Feeling the presence of God is emotional, ethereal, ephemeral. We cannot touch that feeling. It is through symbols and rituals that we can transform an emotional feeling into a physical one. All of those feelings are brought together when donning the prayer shawl.
In Judaism the prayer shawl, the tallit, is one of the most important symbols, that combined with ritual, brings the presence of God into one’s personal space. The shawl is inscribed with the four letter word for God, Yahweh. The word of God is embedded in the shawl itself. And the prayer that one says when donning the shawl is a reminder of God’s revelation at Mount Sinai. Wrapping oneself in this shawl is bringing the past, memory, history, into the present. To be embraced by the prayer shawl is to be embraced by God and comforted.
I have been with patients who are fearful; of a diagnosis, of a need for surgery, of the unknown. And the priest walks into the room. And he takes out his prayer book, and he dons his prayer shawl, and the air in the room vibrates. There is a presence with us. It is the presence of God. When the priest places his shawl over his shoulders in preparation for the sacrament he is about to perform, he brings history and memory into the room. He is bringing with him the first Fisherman.
Many women throughout Canada create shawls for strangers in palliative care. Within the pattern they weave love of other. Hospices and hospital palliative care units provide these shawls for all. Some of the shawls are sanctified by prayer, others are there for warmth. I have often thought that the shawls worn by those in palliative care can be imbued with the same sacredness of history, memory, and feeling as the prayer shawls in religious ceremonies.
In Judaism, a bride gives her groom a prayer shawl. It will be worn by him at morning prayer, festivals, ceremonies, it will accompany him in death. Many couples begin their life together with the prayer shawl around their shoulders as they stand under the canopy and sanctify their marriage. And so the new memories begin, layered onto the deep meaning already present in the ritual of donning the shawl.
A shawl worn in palliative care can provide comfort and warmth for the one who is ill as well as family and friends. Loved ones can cuddle together under the shawl, read a book, play a game, watch a programme, share stories. Children can draw pictures or write notes that can be pinned (woven) into the shawl. Charms, special pieces of jewellery and Christmas ornaments can be the fringes. The shawl will now be the holder and protector of memories, to be brought forward into the future when the one who is loved is no longer with us.
