Celebrating the Hmong (Mong) New Year: Traditional Tribal Outfits

When we were in Thailand earlier this year, I did a series of posts on the Hmong New Year we attended.  I know there is not much out there on the Internet about the Hmong New Year as it is traditionally celebrated – we certainly tried to learn more before we went but came up with almost nothing! So I realized I had a couple more topics to explore on the subject and thought I would share them now.

One thing that really fascinates me when I visit other cultures is the kind of clothing they wear. The Hmong people still make their own clothing.  They sew it by hand and it takes approximately one entire year to sew a ceremonial outfit.  Of course, most Hmong people today do not wear their traditional outfits every day.  Most Hmong people today wear cheap Western t-shirts and pants or simple skirts for their everyday clothing and only put on their  ceremonial outfits for special occasions or performances. One day in the year when all the Hmong people will wear their ceremonial outfits is on the Hmong New Year.

Because each person makes their own clothing, it is common to see some very elaborate costumes.  People use their clothing as a way of self-expression.  Of course, in the Western world, we also say that our clothing helps show our personalities, but it is much more true in cases where the individual has made their own clothing!  Some girls will make their outfits to match so everyone knows they are best friends, or they will try to out-do each other with how fancy they can make their outfits.

However individual the costumes may be, there are still some traditions governing the style of clothing.  Women all wear skirts that come past their knees and tops or jackets with high round collars and sleeves ending past the elbows.  In fact, traditional Hmong outfits meet all the Jewish modesty (tzniut) requirements!  Most Hmong women also cover their hair, although they have different ways of doing it.  Some wear scarves, while others wear elaborate headdresses.  Even young girls may cover their hair.

The men also wear very modest clothing.  Men will generally wear a similar long-sleeved top as the women do, although with a different cut and often not as highly decorated (although not always!).   Men wear pants that come to their mid-calves or ankles. Often they wear a kind of belt with a hanging piece that covers the upper separation in the legs.  They are very modest, too!

Another feature of Hmong traditional tribal outfits is that they wear their wealth.  The Hmong people do not have banks in which to store their money.  The Thai government does not give citizenship to all the Hill Tribes living there, so some of them may even have a hard time opening a bank account even if they can travel back and forth to a city (which is often a slow journey and many Hmong people do not have vehicles).  Therefore, most Hmong people still store their wealth the same way their ancestors did: in the form of jewelry.  They make silver bracelets and necklaces and sometimes even headdresses.  The women wear earrings and nose rings as well.  Most of the time they do not wear all this jewelry (it would be very heavy and bulky!) but they do put it all on for the Hmong New Year.

The Hmong New Year seems to be a time for a bit of showing off.  The people wear their fanciest ceremonial outfits and display all their wealth.  However, the actual clothing itself is quite modest and does not show too much skin, nor is it tight and form fitting.

Check out the gallery below for a variety of examples of different Hmong traditional tribal outfits!

Parshas Shelach: When to be a Tourist

Before arriving in Adelaide, we travelled a lot.  In fact, we still do, when we can manage it.  (Even Akiva, at 1 year old, has already taken 13 flights and had several long term car trips across Australia.)  But when we travel, we don’t travel in style.  We don’t fly first class, we don’t stay in luxury resorts, and we don’t spend a lot.  We travel on a budget and, as a result, we end up getting to know the nitty gritty of the cultures we visit.  We live like the locals.

We are rather proud of the fact that we are not traditional tourists.  We are expats at best, backpackers at worst – but never traditional tourists.  We don’t go on organized tours, we only set foot on a bus if it looks like it might fall apart any minute, and we rarely even visit the traditional tourist sites.  When we travel, we toss out our Lonely Planets and forge our own path.  We don’t do what everyone else says – we think for ourselves.  In some ways, we feel like this makes us cooler…. We are not tourists!

What is interesting is that in this week’s parsha, Moses sends 12 Jewish men to the land of Canaan to see what’s going on there.  But he doesn’t send out spies, he sends out tourists!  Tourists, with their ever-flashing cameras, loud chatter, and bright Hawaiian t-shirts.  Tourists, who go to places like Paris and Madrid to stay in Hilton Hotels and eat at McDonalds.  Tourists, who ride in giant buses in huge packs and stare out of cushy windows on the lowly locals below.  Tourists are what Moses sent to Canaan.

The men who went decided on their own to become spies.  Being tourists, floating along and simply taking in the scenery, was not enough for them.  They wanted a more active role. They decided on their own to be vigilant and on guard.  They made the decision to come to conclusions about the strength of the Canaanites and the Jews’ chances against them.  Moses never wanted that. Moses merely wanted to know the kinds of things tourists discover – How big are the cities? How fertile is the soil? – but instead he got a report given by spies, conclusions and all.

As we go through life, we often think we are better or wiser because we’re choosing to think for ourselves.  We’re acting independently and taking the path less followed.  But, while this is often commendable, it isn’t always.  With some things – Shabbat, kosher, etc. – it is better to step onto G-d’s “tour bus” and go along for the ride than to try to forge our own path.  If we do not, we run the risk of wandering in a spiritual desert for the next 40 years… or even for the rest of our lives.

Shabbat shalom!

Read more on Parshas Shelach: In the Land of Giant Fruit

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Rabbi Ben meditating as he looks out over the Pacific Ocean

Meditation is a major part of most of the world’s religions.  Hindus and Buddhists believe their meditations can change the spiritual  vibrations of the world.  But in Judaism, we almost never hear meditation mentioned.  Why not? Does Jewish meditation exist? And if so, what is Jewish meditation?

To answer this question, you must first determine what meditation is.  There are many types of meditation.  Some meditation is simply quiet contemplation and some mediation is an attempt to reach spiritual realms.  These are totally different activities and are viewed differently by Judaism.

One of the most well-known types of meditation is transcendental meditation.  This is when people try to use meditation to reach a higher spiritual plane.  The Lubavitcher Rebbe spoke out strongly against this practice.  In Judaism we do believe in high spiritual worlds, but transcendental meditation is not the appropriate way to access them.  Transcendental meditation is used for avodah zarah (idol worship) and does not take G-d into account in the way that prayer does.  In Judaism, rather than engage in transcendental meditation, Jews should instead work on their prayer and study of Torah. In this way anybody is able to reach a higher spiritual level and those who work on themselves enough to become tzaddikim may even be able to access the higher spiritual worlds in a kosher manner.

But transcendental meditation is not the only kind of meditation.  Just because Jews should not engage in transcendental meditation does not mean they should not engage in any kind of meditation at all.  In fact, prayer can be a form of meditation.  Many of the traditional forms of meditation involve chanting a mantra or reciting a text.  There is nothing wrong with choosing a Jewish text to recite as part of a meditation or mantra. For example, reciting the Shema or saying over and over again “gam zu le tova” (everything is for the good) could be positive and fulfilling mantras and would aid in appropriate meditation.  In fact, someone who is very spiritually connected should view each of the daily prayers as an opportunity to connect to G-d directly and the text of the prayers should be like a meditation. As with a meditation, they should help clear the person’s mind and raise them to a higher level of spirituality and spiritual awareness.

There is another type of meditation we use in Judaism, which is called by the Breslov Hasidim “hibodedut.”  Rebbe Nachman of Breslov explains that this is a personal prayer in which you can say anything you want to G-d.  He advocates going alone to the fields and forests to pray like this for an hour every day.  If this is not a type of meditation, I don’t know what is! This is your chance to talk directly to G-d using whatever words and spiritual energy you have.

Furthermore, simply sitting quietly and clearing one’s mind is a type of meditation.  This is certainly not a problem in Judaism, although perhaps prayer is preferable.

But one must remember not to get too caught up in meditation, or even in prayer. Judaism is a religion of action.  Even someone who is praying the shmona esrei (the most holy prayer) must stop what he is doing and run to help in certain situations.  And there are many situations where it is preferable to stop one’s prayers to go do an active mitzvah helping another person.  In Judaism, of the 10 commandments, 5 are between G-d and man, and 5 are between man and man.  This indicates that we should find a balance between these two relationships in our lives.  Meditation is good because it can connect us to G-d, if done in the right way. But our relationship with G-d is only half of what we must accomplish as Jews. We must be sure to also work on our relationships with our fellow men, too.

Hopefully, this has given you all something to… well… meditate on!

Parshas Behar: G-d is in Your Backpack

As observant Jews, we have a lot of items to carry around with us when we travel.  We carry pots to cook kosher food. We carry a siddur to pray. We carry tallis and tefillin and shabbat candles.  We have a lot of things in our backpacks that add to our weight and our bulk.

But no matter where we travel or how, there is one thing that never takes up space and never weighs us down: G-d.

In this week’s parsha, we are commanded, “Do not make gods for yourselves, and do not set up an image or a memorial stone or put up a marker anywhere in your land to cast yourselves down upon it.”  G-d is telling us that we don’t need reminders of Him. We don’t need huge monuments, sculptures, or little idols on our car dashboards.  We don’t need paintings or pictures to remember Him.

Instead, G-d has given us a precious gift: his Sabbath.  By keeping Shabbat and the commandments, by doing what is right and good, we remember Him.  We remember Him through something much more potent and meaningful than simply looking at a picture.

In fact, a picture or a sculpture is easy to overlook.  Look around the room you are in right now.  Are there photographs or artwork on the walls or on your desk? How often do you really notice them. How often do you sit and really look at them? Most of the time, we look through them or past them. We know they are there; our brains do not need to register their presence.  The same thing happens with paintings, drawings, pictures, sculptures, or monuments of idols.

But if we remember G-d through our actions then we truly cannot forget Him. We can’t look around or through our actions.  Even if some things, like negelvasser in the morning, become habit, the majority of our actions are conscious decisions we make.  We decide to do an act of chessed for someone else.  We spend hours upon hours of our time preparing to make the Sabbath beautiful… and if we are spending so much time doing it each week, it cannot be out of habit.  By keeping the Sabbath, by doing the mitzvot Hashem has given us, we remember Him and know He is with us and watching over us.

So when we travel, we may have to worry about packing a few extra things, but there is one thing we will never need to worry we’ve forgotten: G-d.  Because no matter where we are in the world, He is with us.  Even if we travel with no bags at all, even if we travel with nothing, G-d is still with us, as long as we keep Shabbat and do His mitzvot to the best of our ability.

Incidentally, Rabbi Ben has a book called “G-d is in My Backpack” coming out very soon.  Watch this space for it!  In it you will be able to read many amazing incidents that show just how true it is that no matter where you go, G-d is always with you.

Shabbat shalom!

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Parshas Emor: Getting Angry at G-d

Have you ever gotten angry at G-d?  Maybe everything in your life was just going wrong.  You lost a loved one or you were seriously injured… or maybe it was just a lot of little things piling up. Maybe you were just discontent with the way life was going.

I remember once I got really angry at Hashem.  I remember raising up my hands and shouting at Him, “Hashem why are you doing this to me?! Why are you treating me this way?”  I just could not believe that He, who supposedly loves me so much, could be so mean.

I think most people have felt anger at G-d in their lives. If it wasn’t over something that happened to them, then it was over something that happened to someone else.  I have met many people in my travels who have told me they are angry with G-d about the Shoah (Holocaust).  What happened just makes them so sick that they are angry at G-d – and sometimes cannot find a way to forgive Him.

In this week’s parsha, we encounter a man who gets so angry he actually curses G-d.  As a result, he is taken out and stoned to death.  But if almost all of us get angry at G-d sometimes, why such a harsh punishment? Are we not allowed to be angry with Him?  After all, He is the one who failed to give us the understanding and insight into His plans. He is the one who limited us. And He is the one who is bringing suffering onto us. So why shouldn’t we be angry with Him sometimes?

The answer when it comes to getting angry is the same no matter who or what has upset you. I have addressed the topic of anger before (in posts on Parshas Chukas and Parshas Toldos).  The Torah does not expect you to never get angry, but it does expect you to control how you express that anger.

Cursing G-d just is not an acceptable way to handle our anger with Him.  If we are angry at G-d, we need to recognize that this is a call from Him to dig deeper into ourselves.  It shows we do not have sufficient emunah (faith) and bitachon (trust) in Him to know that everything He does is for our own good.  It also shows that we must work to control our anger (see links above).  But not only does it show that our emunah and bitachon are lacking, the individual circumstance of our situation should teach us something else about ourselves. Perhaps we are so arrogant that we expect to understand G-d’s ways and are upset when we cannot. Perhaps we need to give more charity or do more chesed (acts of lovingkindness) for others.

It is okay to feel angry or upset with Hashem sometimes, as long as we recognize that the defects are actually within ourselves.  If that is how we handle the situation, then we show that we are bigger than our anger.  We can choose to overcome our emotions.  We are in control, not the animal inside us.

But if we stoop to cursing G-d we lower ourselves.  We have not only totally missed the point and failed to get the message G-d was sending us, but we are also committing another sin.  G-d spoke the world into existence. He blew life into us with His divine breath.  And yet we are using our breath to speak evil words at Him.  We would not even exist if not for His great mercy and instead of gratitude, we curse Him using the same mechanism by which He gave us this great gift.  It’s not really just one additional sin, it’s many.

In this coming week, let us all work on controlling our anger, both with G-d and with anyone and anything else.  Even if we feel angry, let us look inside ourselves and figure out why G-d is letting this incident happen to us, or allowing this person to treat us in this undesirable way. In this way, we can spiritually elevate ourselves.

Shabbat shalom!

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