“I am full of love for G-d!
I know that my love and yearning has no name.
How can a feeling that surpasses everything:
all goodness, all essence, all existence, be given a name?”

(Orot HaKodesh 4:400)

The Kotel, or Western Wall. a.k.a. “The Wailing Wall”

I think of so many things
when I see this image.

What do you see?
What is happening?
When is it?
What is missing?

In the cold and dark of winter, we must remember and await the spring.  We await the Light and the Redemption.

Shabbat Shalom.

***********

From Blossoms
by Li-Young Lee

From blossoms comes
this brown paper bag of peaches
we bought from the joy
at the bend in the road where we turned toward
signs painted Peaches.

From laden boughs, from hands,
from sweet fellowship in the bins,
comes nectar at the roadside, succulent
peaches we devour, dusty skin and all,
comes the familiar dust of summer, dust we eat.

O, to take what we love inside,
to carry within us an orchard, to eat
not only the skin, but the shade,
not only the sugar, but the days, to hold
the fruit in our hands, adore it, then bite into
the round jubilance of peach.

There are days we live
as if death were nowhere
in the background; from joy
to joy to joy, from wing to wing,
from blossom to blossom to
impossible blossom, to sweet impossible blossom.

זבחי אלקים, רוח נשברה: לב–נשבר ונדכה––אלקים, לא תבזה.

Psalms 51:19 The sacrifices of G-d are a broken spirit;
a broken and a contrite heart, O G-d, Thou wilt not despise.

(image: http://science.howstuffworks.com/light-stick2.htm)

The Torah’s version of a “broken heart” is not what we consider a broken heart.  For us, a broken heart sounds like a loved one hurt us, or like a friend betrayed us, ch”v.

What the Torah speaks of as a broken heart is vastly different.

Rebi Yehoshua ben Levi said in the Gemara:
“Come and see how great the humble are in the eyes of The Holy One, Blessed is He…regarding a contrite person, the Torah ascribes it to him as though he had offered every one of the sacrifices, as it says, ‘The sacrifices of G-d are a broken spirit’ (Psalms 51:19). More than that, his prayer is not despised, for it continues [there], ‘A broken and a contrite heart, O G-d, You will not despise’.” (Sotah 5b)

In this way, he glows with humility.

Rabbi Nachman of Breslev
Rebbe Nachman distinguishes between “a broken heart” and “sadness.” Sadness is that which is dark and leads a person further and further from G-d and is expressed in anger and irritability. Hence, in Judaism we say that “Joy is an Obligation.”

On the other hand, a “broken heart” is when a person understands and feels how distant he is from G-d, like a child who ran away/was sent away/was kidnapped from his Father. With such a “broken heart” a person is filled with a desire and motivation to draw closer to his father, to draw closer to G-d.

In this way, he glows with a longing for closeness.

Student of A Simple Jew
This lovely person’s own interpretation is that a “broken heart” is a heart that is not complete. A person who recognizes that it he is not perfect, that he has much room to grow is a person with a “broken heart.” This is when we see ourselves with truth un-obscured by ego.

In this way, he glows with a desire to perfect himself.

How do you glow?

“The important thing about your lot in life is whether you use it for parking or for building.”

- unquoted by source

In these uncertain times, we have great opportunity and need for strengthening our emunah, our trust in Hashem.

One of my rabbis once said to me:
“Pray like everything is in G-d’s hands;
take action like everything’s in your hands.”

I found this “children’s” book of poetry most enlightening.  Here’s one that I enjoyed and reminded me of Rabbi Lazer Brody’s book on emuna. “The Worry Worm.”

Worry
by Jeff Moss
from “The Sesame Street Book of Poetry”

I worry that my fur’s not straight
Or that my shoes aren’t tied.
I worry playing hide-and-seek
I’ll find no place to hide.

I worry that I might get lost
Out playing in the park.
I worry if my night-light breaks
I’ll be stuck in the dark.

I worry that I might be late,
I know I’d better hurry.
Sometimes I worry oh so much
I’m worried that I worry.

This wonderful cartoon by Dovid Taub is brought to you by Chabad.org <-- Go there for a larger version.

I wrote this for you.

Who are Noahides?

Who are you, man in Italy
     searching how to become Noahide?
Who are you, woman in Spain
     searching for truth about Noahides?
Who are you, person in Texas
     searching for gentiles in the Bible?

You are Souls turning
     inward and upward
Escaping threats to be sent
     outward and downward.

You are artists
Painting colors of Torah
     Unseen for millennia
     Unforgotten to this day.

You are archaeologists
Unearthing Truth
     Between the rubble of lies
     Under dust of falsity.

You are eggs
Incubating in a nest
     Through relentless patience
     Aside chicks that recognize you not.

You are mourners
Collecting tears
     From shattered friendships
     And lost years in confusion.

You are newly weds
Building life
     With contagious excitement
     And virgin enthusiasm.

You are warriors
Slicing your way
     Through battlefields of uncertainty
     Staring into the eyes of “Just the way it is”
          and changing everything.

You are G-d’s creations,
Scattered across the playground.

Unlike Noah
You are not alone.