This morning's tefillah (worship) was led by the teens (between jr and sr years of high school). a lot of music and a wonderful story. this week's portion is Korach, the story of the rebellion against Moses' leadership by Korach and others. instead of valuing the best in Moses, Korach was concerned for himself and wanted a leadership position. he mounts the confrontation, and in punishment, the earth literally swallows them and their families. the story told by a 17 yr old was on seeing the good in people, and how last Thursday he thought he was late for lunch, and on his way met another student who told him that he just found out that a friend had died. the speaker related how he offered words of comfort, and later how he was so touched that this friend had seen the best in him, had trusted that his confidence would be well placed. and then, they got to the dining room, and there was no one there. oh my, i've missed lunch completely, he thought. then he found a clock. he was a half hour EARLY. it's also about being in the right place at the right time. so that he could be there for his friend.
turns out i missed the thunderstorm. here i thought it was my suite mate in the shower, but it was really a pouring of rain, and there is more thunder. exciting times in the midwest!!
we have a homework assignment in the class. we are reading a variety of different texts (i don't have the book with me at the moment but it is a collection of small pieces from Eastern Europe, the hassidic tradition. we are looking closely at a list of ten (maybe more maybe less) statements that constitute the "thesis statement" for the lives of the authors. we will be writing our own soon. what are the important things that guide our life?
earlier, rabbi kedar spoke about how we lack the vocabulary for talking about god and things spiritual. one woman said she was ok with some of the statements if you took the word "god" out of them. doesn't matter either way.
one interesting piece of the text study this morning:
there are several prayers that talk about light and dark, night and day, dawn and dusk. think about the transition time: when the light is changing, as it gets just a little bit darker on toward evening and eventually night. the hebrew word is the same as "roll" as in the light is rolling....the screen that is light rolls away and enables us to see the luminaries/stars of the night sky. it is a gentle thing.
progress? last night when we said the mourner's kaddish, a prayer which does not mention death, btw, i only teared up but didn't cry.
today for reading torah, what was used as a pointer (yad/hand in Hebrew so you don't touch the actual scroll) was a caribiner. cool.
i spoke to Liz on the phone (just as she was thinking of me) and she is all set to print out directions and come fetch me in the morning. we are very excited to meet face to face.
Linda tip for the day: when you get back from a trip, go in through the garage so you can leave the plastic bag of dirty laundry down by the washing machine ... no need to take it into the house.
