Salt and pepper,
addictive seasonings,
reserved for minimal use.
Crystal granules –
for Shabbos challah,
preservative of the Covenant.
And, spicey crushed peppercorns,
to assimilate fresh turmeric,
combined with ginger,
over coconut milk,
plus four tablespoons
of unrefined coconut oil,
to preserve proper
brain functioning.
Our heritage is like the wind,
moving unseen through the trees;
yet, leaving an impression
amongst the sands of time,
along the beaches of distant shores,
and the deserts of the world.
Are we amongst the souls
whom may make the claim to be
children of G-d, under the heavens
that He created, before the dawn of history?
If so, the fruit of our efforts
to change ourselves for the better,
and lend a helping hand to others
must prevail over and against
the selfish urges within ourselves,
that have the capacity to sweep
away our best intentions,
while we create a house of cards
to please our own ego.
tiferes – harmony, beauty, peace, sanctity
Sometimes life may seem
like a high-wire balancing act,
without a safety net.
We juggle in mid-air,
all of the peoples stares,
we imagine upon us.
When we realize
that no one has perfected
themselves to the extent
wherein harmony reigns,
constantly within and without,
we can accept the nuances
inherent in our existential walk,
across time, from one year to another,
while harmonizing the opposites
of our personalities, with the help
of Providence & Divine Insight.
In consideration of the nearly polar opposites of chesed (loving-kindness) and gevurah (judgment), tiferes (harmony) has the potential to infuse these two “emotional attributes,” into a blend of synergistic harmony that has as its substance, the beauty of moderation, balance, and right amounts of the elements necessary, to bring about reconciliation with all things.
This is why tiferes, seems to me, to be akin to ahavah (love); although, it is traditionally associated with compassion. Incidentally, what is the relationship between love and compassion? Todd Rundgren sang that love without compassion is nil. “Even love has turned bad, [if] it was love without compassion” (Todd Rundgren, Compassion). Is there any truth to be found in his claim?
There is self-love, love of objects (especially our own possessions), love of pleasure, and love of the merely satisfying as opposed to love of virtue. Compassion permits us to love others with a certain degree of selflessness, and has the ability to negate our selfishness, and break down the separateness between ourselves and others. Something for the world to consider…
A window into time,
is challenging to rhyme,
bringing past, present, and future
together into harmony…
Whenever I reflect upon my heritage,
I am transported back to the shtetl
of my ancestors on my father’s side of the family.
Especially, on Yom HaShoah, the day of remembrance
elicits bittersweet emotions.
On the one hand, at least twenty-eight
members of two families perished.
On the other hand, two other families
immigrated to the goldene medina,
bringing forth several generations
of Yidden, who know their heritage
to a greater or lesser degree,
upon the continuum of faith.
2.
Gazing into the future,
I see the final generation
standing in its tenacity
against the tides of change,
and the storms of fear,
that are upon the horizon.
In expectation of Moshiach,
I wait for his arrival, here –
Ad mosai?
3.
Existing in the present,
I try not to get caught up in the turmoil,
nor thrown off balance by the daily news,
that seems to be narrating prophecy
in real-time sound bytes, some confused,
on the way toward the final countdown
of the Geulah (Redemption).
Take heart, I say to my soul,
in the things that you know
will not fail, nor perish –
everlasting life, waiting
right outside the window,
after the Tehillas HaMeisim,
into another time –
eternity.
©2023 all rights reserved
Summer fades into the autumn greys,
and soon winter will arrive with the decay
of the leaves on trees, and blooming things.
The prairie dogs retreat into their dens,
to hibernate until the beginning of Spring.
We watch with anxious anticipation
for the redemption of the creation,
marked by the month of Aviv,
when all mankind is made free.
Without anywhere to hide,
our sins are brought to light,
and like a prairie dog standing,
by his hole, in imitation of prayer,
we are called to ward off the doldrums
of our mind, and reconcile ourselves
to the Creator of all things peaceable
within His Kingdom.
We are determined –
all of us who look to a brighter day –
to see things our way,
instead of submitting
to the King of the World,
Who will give us direction,
capture our attention,
and bring us to our destiny.
We, who strive to create a life,
based on a mix of love and strife,
wanting to change those around us,
by pointing the finger at others,
and blaming the institutions of society.
Yet, disregarding the divine blueprint
of our heritage as a people of faith,
tradition, and the words inscribed
on the two Tablets of Stone
given to Moses on Sinai.
We have lost our way,
as the world in turmoil sways
to and fro, in moral chaos,
while the best of us fret,
and regret what we have not yet done,
to correct ourselves, through tikkun hanefesh,
a rectification of the soul,
with so little time left.
“I will restore My people Israel from captivity.”
– Amos 9:4
Across the generations,
our spirit has been crushed in every nation.
Even now, the Mother of Exiles
is becoming a harlot, like unto Babylon,
leaving us to ponder upon the wisdom of Daniel,
in acknowledgment of our status,
as exiles from the Promised Land.
The dreams of our ancestors,
who looked in hope toward
the distant shoreline of the Goldene Medina,
have been mixed with the alchemy of culture
that threatens to replace the values,
instilled in them by our heritage,
that brought inspiration in the Old Country.
The shift from a common bond,
amongst our own brethren
occurred in front of our very eyes,
as we were disguised from ourselves,
by the lies and factions we upheld,
rather, than honoring our covenantal unity
within the fractured diversity of K’lal Yisrael.
The aftermath
of an overemphasis on gashmiyos,
and a decreasing allegiance to ruchniyos,
coupled with assimilation into the melting pot,
is made visible in the diminishment
of our religious identity,
until the time when our renewal
is at hand.
This barren landscape of the mind,
where time renews only those who have hope
in the ways of the ancient past
treaded by the sages of ages that still last
for the sake of the preservation of our heritage;
this bare earth, devoid of nourishment
soil, depleted by the wars that have wasted the land,
and the shores of distant beaches,
where the sands of time drift into the sea;
even the biosphere cries out on behalf of the world,
to renew the manifold aspects of creation –
mankind, the task begins with us,
through the renewal of the soul.
Out of necessity,
eating unkosher chicken,
not out of rebellion,
nor indifference.
Rather, out of a sense of gratitude,
yet, begrudgingly accepting
the prepackaged fillets,
soaked in a spicy sauce,
that I should not have,
with two types of preservatives
that I normally avoid.
After a few bites,
my stomach is unsettled;
and, I think how much I would like
to eat kosher chicken fillets again,
as an occasional supplement
to my vegetarian diet.
Yet, alas, there is nowhere
here to find them,
unless I take a 2 hour trek
to the closest metropolis.
Challenged, we are,
to a lesser or greater degree
by secular society.
I wax philosophical,
feel spacy, and my stomach growls.
The curse of making a dispensation,
at the cost of my integrity
for one meal,
like Esau.
Rays of the sun follow the dawn
tinting the clouds, pink and blue.
A snapshot of eternity
as manifest in the reality
of an early morning scene
that renders emotions serene.
Tea from the cupboard of life
soothes my soul, minimizes the strife,
that swirls inside of my mind,
bringing comfort in due time.
Reflecting on people and places
missed opportunities and faces;
seems like a universal principle,
that room must be made for the new.
One door closes, and another opens;
as Pesach approaches, the old is removed,
exchanging chometz for matzoh,
bringing renewal to the depths of my soul.
As tears are sanctified by joy,
the troubled years recede into the past,
while the sun rises over Ir HaKodesh
wherein all prayers ascend to G-d.
Breathing Inspiration 