12 hour work shifts are for the BIRDS...lol

#omer

DAY 1

Day 1
http://www.13petals.org/prayer-meditation-music-poetry/meditation/seven-views/day-1/

WEEK 1: Ushpizin
Day 1: Abraham
Abraham is the first of the ushpizin (guests) we welcome during Sukkot. Chesed (‘lovingkindness’ or ‘mercy’) is associated with Abraham. Chesed is the active, giving, aspect of God. Chesed emanates from Chokhmah (Wisdom) above it, on the “right side” of the Tree of Life.

Abraham was known for not waiting to be kind to others. Being the first of the middot, Chesed is clearly ‘proactive.’ It is not only first in terms of hierarchy, but also in that it has nothing ‘causing it.’

‘The world is built with chesed.’ (Psalm 89:3)

Even before his reputation for hospitality became known, Abraham was the model of being proactive. He searched for and discovered G-d on his own, while rejecting the idolatry of his contemporaries.

Abraham did not allow his environment to dictate his choices.
Abraham carried out G-d’s commands with eagerness and speed, such as when G-d told him to:

1. travel from his homeland to Canaan.
2. circumcise himself
3. offer his son Isaac to G-d. (i.e., He “rose early in the morning,”)

‘The scrupulous do the Mitzvoth immediately.’ (Yoma 28b).

Conversely, just as chesed has no borders, Abraham lacked the ability to distinguish between Isaac and Ishmael. Midrashim tell us that when G-d told him to take ‘his son,’ Abraham responded that he had two sons. When He said, ‘your only son’ he replied that he has two only sons from different mothers. When told, ‘whom you love,’ Abraham said that he loved both his sons. Finally, G-d said ‘Isaac.’

So G-d sent Sarah as his ‘personal’ counterbalance. The ability to make distinctions comes with the second of the middot – Gevurah.

Rabbi Elazar says: Be diligent in learning Torah, and know what to respond to one who denigrates the Torah. Know before Whom you labor--the Master of your work is trustworthy to pay you the wage for your activity. - Pirkei Avot 2:14

#Shabbatverseoftheday
Leviticus 22:31-33
The living Torah

Be careful regarding My commandments and keep them; I am G-d. Do not desecrate my holy name. I must be santified among the Israelites. I am G-d and I am making you holy and bringing you out of Egypt to be your G-d. I am G-d.

For those in Rebbetzin @sima-siegel class, here is the #verseoftheday.

Psalms 66:8-12
Bless HaShem, all the nation's and sound his praise. He has kept our souls alive and he has not allowed our feet to stumble. For you G-d, have tested us, you have tried us as one refines silver. You trapped us in nets, you placed affliction upon our loins. You cause men and nations to rule over us- we went through fire and water; But in the end you brought us out with abundance!

@eliyanah-jordan-yarden I watched this video and thought of you as a mother and grandmother. In simple terms it is about how the woman builds the temple and creates Israel from within her home. I would actually have to watch it more than once in order to understand the whole message.

#shabbatverseoftheday
LEVITICUS 25:35 TLT
When your brother becomes impoverished and loses his ability to support himself in the community, you must come to his aid. Help him survive wether he is a proselyte or a native.

How to Find Yourself in a Crazy World - Rav Dror

Hello friends and family, I am back on A-T and Microsoft. I had been using my phone for everything but then I lost my phone charger (new one will be here on Wednesday) and when I tried to use my laptop, nothing would connect, I couldn't remember my passwords and even locked myself out of a few sites. However, @dave-howell and @clear-brewer I have everything all straightened out. They were so patient with me and I thank you gentlemen for your assistance.

So what have I missed! My young friends, have you all been working on your poetry? @caleb-jordan, @talitha-holland @tim-herrera @timothy-hadar-jordan @william-jordan @harmony-mccullar . Who am I missing? Just in case....

At the Threshold of the Book
BY EDMOND JABÈS
TRANSLATED BY ROSMARIE WALDROP
Mark the first page of the book with a red marker. For,
in the beginning, the wound is invisible.
- Reb Alcé

"What is going on behind this door?"

"A book is shedding its leaves."

"What is the story of the book?"

"Becoming aware of a scream."

"I saw rabbis go in."

"They are privileged readers. They come in small groups to give us their comments."

"Have they read the book?"

"They are reading it."

"Did they happen by for the fun of it?"

"They foresaw the book. They are prepared to encounter it."

"Do they know the characters?"

"They know our martyrs."

"Where is the book set?"

"In the book."

"Who are you?"

"I am the keeper of the house."

"Where do you come from?"

"I have wandered."

"Is Yukel your friend?"

"I am like Yukel."

"What is your lot?"

"To open the book."

"Are you in the book?"

"My place is at the threshold."

"What have you tried to learn?"

"I sometimes stop on the road to the sources and question the signs, the world of my ancestors."

"You examine recaptured words."

"The nights and mornings of the syllables which are mine, yes."

"Your mind is wandering."

"I have been wandering for two thousand years."

"I have trouble following you."

"I, too, have often tried to give up."

"Do we have a tale here?"

"My story has been told so many times."

"What is your story?"

"Ours, insofar as it is absent."

"I do not understand."

"Speaking tortures me."

"Where are you?"

"In what I say."

"What is your truth?"

"What lacerates me."

"And your salvation?"

"Forgetting what I said."

"May I come in? It is getting dark."

"In each word there burns a wick."

"May I come in? It is getting dark around my soul."

"It is dark around me, too."

"What can you do for me?"

"Your share of luck is in yourself."

"Writing for the sake of writing does nothing but show contempt."

"Man is a written bond and place."

"I hate what is said in place I have left behind."

"You trade in the future, which is immediately translated. What you have left is you without you."

"You oppose me to myself. How could I ever win this fight?"

"Defeat is the price agreed on."

"You are a Jew, and you talk like one."

"The four letters JUIF which designate my origin are your four fingers. You can use your thumb to crush me."

"You are a Jew, and you talk like one. But I am cold. It is dark. Let me come into the house."

"There is a lamp on my table. And the house is in the book."

"So I will live in the house after all."

"You will follow the book, whose every page is an abyss where the wing shines with the name."

Edmond Jabès. "At the Threshold of the Book" from From the Book to the Book © 1991 and reprinted by permission of Wesleyan University Press.

https://docs.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=http://www.breslov.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/BRI-Pathways-2018-20-Shelach.pdf&hl=en_US

It's been a while since we have seen any new faces on "Cup of Joe with Jo". 12:45pm CDT. Just the ladies of Assemble Together getting together to chat for a while. No agenda, no study, just visiting about our lives, activities, children, recipes, etc. Hope some of you can join us tomorrow!

Busy day today. Early walk with my neighbor, a couple of errands and then about 2 hours on Hebrew. Ready for our class tomorrow...Now off to "Cup of Joe with Jo" Hope many of you ladies can join us today! Shalom:-)