Jewish Musings, Tuesday, January 2

[louise]

What’s on your mind — how to make kugel? This week’s Torah reading? Life goals? Prayer? We are all engaged in weight loss/weight maintenance journeys and we are all Jewish or at least interested in Judaism. We like to eat, we like to discuss. It is our goal here to provide each other support on our journeys, to share experiences, to call on our rich cultural heritage and texts, and to help each other grow spiritually.

Some of us take weekly turns starting the thread:

Angelika
Holly
Lee
Louise
Lynne
Peachy

And for those of you that stop by to read this thread without posting - you are welcome to do that but you are also welcome to chime in!

[louise]

So last Shabbat Joseph explains Pharaoh’s dreams about seven years of plenty and seven years of famine and makes a plan for conserving the plenty to last them through the famine. And so begins Joseph’s new career. During the years of plenty he has two sons that he names Manasseh and Ephraim.

Genesis 41: 51,52:
Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, “For”, he said, “God has made me forget all my troubles and all my father’s household”. He named the second Ephraim, "For," he said, "God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction”.

So Manasseh means “he who causes to forget.” I get kind of a disconnect here. If he had named his son something about healing or recovering or forgiving I can see it, but as it stands wouldn’t this name in itself then become a reminder (of what he wants to forget)? Every day you say your son’s name you are reminding yourself there is something to forget. I have read that it means that he remembers the things that befell him but the memories no longer have power over him.

I think we can find these dynamics in our everyday lives. Kind of like when you say “That’s okay” and it’s really not. I’m not thinking of good examples right now but what I’m after is that sometimes we adopt behaviors for a certain reason but we may actually be undermining ourselves. And sometimes we’re just in denial.

[louise]

On a different note - loved having all these days off this past week (even though I didn't get so far in my to do list). Not looking forward to going back to work.

1kflute - by all means you are welcome to join us. For starters you could tell us about your name!

[hollygail]

What comes to mind are behaviors I sometimes adopt in selected social situations. I make sure to smile, for example, when a smile is appropriate. I watch my language (I'm not exactly a potty mouth, but I'm relatively free with some words that I absolutely do NOT use in my classroom!). I encourage members in my WW meetings.

But I don't taste foods offered to me just to be polite. I'm a good eater, with very few "I don't eat that" tendencies, but if I'm not hungry, I don't eat just to be social.

And I'm intrigued: 1kflute?

[peachymom1]

Names are interesting things, aren't they? But how often do we really think about the meaning of someone's name, when it's someone we see every day, like one of our kids? Maybe Joseph gave Menashe that name because of how he felt at the time, but he probably didn't think about it every time he called him by name. I would think that as the child grows up, his personality and identity would overshadow the meaning of his name, and Joseph would simply think of his son with love and connection.

[savtele]

Boker Tov All! 1kflute - speak right up! We'd love to "meet" you!

I think, all things considered, Joseph no doubt had physical as well as mental/emotional scars to remind him every day of how he was thrown into a pit & then sold by his brothers, then sold in a slave market, finally thrown into prison & forgotten for years - until now, when he had the ear of the Pharaoh, a wife, and now a son. On balance, his life, to date, was coming up positive - and on some level he could now put the past behind him! That's my take-away, at any rate. There are things in my past that I will always carry with me - but at this point, they can be in my past. I don't have to "rehearse" them every day anymore. His new position no doubt brought him in contact with many people needing favors (i.e. meeting with his brothers soon-to-come.) "Remembering" his past could give him compassion for the plight of others, "Forgetting" it gave him access to all the abilities and privileges his position brought him - like turning a page. Both were necessary.

I'm having trouble getting the fire going today - not sure why. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for my forced air heat, but on a bitterly cold day, there is nothing in the world like a wood fire - it's a completely different kind of heat! Soaks into your bones & settles there!

Have a good day ladies!

[lee058]

Hi everybody. I just finished doing a stack of dishes, bowls and silverware. That's what happens when you cook (and eat) at home; you get stuff to clean! It's worth it, but right now, I am glad I can sit down and relax. Whew!

Tomorrow I am going for my annual mammogram. I've been getting the 3D version for the past few years. Are all of you getting your tests done regularly? Consider this a reminder and a PSA!

I don't have much to say about today's topic at the moment, except that I also am sometimes haunted by memories of the past. When that happens, I tell myself firmly, and out loud if necessary, that that event is OVER, DONE, and GONE. Something about putting it into words helps me put the past pain behind me. I am very grateful that I don't have to live certain events over again in my conscious thoughts, that I am able to banish them. It is a blessing. I really mean that!

I'll try and get back later. Have a peaceful rest of the day, Lee

[gazelle18]

Forgiving and forgetting may be two different things. But to some extent, in order to forgive, one must "forget" . For example, I see my mother at least twice per week. It would not be healthy for me to remember every painful criticism or comment she has made. Even tho such incidents may be within my actual memory, I try to "forget" them when I interact with her. Perhaps this is what we call selective memory.

I would like to report that I had been eating WAA AAY off plan for quite a stretch. Yesterday and today, I have been back on plan. I feel so much better,much like Angelika feels when she stays off of gluten. I often allow myself to forget this phenomenon: when I eat better, I feel better.

[gazelle18]

I will add my voice to the chorus, 1kflute: new folks are always welcome! We really mean that, and love to hear fresh voices.

[1kflute]

Hello to all on this thread.
My name is Esther. I live near Boston. I have recently retired and I am an active amateur musician. I play historical wooden flutes. My main instrument is a baroque flute which has only one key. That is where the 1kflute name comes from.
In the Joseph story I thought he was forgetting his
painful past with his brothers and enjoying this new family.

[peachymom1]

"His new position no doubt brought him in contact with many people needing favors (i.e. meeting with his brothers soon-to-come.) "Remembering" his past could give him compassion for the plight of others, "Forgetting" it gave him access to all the abilities and privileges his position brought him - like turning a page. Both were necessary."

Angelika, I never thought about Joseph's contact with people on a daily basis and how his life experience might have helped him be a compassionate leader. Thank you for pointing it out. Now that I think of it, it must have also given him some insight into other families and how they operated among themselves. To me, the amazing thing about Joseph is that he learned from painful experiences and was ultimately able to reconcile with his brothers. He could have been humane to them and still not revealed himself to him, but he chose to anyway.