“The soul of man is the lamp of G-d,” the Book of Proverbs tell us (20:27). What this means is that ultimately, our task is not to light candles, but to be candles. We have the potential to be the bits of light that help bring G-d back into a world gone dark. As the Sefas Emes puts it in discussing Hanukkah, “A human being is created to light up this world.” Rabbi Shai Held, Hanukkah, 1874
OHR KADOSH
Holy Light
Download – Journal Jots – KISLEV
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Like a father who stoops to play with his toddler, laughing with the child, excited over those silly things that excite a small child, yet always remaining an adult who is beyond all these games–so, too, He creates within Himself a place where in love and laughter, in compassion and awe and beauty, Man and G-d could find one another, and neither would be alone. ~ Tzvi Freeman
רחמ׳ם
RACHAMIM / Compassion
Download here: JOURNAL JOTS – CHESHVAN
* artwork by Cindy Lou Elliott
“G-d is not only the creator of heaven and earth.
G-d is also the One who created delight and joy.”
~ Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel,
לחיות בשמחה
LIVE JOYFULLY
Download here: JOURNAL JOTS – TISHREI
Every person has both a body and a soul,” said the Rebbe. “It is like a bird and its wings. Imagine if a bird were unaware that its wings enabled it to fly, they would only add an extra burden of weight. But once it flaps its wings, it lifts itself skyward.
We all have wings – our souls – All we have to do is learn to use them.
~Rebbe Menachem Schneerson
AHAVAT OLAM – EVERLASTING LOVE
“And the glory of G-d shall be revealed, and all flesh shall perceive together.”
Isaiah 40:5
My heart overflows with a good theme;
I address my verses to the King;
My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.
(Psalm 45:1)
To begin living a life of Mussar, you must start by developing an awareness of who you really are. [How?] Acquire a diary. ~ Rabbi Micha Berger
It can be a challenge to get into a rhythm of daily journaling – not just the setting apart of time, but the finding of words to write. Keren and I are offering 29 Journal Jots for Tammuz to get you started.
Each day rewrite each Journal Jot in your own hand. As these Journal Jots speak to you – speak back.
If you are already a staunch journaler, these Journal Jots are also for you.
Each will act as a reminder of why we are making this climb.
We are so excited to be on this journey with you!
Keren and Cindy
“… it is possible to know that we are always there, arriving wholly in this moment, fully present in this step, alive to the miracle of the journey.”*
Meditations For SIVAN – PATIENCE and PERSEVERANCE
*Shefa Gold, Are We There Yet?
Wherever the river flows…there is life.
Ezekiel 49:7
HEALING AND ORDER
I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord G-d Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of G-d illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. …Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of G-d and of the Lamb. It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.
Revelation 21:22-23, 22:1-2
During this month of Iyyar may this future promise of tikkun be realized in our lives even now!