Messengers of the Most High – page 116 – 120
Stranger on the Bus – page 133-134
Hershey with Almonds page 169 – 170
Reciting Psalms - page 55
MESSENGERS OF THE MOST HIGH
(טו) וַיִּמְצָאֵ֣הוּ אִ֔ישׁ וְהִנֵּ֥ה תֹעֶ֖ה בַּשָּׂדֶ֑ה וַיִּשְׁאָלֵ֧הוּ הָאִ֛ישׁ לֵאמֹ֖ר מַה־תְּבַקֵּֽשׁ׃(טז) וַיֹּ֕אמֶר אֶת־אַחַ֖י אָנֹכִ֣י מְבַקֵּ֑שׁ הַגִּֽידָה־נָּ֣א לִ֔י אֵיפֹ֖ה הֵ֥ם רֹעִֽים׃(יז) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר הָאִישׁ֙ נָסְע֣וּ מִזֶּ֔ה כִּ֤י שָׁמַ֙עְתִּי֙ אֹֽמְרִ֔ים נֵלְכָ֖ה דֹּתָ֑יְנָה וַיֵּ֤לֶךְ יוֹסֵף֙ אַחַ֣ר אֶחָ֔יו וַיִּמְצָאֵ֖ם בְּדֹתָֽן׃
(15) And a man came upon him, here, he was roaming in the field. The man asked him, saying: ‘What do you seek?’(16) He said: ‘I seek my brothers. Pray tell me where they are tending sheep.’(17) The man said: ‘They have moved on from here; indeed, I heard them say: Let us go to Dothan.’ And Joseph went after his brothers, and came upon them in Dothan.
(ה) וְעַתָּ֣ה ׀ אַל־תֵּעָ֣צְב֗וּ וְאַל־יִ֙חַר֙ בְּעֵ֣ינֵיכֶ֔ם כִּֽי־מְכַרְתֶּ֥ם אֹתִ֖י הֵ֑נָּה כִּ֣י לְמִֽחְיָ֔ה שְׁלָחַ֥נִי אֱלֹהִ֖ים לִפְנֵיכֶֽם׃(ו) כִּי־זֶ֛ה שְׁנָתַ֥יִם הָרָעָ֖ב בְּקֶ֣רֶב הָאָ֑רֶץ וְעוֹד֙ חָמֵ֣שׁ שָׁנִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֵין־חָרִ֖ישׁ וְקָצִּֽיר׃(ז) וַיִּשְׁלָחֵ֤נִי אֱלֹהִים֙ לִפְנֵיכֶ֔ם לָשׂ֥וּם לָכֶ֛ם שְׁאֵרִ֖ית בָּאָ֑רֶץ וּלְהַחֲי֣וֹת לָכֶ֔ם לִפְלֵיטָ֖ה גְּדֹלָֽה׃(ח) וְעַתָּ֗ה לֹֽא־אַתֶּ֞ם שְׁלַחְתֶּ֤ם אֹתִי֙ הֵ֔נָּה כִּ֖י הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים וַיְשִׂימֵ֨נִֽי לְאָ֜ב לְפַרְעֹ֗ה וּלְאָדוֹן֙ לְכָל־בֵּית֔וֹ וּמֹשֵׁ֖ל בְּכָל־אֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃
(5) But now do not be pained and do not let upset be in your eyes that you sold me here!For it was to save life that God sent me on before you. (6) For it is two years now that the famine has been in the midst of the land, and there are still another five years in which there shall be no plowing or harvest.
(7) So God sent me on before you to make you a remnant on earth, to keep you alive as a great body-of-survivors.(8) So now it was not you that sent me here, but God; He has made me Father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
(כ) וְאַתֶּ֕ם חֲשַׁבְתֶּ֥ם עָלַ֖י רָעָ֑ה אֱלֹהִים֙ חֲשָׁבָ֣הּ לְטֹבָ֔ה לְמַ֗עַן עֲשֹׂ֛ה כַּיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּ֖ה לְהַחֲיֹ֥ת עַם־רָֽב׃(כא) וְעַתָּה֙ אַל־תִּירָ֔אוּ אָנֹכִ֛י אֲכַלְכֵּ֥ל אֶתְכֶ֖ם וְאֶֽת־טַפְּכֶ֑ם וַיְנַחֵ֣ם אוֹתָ֔ם וַיְדַבֵּ֖ר עַל־לִבָּֽם׃
(20) Now you, you planned ill against me, (but) God planned-it-over for good in order to do as is this very day and to keep many people alive.(21) So now, do not be afraid! I myself will sustain you and your little ones! And he comforted them, and spoke to their hearts.
Jigsaw by Rabbi Lawrence Kushner
Each lifetime is the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.
For some there are more pieces.
For others the puzzle is more difficult to assemble.
Some seem to be born with a nearly completed puzzle.
And so it goes.
Souls go this way and that.
Trying to assemble the myriad parts.
But know this. No one has within themselves
All the pieces to their puzzle.
Like before the days when they used to seal
jigsaw puzzles in cellophane. Insuring that
All the pieces were there.
Everyone carries with them at least one and probably
Many pieces to someone else's puzzle.
Sometimes they know it.
Sometimes they don't.
And when you present your piece.
Which is worthless to you,
To another, whether you know it or not,
Whether they know it or not,
You are a messenger from the Most High
Reprinted with permission of author and publisher:
Lawrence Kushner 1977, pp 69-70. Honey from the Rock.
“Remember …that you are not always going
where you are going for the reasons you think you are.” page 116
QUESTIONS about Holy Messengers
• When have you been a "messenger/angel" for someone else? Did you know at the time?
• Who has been a "messenger/angel" for you? Have you ever told them?
• Can you name several friends/family who you would consider angels/messengers for you - at any age - what message did they have for you or what did they carry to you or for you?
HOLY FRIENDSHIPS
Rabbi Yitzhaq Eiziq Yehudah Yehiel Safrin of Komarno:2
When two sit together – because that is the way it is when two [sage tzaddiqim]3 sit together, each one craves to hear a new word from the mouth of his friend. And through this [craving] their friend is aroused and his heart opens up to him like a fountain to create new words of Torah. And so it is for his companion. Therefore it says ‘words of Torah between them‘ – for it is between the two of them that words of Torah, reverence and instruction are newly created . . .the Shekhinah – Divine Presence – is between them, as it says . . .engaged each other in conversation – it does not say ‘spoke,’ but, rather, ‘engaged each other in conversation,’ for each one speaks through the arousal of his companion, because were there no arousal, each one would sit and, in love and devequt (mystical communion), unite with the Blessed Name. But, nonetheless, it is the will and pleasure of the Blessed Name for one [who is a tzaddiq] to come from pure contemplation down to speech, desisting from mystical unifications and communion. http://ajrsem.org/teachings/articles/mqomtorahdavidtalk/
- what are the key elements of the interaction?
- what do you think "arousal" means in this context?
- Is this your experience when studying? Talking to a good friend?
- What needs to happen within US to create the opening for this kind of conversation?
Rabbi Aaron Roth
In this age we are in this deepest state of unconsciousness. To be sure, there are still holy individuals among us who are still alert.... Now, when a person becomes aware that he is falling asleep and begins to nod and he is afraid that a strong, heavy sleep may overcome him, the best advice for him is to request his friend to wake him ... or that he should go among people who are awake and where a light shines brightly. But when he is on his own who can wake him? My meaning is that he should obtain a mentor, a friend who will converse with him from to time to time on matters having to do with the fear of God. These words are in the category of a seed, the holy words they speak being sown in the heart. Even though he may not be aware of it at the time, yet later he will become conscious of it.... Rabbi Aaron Roth, Hitragshut Ha-Nefesh[Agitation of the Soul] 1934
Cultivating friendships such as the type Rabbi Roth describes cannot be underestimated. The effort to intentionally seek out people who can “wake us up when we fall asleep” and to sustain those relationships can be life saving. People who shine a light for us in the darkness can make the difference in whether or not we reach our own promised land.*
* “Spiritual Friendship: ‘Go Among People Who Are Awake and Where a Light Shines Brightly’” by Lawrence Fine in Jewish Mysticism and the Spiritual Life: Classical Texts, Contemporary Reflections. Edited by, Lawrence Fine; Eitan Fishbane; Or N. Rose. Jewish Lights Publishing, 2011.
Psalm
The only psalm I had memorized was the 23rd
and now I find myself searching for the order
of the phrases knowing it ends with surely
goodness and mercy will follow me
all the days of my life and I will dwell
in the house of the Lord forever only I remember
seeing a new translation from the original Hebrew
and forever wasn't forever but a long time
which is different from forever although
even a long time today would be
good enough for me even a minute entering
the House would be good enough for me,
even a hand on the door or dropping today's
newspaper on the stoop or looking in the windows
that are reflecting this morning's clouds in first light.
Poem: "Psalm" by Stuart Kestenbaum,
from Prayers & Run-on Sentences. © Deerbrook Editions, 2007.