T MINUS SIX & COUNTING

בס"ד
17 Tamuz


I leave for Israel in less than a week, thank G@d. Some of my friends & family are worried, what with the increased rage, escalated violence & two fronts to this latest crisis. I understand their concern. I feel nauseous. & it's not just all the fasting today. But the purpose which brings me there this time is to teach Torah, so I must go.

I'll be something of a Feminist sofrut emissary at work, & have made arrangements to join in with Eliyahu MacLean's Jewish/Arab peace work. I'll also be going on shudduchim.

Ultimately, I am a fatalist. I have noticed that no matter what we do, we can't force G@d's hand. The best we can do is to listen to our souls & try to adapt our shape to that of the Divine Will, which has existed before Creation. All I can do is pick my way through this life with faith & integrity. How & when I will die is beyond my control, so I try to treat each day as the last.

I do hope, though, that G@d will have mercy on my Mum & not take me before her.

Regardless, may events like this end immediately. May we humans maintain our sense of yir'ah, awe, that each person carries a Divine Spark, is made be-tzelem El@qim, in the image of G@d, & is here to fulfill the will of Ha-Shem. If we can hang onto that, it will be impossible to murder.

That's my wish for humankind.

An easy, meaningful fast.




Technorati tags: religion, religion and philosophy, Judaism, Jew, Jews, Jewish, Torah, Canada, Canadian, journal, weblog, blog, diary, soferet, sofrut, safrut, scribe, art, thoughts, stam, feminism, ritual, women, woman, life, sofer, Israel, war, Middle East, Gaza, Jerusalem, Lebanon, Technorati.