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Post by louise on Jul 24, 2024 21:59:12 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 (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 sh
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Post by louise on Jul 24, 2024 22:03:19 GMT -5
This evening’s version of the serenity prayer:
What I can control. What I can’t control. The ability to know the difference.
A few titles, as I mentioned in our call, kept getting later and are now due to the printer just as I am leaving or right after I leave for vacation. At our production meeting 2 books shifted so far out that they are now due when I come back! Well that’s serendipitous. At our production meeting today we figured out some ways to get some complicated reprints into the works before I leave. We determined that maybe three books will have to go out without me. I can’t change that but I have written the purchase orders, collected all the little details and will advise the printers of our plans. I had the goal of finally getting my email transferred to my new computer before I leave. I’m letting go of that – was stressing me out. Maybe it will happen this weekend, maybe it won’t. I don’t need to layer it on. It’s all okay.
My synagogue was vandalized overnight. FREE PALESTINE was written on a brick column that supports our front gate. Because of our security cameras we know exactly when this happened and even have a picture of the perpetrator. The police got right on it and our custodial staff removed the paint right away. My rabbi wrote “We remain convinced that this is a time to be vigilant but not to be fearful. We are proud of our community's numerous deep links to Israel, and actions like this act of vandalism do not intimidate us or deter us from affirming and nurturing our connections with our brothers and sisters in Israel.”
At morning minyan we discussed the opening lines of Pinchas. Last week the parsha ended with a cliff-hanger. Long story short there was idolatrous practice going on which caused a plague. Pinchas slaughtered a couple engaging in an intimate act in a holy place, running a spear through them both. The plague ended. I don’t even want to go into Aaron’s sons being killed for bringing ”strange fire” into a ritual and Pinchas being looked on favorably for his violent act. God praises him and His wrath is turned back by Pinchas’s passion for Him. He grants him a pact of friendship, which in the Hebrew is “brit shalom”. You can’t see it in the chumash but my rabbi pointed out that the “vav” in “shalom” is always written with a break in it. An imperfect peace.
What I can control. What I can’t control. The ability to know the difference.
That’s the ticket for me right now.
PS I heard Biden’s speech tonight. What an elegant uber mensch!
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Post by gazelle18 on Jul 25, 2024 9:05:18 GMT -5
Wow, Louise, that is a lot going on for you. And you are so right: distinguishing between the controllable and not-controllable is key. I keep having to remind myself of this in my own life.
I’m sorry to hear about the vandalism, but your rabbi said it best. Vigilance, not fear.
Last night, we went to a Q & A with our Rabbi. The subject was, broadly, current events. Someone asked about the role of anti-semitism in this year’s political season. The rabbi responded: It’s not my job to tell you who to vote for. But, I will say this: No matter your political party, there is an anti-semitism problem in your party. You can’t really effectively combat anti-semitism in a different party. Rather, your job is to call out anti-semitism in your own party.
I agree with this assessment.
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Post by peachymom1 on Jul 25, 2024 11:55:58 GMT -5
Yikes, Louise, I'm so sorry to hear of the vandalism. Your rabbi has it right, though. And I'm glad you're letting go of some time-eaters (like transferring your email), so you can get ready for your trip. I'm getting excited for you!
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