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Post by peachymom1 on Jul 20, 2023 23:36:19 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:
Frieda
Holly
Lee
Louise
Lynne
Peachy
And for those of you that stop by to read this thread without posting — you are welcome to, but you are also welcome to chime in. Don’t be shy!
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Post by peachymom1 on Jul 20, 2023 23:37:23 GMT -5
Good morning everyone! Two weeks ago, I read five aliyot for the Torah portion Pinchas. We were celebrating the 85th birthday of our beloved ritual director, whose bar mitzvah Torah portion was Pinchas all those years ago. It was a wonderful occasion, it was my first Shabbat back in the synagogue after my hysterectomy, and I’m proud to say I didn’t make a single mistake during my Torah reading.
Last week, I read the first three aliyot for the Torah portion Mattot-Mas’ei, and dagnabbit, I made a mistake in each one of them. I corrected myself and went on, but I was irritated with myself. It didn’t help that we had an aufruf and two baby namings, so there were extra people standing around me, and the babies were noisy. Still, I should have been able to tune them out and do better at reading from the Torah, but oh well, whaddyagonnado. I did the best I could.
Tomorrow I’m also reading three aliyot for Dvarim, and I want to do them well, because the trope changes in anticipation of Tisha B’Av next week, and it takes some extra attention and concentration. I’ve done these all before, plus I’ve been practicing all week, so I hope it all goes well.
In this week’s Torah portion, Dvarim, Moses begins his final speech to the children of Israel. Forty years ago, Moses said, “Please, my lord, I have never been a man of words…I am slow of speech and slow of tongue” (Ex. 4:10). If you take a look at Deuteronomy, you’ll see that he has quite a lot of words to say, now that he sees the end of his life drawing near. There are a lot of good things to say about our teacher Moses, but what strikes me at the moment is that he was willing to change and grow drastically in those forty years, no matter what extraordinary things happened and no matter how people complained and made mistakes, sometimes really big ones (like the golden calf incident). How amazing is it to engage in the world and truly experience life, rather than coast by without ever sticking your neck out or having the courage to try to do tough things. Moses was a remarkable character, to say the least.
Thank you all for your participation this week. Have a wonderful weekend, stay cool and hydrated! Shabbat shalom!
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Post by hollygail on Jul 21, 2023 6:54:38 GMT -5
Three years ago, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks (or is it Lord Rabbi? When you're a rabbi and the King or Queen of England knights you, which comes first, "rabbi" or "sir"?) wrote the following in a d'var Torah:
"In the last month of his life, Moses gathered the people. He instructed them about the laws they were to keep and reminded them of their history since the Exodus. That is the substance of the book of Devarim. Early in this process, he recalled the episode of the spies – the reason the people’s parents were denied the opportunity to enter the land. He wanted the next generation to learn the lesson of that episode and carry it with them always. They needed faith and courage. Perhaps that has always been part of what it means to be a Jew."
I was inspired to build a d'var Torah based on the need for faith and courage, which I'm to deliver at services tomorrow morning at a local (relatively small) Renewal community (I attend their Shabbat morning services every chance I get and yes, I have a secondary membership with them). There's a lot that happens during the Book of Deuteronomy, and Moses, while going over the history of the trek from slavery to the last moments before the Israelites cross the Jordan, and he puts his own spin on things (like, he blames the people rather than take responsibility for his own mistakes). And so many scholars focus on so many different aspects... I perused dozens of divrei Torah before deciding what my major points would be. And I loved it!
Great week, peachymom1, Peachy!
Gut shabbes everyone.
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Post by louise on Jul 21, 2023 7:59:18 GMT -5
Okay, Peachy, so the surest way not to make any torah reading mistakes is not to do any torah reading. Wait, that's not right! Anyway, making one mistake per aliyah sounds pretty good to me so please do not be so hard on ourself. And tomorrow - that trope change for me is killer. I don't do the haftarah that day - my ear is not good enough. Yes, Moses (and the Israelites) went through a lot of transitions over the 40 years and you my dear have been through a lot of surgeries and come through it all A-OK. Kudos to you.
Shabbat shalom everyone.
PS Did I mention I broke off half of one of my top front teeth? No pain but not a good look. Have a dentist appointment today. Hoping there's somethng ike dental crazy glue.
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Post by happysavta on Jul 21, 2023 8:21:00 GMT -5
Shalom chaverot,
It's toasty hot in Houston. I'm going home tomorrow. I did the special Pet Scan in Houston and while it didn't identify any clearly identifiable mets, they did find something in the right breast and something in the lung that needs to be biopsied to figure out what that is. Could be something. Could be nothing. Meanwhile, I'm doing some sophisticated blood tests and setting up a tele-conference with a Merkel specialist in Seattle at Fred Hutchingson Cancer Center. I'm trying really hard, chaverot, not to become a "professional" cancer patient where this becomes my full-time occupation.
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lee058
This space for rent
Posts: 23,299 
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Post by lee058 on Jul 21, 2023 8:44:26 GMT -5
Good morning everybody. Hope you are all well and SAFE! Sorry I missed posting yesterday; I had an appointment with my optometrist and afterwards I just felt exhausted from Wednesday and needed to rest a lot. The good news is that I don't need new glasses. My vision is almost the same as it was last year, so the doctor said they weren't necessary. Re today's topic: Thanks peachymom1, for a good week. Re medical issues: happysavta, wishing you the best and sending good energy. Have a peaceful day, Lee |
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Post by gazelle18 on Jul 21, 2023 9:33:00 GMT -5
Peachy, thanks for a great week. I loved what you wrote about Moses.
Louise, ugh on the tooth. Good luck with that! Modern dentistry is pretty darn good; I have had way more time in the chair than I wanted, but the results have been great.
Frieda, hang in there!
Good shabbos all
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