The Baby Whisperer

http://youtu.be/L2aFLN-plgM......

A poem from Chaya Lesser.... An amazing Torah Teacher and Poet living in Jerusalem.
link to her reading this is printed above...try to copy and paste...i am not able to get it live...
you can also try  puah.wmv

The poem is about Puah the midwife who resisted Pharoh's instructions to kill all the infant Jewish boys...

Have a wonderful Pesach!!

"Inner-Freedom

Like freedom fighters
who pray with their feet
I protest for inner-peace

though paraplegic in comparison
to prodigious heels 
of powerful men

my prayerful wheels
spin tales of inner-freedom
and entone hymns of mindful treatment 
of children and kin

I commit to calm the din of crying infants 
with the easy clicking of my teeth
I speak for those who do not yet know how to speak

My freedom fighting is not political
that task is for a hardier class 
of jewish girl

for me - the Egyptian fiend 
is personal 

for the Pharoahs I dethrone 
rule the halls of each of our homes

in the inner-alcoves of a private despair
that petrifies the children 
and paralizes the parents
that inprisons our finest hours 
of family commitment and contentment

I prefer to pedal wares 
of wars-well-avoided
where everyone wins
through carefully worded 
apologies and the timely 
airing of grievances 
between friends

for cowering beneath the pyramids 
of needs – my fiends 
are the menacing insecurities of adolescents
and the lethal bickerings of parents
- the noisome whines of needy toddlers
and the all-too-common-household-hollers 
that oppress our most precious commodities
of family

my enemies crouch quietly beneath
the crumbs on the living room carpet
a beast between the sheets 
of a cold-shouldered bedroom
where partners sleep
unconscious 
and deeply out of tune
with the exquisit call 
of their common dreams

I come to loosen the shackled lips
of fathers and mothers
that they may better utter
their astounded praise
at the miracle of a house full 
of filthy shoes, spilled soup
and their children's most innocent mistakes

My task is to counter the 
armor-clad offensive
against love and friendship 
- to incite a protest against 
the enslavement of a trillion 
inner prophets of tranquility
whose gentle-tongued souls 
are daily buried beneath 
straw burdens of poor comunication
and tossed out with the trashed 
afternoons of a mother's 
epic impatience 

I come to play the Moses of relational redemption
in the face of a sink-full of grimy resentments

And so I call forth all fellow 
freedom fighters for inner-transformation 
midwives with wise hands
toting torahs, toting infants, toting pens
all prayer-footed-protesters
come & herald in 
emotional freedom from the pharonic foe
and let us birth our children 
into peaceable homes

for when our houses enshrine tranquility
then outer-world will follow inner-lead

and rock-hard hearts 
will soften grips
and all thats enslaved 
will lithly slip
into the soft of freedom found
and take our shoes your off
to walk around
for our houses are the 
hallowed ground
from which God speaks

So call me Puah, 
who quiets the cries
of children, slaves 
and the Pharoah 
inside"

Letting Go! A primer for Pesach.

Poem to follow....

So we all want to get beyond our limitations, feelings of constriction... Sense of being less than all we can be...but how can we do it? How can we get out of Egypt? It seems to me the first step is believing that we can. There is a great story about a chassid of Reb Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, who needed to get to Lublin, but had no papers... He approached his Rebbe, who after meditation and prayer handed him a passport.. which opened for him many doors and borders...but was in fact an empty sheet of paper. The story has an updated version, Reb Shlomo Carlebach met the  nephew of the person to whom it happened, ..another chassid needed to get from Poland to Germany in 1935, and he approached the Munkatcher Rebbe... who also , inspired by the story of Reb Levi Yitzchak, gave him a blank piece of paper...drenched in prayer, hope trust and faith... this passport too opened doors and boundaries and this chassid also went past border control. This Pesach we have a chance to go past our border controls, we can get out of Egypt and the "headquarters" for this transformation  happens at the sedar... "Kol B'Seder" many Israelis say, and it is so true...it all happens at the seder.

Traditionally it is understood that the power or personality most responsible for keeping us in the bondage of Egypt is Pharoh who corresponds to the power of Ego. The prophet Ezekiel describes Pharoh as "the great crocodile who crouches in his river  and proclaims"My river is mine and I made it myself"". Rebbe Nachman teaches that Pharoh, whose name is spelt using the same hebrew letters as the hebrew word for neck.."Oreph"  is connected with the back of the neck. "Mitzraim" the hebrew word for Egypt is related to the idea of  "Meitzar Ha Garon".. the limitations or constrictions of the throat . Rebbe Nachman teaches that Pharoh had three servants , the butler, the baker and the butcher... each one representing  a different level of indulgence in the physical world: ...... food, drink and the passions of emotion.... and  each corresponding to a different part of the neck, the trachea, (wine stewart) the esophagus ( the butler) and the veins ( the butcher) . When these "servants " serve the egoistical goals of  our egos (Pharoh), they trap our speech and consciousness in  chains, (Egypt) ; when our eating, drinking and emotion serve Hashem, our neck serves us and carries the capacity for holy speech up  from our purified hearts to our mouth via our neck..to enable us to connect to the idea of Eretz Yisroel which is connected with prayer, holy speech and a belief in miracles. Through connecting with Hashem via our prayer, and through the power of Emunah (faith) , we can live in a transcendent reality, a reality of Eretz Yisroel which is a reality not bound by the limitations of nature, but operating within a different set of parameters... a world of intension, a world of faith, trust and miracle.Of course as the Rebbes of Lubavitch have taught us, we need to make where-ever we are in the world into a place that has the values of Israel;  a belief in prayer, a belief in the power of holy speech and a belief that the physical world is really a "plastic" reality... it can be changed at any moment... it exists only through the articulations and intent of Hashem... it can change at any moment....  and so can we.

A couple tools for the seder are:

4 Cups of Wine:

At the seder we believe the saying of the sages, "nichnas yayin yozer sod"... the wine enters in, the secrets go out... which secret gets revealed... the secret of who you really are in your liberated self!

Matzah

Matzah and Chometz in hebrew are spelt almost exactly the same.. just the matzah has an open "hei" and the chomeitz has a closed "ches"... all the other letters are shared... the opening for G-d... makes all the difference!

... all the other letters are shared... the opening for G-d... makes all the difference!

It is not so clear who authored the  poem which follows..., either Ernest Holmes or Saphire Rose.... in any event I think its profound and fits into our Pesach theme very wonderfully....

She Let Go

"She let go. Without a thought or a word, she let go.

She let go of the fear. She let go of the judgments. She let go of the confluence of opinions swarming around her head. She let go of the committee of indecision within her. She let go of all the ‘right’ reasons. Wholly and completely, without hesitation or worry, she just let go.

She didn’t ask anyone for advice. She didn’t read a book on how to let go… She didn’t search the scriptures. She just let go.

She let go of all of the memories that held her back. She let go of all of the anxiety that kept her from moving forward. She let go of the planning and all of the calculations about how to do it just right.

She didn’t promise to let go. She didn’t journal about it. She didn’t write the projected date in her Day-Timer. She made no public announcement and put no ad in the paper. She didn’t check the weather report or read her daily horoscope. She just let go.

She didn’t analyze whether she should let go. She didn’t call her friends to discuss the matter. She didn’t do a five-step Spiritual Mind Treatment. She didn’t call the prayer line. She didn’t utter one word. She just let go.

No one was around when it happened. There was no applause or congratulations. No one thanked her or praised her. No one noticed a thing. Like a leaf falling from a tree, she just let go.

There was no effort. There was no struggle. It wasn’t good and it wasn’t bad. It was what it was, and it is just that.

In the space of letting go, she let it all be. A small smile came over her face. A light breeze blew through her. And the sun and the moon shone forevermore."

Have a wonderful Seder and a great Yom Tov!

Bounded Love

Its not so easy holding back when we get excited about someone new or something new to love....natural instincts may suggest to give it our all... completely invest and really show how absolute and true our passion is.... well , surprise, surprise... that may well not be the best way to go! Healthy boundaries and some distance seem to spell a better success rate....
and somehow this lesson is embodied in this week's Parsha.
In Parsha Shemini we read how on the 8th day the Mishkan or Tabernacle was finally consecrated, fire came down from Heaven and the climax of all of Creation seemed to be achieved. Heaven united with Earth and it seemed that the service of those on Earth was accepted and desired by G-d. In this climactic moment, Nadav and Avihu, two of Aaron's sons, decided to bring a fire offering of burning incense into the Mishkan, which they had not been commanded to bring.... the result.... their souls were consumed by an Heavenly fire that came down from above....and their bodies  needed to be carried out ,not just  out of the Mishkan, but out of the entire camp. Rabbi David Fohrman of Aish.com brings a comparison between the actions of Nadav and Avihu and Adam and Chava in Gan Eden. He illustrates this in a wonderful video presentation* that draws attention to many parallels in the two stories.

The bottom line seems to be this: Show love to Hashem in the way He commanded us to, not in the way we feel like doing, and stay within the parameters He set up.... the reasons He did so have something to do with those healthy boundaries we started this essay with... they serve a purpose....same with our human relationships... consider the needs of those we are attempting to love....not just our overwhelming desire  and need to give....perhaps strange fire, not commanded... is not the best gift after all? Oh, and about Adam and Chava.... maybe they thought they were also giving Hashem the ultimate gift... wanting to be so close to Him, by becoming, as they believed maybe for just a few moments, even more similar to Him...  but this was not the best path to intimacy... because He communicated very specifically... that that was not what He wanted....sometimes, just listening is the greatest act of love there is!

* Link to the video
http://www.aish.com/tp/i/10minuteparsha/Shemini-Why-Did-God-Reject-Nadav-and-Avihu.html

For a much more in depth discussion of this topic, listen in to our audio class:
Part 1: https://soundcloud.com/brachame/shemini-part-1-nadav-and-avihu

and part 2: https://soundcloud.com/brachame/shemini-part-2-loving-without

Reluctant Spring

Spring is crouching behind a corner
hesitating to make its appearance
Remains of the snow already melted
are tempted to retreat into yet another freeze

But the new season is on it's way
and together with it will be
new buds,the singing of birds and new birth

Yet in the meantime while the cold clings
like the dark of this Galus
we need to hold our hope dear
that soon the warmth will break through

as will the dawning of a new time
without sudden loss,
of life, of planes and of those who so inspire
and we will be able to truly celebrate
in the great Seuda
May it be soon....

Blessings for a joyous Purim!!!

Keeping the fires burning....

Staying enthusiastic for the business of life, not letting the negativity get you down
Isn't this what we are all about?
This weeks Parsha (Tzav)  gives us some advice:

Keep the fires of service and commitment burning
and the those fed  flames
will consume your negativity!

The sacrificial service is a great metaphor for the spiritual life we have within .. We need to nurture our inner flame..warm  ourselves and others with its power, inspire ourselves and others with its light and make sure we keep it burning at all times , even surprisingly enough we are reminded, on Shabbos, and in that way.. the inevitable negativity... the negativity of Amalyk, the negative expression of the kuf..., the negativity of self doubt, cynicism and even boredom, gets negated and consumed...

Nice tie in with Purim!

Have a wonderful Purim and a good shabbos!

A Beautiful Poem by Yehoshua November ..on the theme of Amalyk

With Great Joy, My Friend Danced Before His Bride

He kicked his legs in the air and thrust his portly body so high,
none of the wedding guests encircling him could
believe it. And had you seen
the innocence
on his face, you would know
what it was like to stand as a Jew at Mount Sinai,
to see the eyelids of parents and children
parted as wide as a sea, in equal amazement.

And if, a short while later,
when my friend lost three successive jobs,
you heard the voices of those who said,
You see, the marriage was all a big mistake,
it should have been thought through a little more thoroughly,
then you would know how that great cynic Amalek
tries to make a Jew doubt that he comes from a place
a little higher than this world,
that he is more than just a heavy body carrying a trunk of sorrow
in the direction of probability’s push.

And if you saw how my friend leaped high out of his bed
and printed out a thousand copies of his resume--
how he believed in himself and his young marriage
enough to save them both—

then you might begin to understand what Mark Twain meant
when he said, All things are mortal but the Jew;
all other forces pass, but he remains.
And you might remember or not forget
that Amalek is just a liar
and, despite what he says,
and though it has taken so long,

the world is waiting to be made holy.

BY YEHOSHUA NOVEMBEr*

Yehoshua November’s poetry collection, G-d’s Optimism, is a finalist for the L.A. Times Book Prize in Poetry and the winner of the 2010 MSR Poetry Book Award. His work has been selected as the winner of the Bernice Slote Award and have also been nominated twice for the Pushcart Prize. His poems have appeared in a number of literary journals, including Prairie Schooner, The Sun, Margie, Provincetown Arts, and New Works Review. November teaches writing at Rutgers University and Touro College.

Trust, the Monkey , and the Power of Purim!

On March 16,  2014, Jews around the world are going to celebrate the holiday of Purim. This date on the Hebrew Calendar is the 14th day of the month of Adar... a month characterized by the unique joy of having vanquished our enemies, both internal and external.  Haman, a descendant from the Amalekite nation is the personification of the external enemy... and self doubt is the internalization of this enemy, and on Purim we celebrate our victory over both. The hebrew words for Amalyk and "Safek" - doubt -share the same numerical value, pointing us towards the idea that the dangers posed by both are basically identical. Amalek was the nation that attacked the Jews after they crossed the Red Sea; all nations were afraid of the people who had G-dly protection, but to Amalyk it was no big deal...., Amalyk just "happened" to be there  to accost them. The  nuances of the text tells us that they cooled off the spiritual high that the Jews were enjoying after their miraculous escape from Egypt and experience of revelation crossing the Red Sea, that is the power of the Amalykites... they cool off our enthusiasm for our relationship with the Divine and for our own belief in our intrinsic capacity to experience revelation and have an intimate relationship with G-d..., Amalyk lodges within our psyche to make us doubt our own value and inherent holiness.

The holiday of Purim celebrates how in the time of the Babylonian exile, Mordechai and Esther defeated Haman, the direct descendant of Amalyk, their victory resonates and echoes through time... giving us access to a unique power to defeat this particular enemy too!

The word Amalyk can be broken down to mean "Amal" - the work of - "Kuf". the letter Kuf, which our Torah sages teach is the letter G-d used to create the month of Adar. The whole world was created using the letters of the Hebrew Alphabet, with each month having its own letter responsible for its  unique character and energy. The letter "Kuf" is associated with the word for holiness "Kedusha". Adar is thought of as a very joyful and holy month,  a month of positive or good  "Mazal", with it's positive attributes  stemming from the defeat of our enemies during that month  and the overall joy of connecting to G-d that victory allows us to feel. The holiness of Adar is a holiness that transcends the work of all the other months, its a holiness that testifies to the fact that the work, of defeating negative aspects of personality has already been done, Adar being the final month of a cycle of 12 ... But Kuf also references the word "Kof", which means monkey..., the Monkey imitates , makes fun of, can scoff at, and can generally wreak havoc with the calm trusting mind that believes in its holiness and connection to G-d's Oneness.... the monkey mind..., used here in a slightly different context than usual, is the weapon of Amalyk... the confusion and depression he unleashes by making us doubt ourselves and our value. The holiness of the Kuf inspires us to imitate G-dliness, the lower aspect of the "Kuf" confuses us and brings us down.

On Purim, Mordechai and Esther galvanized the entire Jewish people to fast and connect to their G-dliness within and to the G-d without ; the courage of the Jews and their commitment led to a total turn around, what might have been total destruction of the entire Jewish people, was turned into a great victory and defeat of their enemies and then tremendous celebration; so as a result, we get an inherited power so to speak, to defeat this type of enemy up to and including today as well, but the power is greatest on the day of Purim itself.

 On Purim, we are instructed to go beyond the Mind; its one of the main positive  commandments of the day to drink in celebration of our victory, until the point that we cannot distinguish between blessing Mordechai and cursing Haman, or cursing Mordechai and blessing Haman, because at the point of real holiness, there is no good and bad.... there is only good.... True Kedusha is bonding with a G-d who transcends the boundaries of good or bad... G-d is all good... there is no bad!!  Feeling this connection allows us to feel the highest joy of all... this is the joy of Purim, a joy from trusting in our innate connection to G-d and feeling it in every moment. "good" or "apparently bad" , its all really only good, and who cannot feel joy or happiness experiencing that??!!