During my December Encounter trip to Bethlehem we had a short tour of the Wall as it looks facing the city. I heard from previous trip participants that the graffiti on the Wall is constantly changing, with pictures large and small, and messages written in various languages. One of the newer additions to the wall is posters with personal stories written by Palestinian men and women, collectively called the “Wall Museum”.
From my blog:
Marc Chagall’s
The Mirror
A nugget from Zeev Wolf of Zhitomir, from Or haMeir on Parshat Naso
Everywhere you happen to look and everything you happen to see, even the ugly and the coarse, you should understand that it was not for nothing that God showed you this thing. Rather, it is because you yourself have some lack that you have not yet realized. So when you see another doing something wrong, you should learn from this what you must fix in yourself and for what you must ask forgiveness from God…
From my blog:
Moses Shows the Tablets of the Law, by Marc Chagall
Two brief teachings by R. Kalonymus Kalman HaLevi Epstein on Shavuot, excerpted from Maor vaShamesh
ויחן שם ישראל נגד ההר And Israel camped there under the mountain. Exodus 19:2
Rashi points out that ‘camped’ is in the singular, and explains they camped there ‘as one person with one heart.’
To receive the Torah, the essential thing, on which everything else depends, is that there be love and brotherhood among the children of Israel, as our sages said, ‘The entire Torah depends on the mitzvah of ‘love your fellow as yourself.’ For when there is peace among us, the divine Presence rests among us, since the totality of our souls equals 60,000, the number of letters in the Torah, for we each have our soul’s root in one of the letters of the Torah — and this is hinted at by the very word ישראל ‘Israel,’ which stands for Continue reading
In the Gemara, Shabbat is defined by the work that surrounds it and goes into preparing for it. We light the Sabbath candles to mark the beginning of Shabbat and light the Havdallah candle to mark its conclusion. Shabbat, therefore is book-ended, suspended in time between these two rituals of light. Interestingly enough, lighting a flame is the only Continue reading
Seven Species of Israel – glass bottle
by Avigayle Adler
(PEP 2003-05)
Grapes, Pomegranates, Olives, Dates, Figs, Wheat and Barley have a special significance to the Land of Israel and are given special mention and priority on Tubishevat, the Jewish New Year for trees. Indeed they have priority when blessing food as well. I have always been enchanted with Continue reading
My happy Lag B’Omer painting!
From my blog:
Marc Chagall’s “The Dance”
A teaching from Zeev Wolf of Zhitomir, Or Hameir, Parshat Kedoshim.
וַיְדַבֵּר יְ־הֹוָ־ה אֶל מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר: דַּבֵּר אֶל כָּל עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם קְדֹשִׁים תִּהְיוּ כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אֲנִי יְ־הֹוָ־ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם God spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to all of Israel and say to them, ‘Be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.’”Leviticus 19:1-2
Why was it necessary to gather all of Israel for this teaching? Our sages said that the greater part of Torah depends on this parshah. Now it is well known that the desire to create us arose in God’s simple will before the desire to create the world for us, for all of creation is for the sake of the joy and delight that God expected to receive from the souls of the righteous, for great is their power to “liken the form to its Maker” (1). This power consists of Continue reading
From my blog:
Marc Chagall’s “Wedding”
Excerpts from R. Ze’ev Wolf of Zhitomir’s teachings on Counting the Omer, from Or haMeir.
וּסְפַרְתֶּם לָכֶם מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת מִיּוֹם הֲבִיאֲכֶם אֶת עֹמֶר הַתְּנוּפָה שֶׁבַע שַׁבָּתוֹת
Count for yourselves, from the morrow of the rest day from the day you bring the omer as a wave offering, seven weeks. Leviticus 23:16
The essence of the Counting of the Omer between Pesach and Shavuot is to mend the seven attributes (1), to bring to them a holy awareness. When you have done this, making yourself into a complete image of the divine in all of your ways, in holiness and purity, then the Shekhinah, in whose image you are made, is also mended. Then we are fit to be God’s, and God to be ours, like a bride ready to enter the wedding canopy… Continue reading
From my blog:
When I asked him why he made the haggadah he took a step back and gave me a weird shocked face, and said, “no one has asked me that question.” I also looked surprised, “no one has ever asked you why you wanted to make a haggadah?” He replied, “Well, not tonight.” (three hours into a five hour open art haggadah gallery of in the fancy Inbal hotel)
He then goes on to tell me why he made the haggadah. His wife got diagnosed with cancer around Passover time, went through chemo; and eventually, Continue reading
