The results? “Across all these different elicitors of awe we found the same sorts of effects—people felt less self-important and they behaved in a more pro-social fashion,” one of the researchers reported. In other words, realizing that we are not at the center of the universe causes us to care more for the welfare of others instead of acting selfishly.

Rabbi and meditation teacher Aryeh Kaplan has said that higher states of consciousness may be so pleasurable that some meditators don’t want to “come down.” Remember to stay grounded during your practices, and if your mental state makes this difficult, seek the guidance of a master.

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Contemplating the stars is a solo endeavor with no formal instruction needed. There is no right or wrong way to do it, and no esoteric knowledge is needed.

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A clear night, preferably in a peaceful, rural area, is ideal for practicing this meditation. The night sky gets more brilliant the farther removed it is from traces of humanity: galaxies pepper the darkness like table salt, and shooting stars are a common occurrence. Simply observing the universe is the first step of contemplation. A sense of awe will naturally unfold, as will larger questions about the nature of existence. To turn observation into meditation, the mantra Ribbono shel Olam shifts the attention to the master of the universe, the One who is concealed behind the stars. “When saying Ribbono shel Olam,” Aryeh Kaplan writes, “one is, as it were, calling to God in the depths of the heavens, seeking to find Him beyond the stars, beyond the very limits of time and space. This can bring a person to an overwhelmingly deep spiritual experience.” Our step-by-step guided meditation is available on this page.

Anyone can practice this meditation, and Ribbono shel Olam can be changed to whatever mantra resonates most deeply with each individual. City dwellers will be most challenged to find a place to practice. If light pollution obstructs the stars, try this meditation while gazing at a sunset or a cloud-filled sky.

The best-known teachers and authors in this field include:

Rami Shapiro
(www.rabbirami.com)
David Cooper
(www.rabbidavidcooper.com)
Miles Krassen
(www.planetaryjudaism.org/rabbi-miles-krassen)

Wear comfortable, temperature appropriate clothes and bring blankets, cushions, and whatever else you might need to sit or lie on the ground.