Jewish Musings, Friday/Shabbat May 17

[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:
Frieda (hopefully)?
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!

[louise]

All I can do is get us on the board. I am absolutely exhausted. I hope to come back in the morning with something of a topic.The day started meeting my boss at an artist's studio/loft (we are doing a book on him) down in the Bowery to compare and discuss several sets of color proofs against the actual paintings. I loved it and was glad and proud to have been included. Then I went to the office and then all the way downtown again to work at the T-shirt tent for a Heart Walk. It was incredibly busy and also a beautiful place to be: on the river, boats at the dock, the Staue of Liberty a little ways in the distance. I didn't get home until after 9 this evening. I walked 16,000 steps. I brought my breakfast with me (made protein panckes with chopped walnuts and a sliced banana and SF syrup) that I heated up in the office when I got there. On the way to my T-shirt gig I bought a turkey sandwich to eat while I was on duty. In the end I may not have eaten enough but I was never hungry and I ate all very wholesome food, lots of protein. Maybe there is a topic in there - I feel very pleased with myself that I got good work done and took care of myself while doing it. Dayeinu.

[gazelle18]

I’ll try to get back later, but commenting on Louise’s post: I tend to do much better with my eating when I’m busy , especially when I’ve planned ahead , instead of just grabbing what’s available. Sounds like a great day Louise!

[peachymom1]

Louise, thank you for an interesting week, and congrats on managing things yesterday! I hope you feel proud of yourself!

Today is my WI day, and I've lost four-tenths of a pound. Yesterday I had enough points to treat myself to some ice cream, which I enjoyed immensely. I'm feeling positive about my eating and exercise these days. I also started doing an easy series of 30-minute chair yoga routines, called Yoga Vitality Chair Yoga for Healthy Aging. It truly is for beginners, which makes it achievable for me, and I recommend it. The instructor is rather nice to look at too. :+)

Everyone have a great weekend! Shabbat shalom!

[lee058]

Good afternoon everybody. Hope you are all well and SAFE! Please pray for Israel.

louise, Thanks for a good week!

Re today's topic: When I am too busy, sometimes my stomach gets upset. Thank goodness for my stomach meds.

Have a peaceful day, Lee

[louise]

Thank you all for your understanding. I had a good WI day, another 1.4#. Continued to pay a bit of a price today for yesterday, being tired and hungry. I'm not going to have a big exercise day and will keep close watch on my final intake for the day - I definitely front-ended my intake. Planning a moderate dinner to keep my total okay. A favoite I haven't made in a long time is scrambled eggs with 97% FF hot dogs. Will add some red bell pepper. With a salad that should be enough and satisfying and barely 300 calories. Need to stay protective of my program.

Shabbat shalom.

[louise]

Throwing in a little something very moving on Emor/Omer (from my rabbi):

The period from Passover until Shavuot is referred to as the period of the Counting of the Omer, Sefirat Ha-Omer. The tradition is to take note each day of what day it is since Passover, until we reach Shavuot on the 50th day (seven weeks plus one day; the Hebrew word “Shavuot” means “weeks,” and this counting of seven weeks since Passover is what gives Shavuot its name)...The tradition of counting the Omer is described in this week’s Torah portion of Emor.

This week, Israel marked 76 years since its independence in 1948. Celebrations for this event were more muted than usual, for so many obvious reasons. Families of hostages held an alternate ceremony on Tuesday which included the reading of the names of the remaining over 130 hostages (some living, some confirmed deceased but with their bodies still in captivity). The list was read alphabetically by first name, which is how I came to realize that there are three Israeli hostages held in Gaza with the first name of Omer.

(You can see and hear the reading of the names at www.youtube.com/live/dmtn8PbhWVo?si=cNj700q0suLOqHg8&t=4677, beginning 1:18:05. After each name is read, those in attendance chant עכשו! ‘Achshav!’ meaning “Now!” -- directed not only to Hamas to release the hostages, and not only to the world community to take the hostage crisis more seriously than they are, but also to the Israeli government to miss no opportunity to secure the freedom of the hostages through negotiations. Following some of the names are the words זכרו ברכה zikhro livrakhah, or זכרה לברכה, zikhrah livrakhah, “may his/her memory be for a blessing,” for those hostages whose deaths have been confirmed.)

There are layers upon layers of human tragedy in this story of Israel and Gaza - from the October 7 murders, rapes and dismemberments, to the evacuations and dislocations within Israel, to the deaths, injuries, and dislocations in Gaza, to the traumas experienced by so many, among yet more layers. Each and every innocent person in this story is at the center of concentric circles that radiate outward so that the tragedy also affects their family, friends, and communities.
No reason is presented directly in our Torah reading for why we count the Omer. But the experience of counting the Omer makes us especially conscious of the passage of time, reminding us that any longer period of time is made up of sacred moment by moment, sacred day by day. And hopefully the counting of the Omers can remind us that the 100+ hostages, and the thousands of people who have been killed in the last several months, are one plus one plus one plus one… each one of whom deserves to have their humanity affirmed, in a world that often thinks of these tragedies only symbolically and in aggregate.
During this season of the counting of the Omer, we pray for freedom for the Omers and all other hostages, and we pray for safety -- in the short term and in the long term -- for all those facing danger.