Holiness

Within two hours, as I've been contemplating the meaning of "silence," which is my lesson for the day according to the "Monk in the World" e-course, I came across this passage written by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, in his book Exodus: The Book of Redemption, which is part of a devotional series on the Torah, called Covenant and Conversation.

"Holiness is the space we make for the Otherness of God – by listening, not speaking; by being, not doing; by allowing ourselves to be acted on rather than acting. It means disengaging from that flow of activity whereby we impose our human purposes on the world, thereby allowing space for the divine purpose to emerge. All holiness is a form of renunciation, but since God desires the existence of human beings as responsible and creative beings, He does not ask for total renunciation. Thus some times are holy, not all; some spaces are holy, not all; some people are holy, not all." - P. 143

Really??  Isn't that what silence is?  At least, that is what I've been meditating on today:

"we can cultivate silence within ourselves throughout each and every day by listening rather than speaking" were my exact words.  

Hmm.  I think they call this a God moment. (?)  Perhaps this is saying that the cultivation of this kind of silence is also the cultivation of holiness.