Rabbi Slomo Carlebach passed away several years ago. He was known for the sacred melodies he hummed, for the stories he told, and for his warm, personal, caring nature. In 1991 I MC-ed an interfaith gathering at The Sanctuary in downtown New York City. Rabbi Slomo Carlebach was leaving for Israel that day. He graciously stopped by on his way to the airport. He was the main speaker and was scheduled exactly at four o'clock to give him ample time to catch his flight which left at seven. He hurried in a little late, warmly embracing everybody in reach. After taking some herbal tea, he sat down strumming his guitar to an anticipating crowd.

"Let me know exactly when its ten minutes to five," he requested. "It's ten to five now!" someone said. "Ahhh," he replied with the insight of the Hasidic masters, "then we have plenty of time."

Excerpts from his presentation:

"My friends the holy rabbis tell us - this is so deep - You know, when God created the world it says: God said, `Let there be fish.' And it was so. God said, `Let there be trees and vegetables.' And it was so. Then God says `Let there be light.' And it says there was light. Meaning to say - the light was there.

"My friends, its not up to me how many fishes are in the ocean, but its up to me how much light there is in the world. Because I can absolutely destroy the light in the world. Its up to me how much light I want in my own life. How much light I want in everything I'm doing. Some people want to live in darkness. So it says that there was light - it was available. You want to have it - get it. It's up to you....

"When someone wants to do something very big, what does the world say to this person? "Forget it! You can't do it anyway." But this is not what the servant of God is all about. He says `I do what I can, and the rest, God will help me.'....

"The holy rabbis tell us if I'm hungry for bread, then you know I didn't eat it yet. But if I'm hungry for God - gewalt - God is filling my whole heart that I'm hungry for God. There is a hunger which shows you don't have it, and then there's a different kind of hunger. Ahhh, You are full! You are so close. When I feel separation from you, then you know I'm so close to you that I miss you. That means really my whole heart is filled with your soul.

"Some people are happy when they have a little light. And some people want to kindle all the light in the world. They see a candle whose light is out... How long does it take to kindle a candle? You hold a fire to it, right. Most peoples' lives are so dark. They never met someone who holds a little fire close enough to them to put them on fire. I bless you and me that we should kindle a lot of lights in this world.

"If a person has light in their hearts, its something else, and this is what our holy rabbis teach us. Some people have to say bad things about other people. That comes from the deepest darkness. Because they are so dark, wherever they look, its dark. They look in the mirror, it's dark. They look at somebody else, it's dark. When it's dark, why not make it a little bit darker... But if a person is full of light, he looks and sees a soul in everyone, then he can't open his mouth to say anything bad about another human being... Its beautiful to be here because there's so much light and so much beauty. You really have the best people here. Thank you."

The Ancient Mariner

Some years back I was looking for stories about storytelling, and that's the structure of Coleridge's classic poem. The Ancient Mariner shares his story with a wedding guest. 1998 marked the 200th anniversary of the publication of the Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Since then I've been taking it around as a storytelling piece, incorporating some of Coleridges memorable poetry to introduce people, especially young people in the 4th and 5th grades, to this classic poem.

An overview:

The Ancient Mariner stops a guest on his way to an evening of merrymaking at a wedding. The wedding guest is every man, and he responds like most of us would when our expectation for a festive Friday evening is jeopardized. But nonetheless, the Mariner holds him with his fixed gaze. Nearby the festivities of the wedding reception are heard. This guest happens to be next of kin. He is anxious to join his friends and relatives. The last thing he wants is to be bothered by some fanatic. But still, the Mariner's story holds his attention.

The story unfolds with the Mariner shooting an albatross which has followed his ship into the arctic regions. What impels him to shoot the bird, we don't know. At first his act is met with condemnation by the other crewmen. Later, after they escape from the land of ice, they condone the slaying of the bird and see it as a good sign. It seems these are men who, on a whim, grab hold of one opinion and then another. The Mariner is destined to become the sole survivor of his ship. The crew dies off when they encounter the Ship of Death on a silent sea. Their boat is stranded like a painted ship on a painted ocean. But oddly enough this Death ship easily moves through an ocean where there is neither breeze nor waves. In death the crewmen stare at the Mariner. Before they died they had hung the albatross around his neck. The Mariner curses himself and all life.

Then on the evening of the seventh day a change takes place in him. As he looks up at the moon and stars, a calmness overcomes him. Now he looks upon the creatures of the sea and all of creation with awe and reverence. In his heart he blesses them and in turn is blessed. Then as a prayer of thanksgiving comes to his lips, the albatross falls from his neck. Soon afterwards a rain falls to wet his parched lips and throat. He hears a
celestial sound in the sky, and angels of light descend to enter the bodies of the dead crew who then come to life to man the ship. It is homeward bound. In the end, as the ship approaches land, it goes under in a whirlpool. But the Mariner is saved by a small craft nearby.

The Ancient Mariner tells this whole story to the wedding guest and also explains that since that time he is compelled to tell his story to certain individuals whom he encounters. It seems that perhaps a spiritual transformation in itself is not enough. With it comes the duty, or rather, one is driven, to share the glory of that experience with others. In the end the Mariner departs with these words:

Farewell, farewell, but this I tell
To thee thou wedding guest.
He prayth well who loveth well
Both man and bird and beast
He prayth best who loveth best
All things both great and small
For the dear Lord who loveth us
He made and loveth all

"In our era, the road to holiness necessarily passes through the world of action." Dag Hammorskjold

You can order my complete dramatic rendition of the Rime of the Ancient Mariner along with a study guide. Click on Resources.