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Post by hollygail on Feb 3, 2017 0:54:58 GMT -5
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!
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Post by hollygail on Feb 3, 2017 1:09:42 GMT -5
I’m going to quote something from a d’var Torah by Rabbi Bradley Artson, who’s a dean at the AJU (Conservative rabbinical school) in Los Angeles.
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www.myjewishlearning.com/article/ready-for-renewal/
Ready For Renewal
Like the Israelites who left Egypt and faced the terrifying choices of freedom, modern Jews face the challenge of responsibly establishing new guidelines and directions for the Jewish community.
By Rabbi Bradley Artson
Provided by the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, which ordains Conservative rabbis at the American Jewish University.
Ours is an age of unparalleled uncertainty. While we ransack the past and its accumulated wisdom for guidance today, we also know that the degree of change in every aspect of our lives is without precedent. Groping in the dark, treading uncertainly down a path not previously taken, modern humanity doesn’t know its destination and isn’t even sure it is enjoying the trip. And we have good cause for our doubts.
...
[About the … situation that faced Moses and the children of Israel when God commanded them to leave Egypt:] Granted, slavery was bad. People suffered terribly from its oppression.The Jews were not allowed to have male children, the work was a great strain. Yet it was also a pattern of life that had endured for four hundred years, something the Jews knew from the inside. There were no surprises, no unpredictable moments.
And then came the offer of freedom, enticing and disruptive. To be free meant being able to choose, and also meant having to choose from a confusing and paralyzing number of options. Life would be more interesting, perhaps, but it would never be as simple.
Where to Worship God
Moses summarized well when he explained to Pharaoh that "we do not know with what we are to worship the Lord until we arrive there." On the surface, he meant that remark to keep Pharaoh in the dark. Ironically, however, Moses himself wasn’t sure where they were to worship God. Uncertain of their destination, not knowing what they were to do when they got there, the Jews had to be willing to live with the burden of freedom — the power to make choices and to take responsibility. Ultimately, freedom is the ability to take responsibility for life and its direction.
In our own generation, we face that same crossroads. The traumas and opportunities of modernity can excite and terrify, beckon with the enticements of new possibilities and chasten with complexity and confusion. No matter. The future is ours if we are willing to throw ourselves into the task with our hearts, minds and hands. We can build a vibrant Jewish future, but it will take effort. Support for synagogues, afternoon religious schools, day schools and Jewish universities and seminaries are essential to help us fashion tomorrow’s Jewish community.
Equally important is the perspective of the seeking Jew. A willingness to wrestle with difficult questions, with imponderable mysteries and with the marvel of life itself is the prerequisite for spiritual Jewish growth. It takes some courage to enter a synagogue and stay there long enough, week after week, to learn the service. It takes courage to sign up for an adult education class or to meet with a Rabbi. But there is no substitute for bravery. In the words of the great philosopher Franz Rosenzweig (20th century Germany) "The Jewish individual needs nothing but readiness." Are you ready?
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Anyone game to discuss choices? How free do we feel to make choices that impact our health, or weight, or you fill in whatever it is you struggle about… Where would you feel more comfortable with guidelines and directions? Do you know your destination? What along your journey oppresses you? Do you ever feel like you’re groping in the dark? What are your doubts? Are you “stuck” in patterns that you’ve probably created for yourself in the first place? And what would it take to be free of these oppressive situations?
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Post by savtele on Feb 3, 2017 10:52:39 GMT -5
Boker Tov All! Holly - I love this!
Freedom is a scary thing! In a supermarket - what looks like acres of food! What choices do I make?
When I was a child, there was no choice. My parents did the shopping, my mom did the cooking, and what was on the table was what we ate. A "slavery" of sorts, if a benign one. Now, as an adult, I wend my way through triple-cream cheeses & prosciutto. Gluten Free chocolate cake & quinoa salad. Shelves and shelves of eye-level licorice, chocolate-covered cherries & amaretto cookies.
I said the other day that my brother's heart attack was a wake-up call. I cannot imagine that the genetic heritage that lead to his attack has passed me by: 2 grandparents (one on each side), several uncles, my father, now, 2 siblings. That's a lot of heart attacks in 3 generations of 1 family! How much harder must my heart work, than it would if I lost the weight? BTW - Ingo was moved to cardiac rehab yesterday - good news!
I "want" my destination to be vibrant good health, into old age! I want to watch my babies grow up, and their babies, on down the line.
Much like a hike, there are trail markers here and there. And while there are no shortcuts, the trails are all marked. I just need to keep going - and if I miss a trail-head & make a wrong turn, it's ok to go back & do it right! As long as I am alive, there are do-overs!
Shabbat Shalom All
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Post by louise on Feb 3, 2017 13:54:46 GMT -5
"REadiness" is such an essential part of ny change.There are things you know youshoulddo.There are goals youmay want for yourself.You may even think you are willing and be surpused that you are not ready. Soometimes we are shocked into readiness. I don't know what makes a moment the right moment. I like Angekia's pointing out that there are do-overs too. Right now I feel ready to walk away from how I've been doing things. I want to snap into another level of responisibility for myself. I think a big part of that is examining your priorites and seeing if your actions and goals are aligned.
Om another note I saw my new dentist today and I like him. Also, quite to my surprise, no cavities. Next step is seeing my perio guy for a cleaning. I know that won't be good, but the important thing is just to get back on track.
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lee058
This space for rent
Posts: 23,285 
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Post by lee058 on Feb 3, 2017 15:54:22 GMT -5
Hi everybody, hope you are all well. Today has been quite a day and it's not over yet (!). I'll tell you the good news first. I got my eyes checked today, and apparently my vision has changed a lot since last year, so I need new glasses --- and I picked a pair of PURPLE frames. Won't they be fun!
The bad news is that I found out that one of my neighbors just moved to a hospice facility and doesn't have long to live. I am going to visit her tomorrow, with a couple of other neighbors. I feel very sad about her, but she has been sick for a long time, so I guess she just got worse. I will be praying for her to be as comfortable as possible.
We have to make life count!!!
It's good to have friends. Have a peaceful rest of the day, Lee
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Post by louise on Feb 3, 2017 17:54:08 GMT -5
My boss came in for a little while today and told me, among other things, the 6 months I have starts NOW. I will work with him to transition into whatever he wants to transition to. As a child of the 60's I learned long ago to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Don't really know what's in store. Obviously I wouldn't have signed up for the food delivery program had I known yesterday but maybe it's all for the best.
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