This website can bring you a video or recording of wind’s image and sound, but it cannot convey the feel of the wind in your hair, scent of a pine forest in the Cascade mountains, or the heady perfume of orange blossoms and jasmine in an Israeli spring. For that you have to go outside and breathe!
Ruach, wind bears the intimate sense of touch, when a cold winter wind chills us or a gentle summer breeze caresses our skin and cools our brow. Ruach also bears the intimate sense of scent. The word for scent in Hebrew is re’ach, רֵיחַ is from the same root.
- Let scent (re’ach, רֵיחַ)
- borne on the wind (ruach רוּחַ)
- help you connect with your spirit (also ruach רוּחַ)
When you stop to smell the flowers or trees, you can focus your attention as you offer a traditional berachah (blessing):
Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech Ha-Olam, borei…
Blessed are you YHWH (Breath of Life), Our God, Ruler of the World, Who creates…
- atzei besamim fragrant trees (for trees and for perennial flowering bushes that have a hard stalk, including roses, jasmine)
- isbei besamim fragrant herbs (for fresh herbs and soft shrubs, including mint)
- minei besamim kinds of fragrances (for dried spices, perfumes, inedible fruits like lemon)
- If Hebrew is an obstacle, say the blessing in English or just use your own words. Awareness and gratitude are the main thing!
Featured Image: Orchids on the Big Island, Hawaii, Elisheva Danan
Consider the power of scent to nourish the soul, or return to the Gateway of Wind.
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