The Gritty City

The city inspires
its spires require
a gaze through the haze
to blaze through the maze-
to praise in amazement
"how wondrous is life"
--the people that make it.

the planes of existence
that litter this jungle
of concrete and steel.
they steal you a meal
and make you feel real
but don't eat the veal
because its not humanitarian.
and our culture obsesses over social justice.

Hey! If we care so much, why can't we smile at each other on the subway? Or help a stranger who has a seizure on the train?


I wish you all and myself a joyous today and tomorrow, filled with blessings and happy encounters with strangers and friends alike.

and remember, the journey IS part of the destination :-)

Chanuka - grow another candle

Happy Chanuka to all!


We light our chanukiot (or "menorahs" to be imprecise) in ascending order; each day, we add another candle. A nice thought I heard today as to why we do this, instead of starting with 8, and descending to 1, or lighting 8 every night, or any other order of lighting, is the following:

Us Jews are into healthy growth. We're not into super fast, super high jumps, although they are cool to watch.

When all those rabbis talk about building ourselves up to the individuals we can become, they refer to a slow and thorough process. Each step must be carefully calculated, carefully thought through, and planned out to be appropriate and firmly-rooted in sensible goodness. It ain't easy, but it's worth it.
This is something our chanuka lighting-order can remind us - go up and up and up, but not just 8 levels; reach for the stars!

Blessings to all for a light-filled chanuka, and a growth-oriented life that starts now!

smiles,
yosef

ps. these thoughts were adapted from a beautiful lecture given by Rabbi Menachem Greenblatt at Missouri Torah Institute, Chesterfield, MO.

Survival Kit

Here's a cute survival kit from Nusach Hari's Rabbi Zeev Smason. It's really cute; I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

1) Toothpick -- to remind you to pick out the good qualities in others.
2) Rubber Band -- to remind you to be flexible, since things don't always go the way you want.
3) Band-Aid - to remind you to heal hurt feelings, yours or someone else's
4) Eraser -- to remind you that everyone makes mistakes, and to forgive them.
5) Chewing gum -- to remind you that if you stick with it, you can accomplish anything.
6) Hershey Kisses -- when you need a hug.
7) Candle -- for when you're up late with someone who needs you.
8) Lifesaver candy (kosher, of course) -- to remind you that you're a lifesaver to so many people.

Love and Blessings!
- Yosef

To save (another's) face...

We often talk about "saving face" - as a selfish thing. Well, it is. However, when we attempt to save another from embarrassment, we model after our ancestors...

Click here for more on that, and a video for contrast

Whose face can you save today?

Blessings,

yosef

Pumpkittens

Pumpkittens in mittens
Sitting, remitting.
While scooting the cuties
Away from the hay
may chase them
Astray, I say
It deems today
Okay to stay.

Human(ity)

we share this place

to love all space
and time between-

those little gaps
that fill the cracks
of being.

to feel is to be human
it's sympathy,
not whimpathy

how do you love?

On the (side of the) road...

"...Anyone whose good deeds exceed his wisdom is compared to a tree whose branches are few, but whose roots are numerous. Even if all the winds in the world were to come and blow against it, they would not budge it from its place..." (Ethics of Our Fathers, 3:22)

I write this to remind myself - the more random acts of kindness I commit, the more natural it will become, and stories such as the following will end differently:

While driving to school, I drove past a brother stopped on the side of the highway. He was getting out his spare tire from the trunk, and he had raised the car on the jack. Instead of pulling over immediately, I thought about it a few moments. By the time I decided to stop, I was 1/2 mile past this fellow, and it was too dangerous, perhaps, to drive backwards that distance on the highway. I thought to myself how happy I could have made this man, just by stopping and helping change his tire, and I resolved to stop and help at the next opportunity.

If I act goodly more often, such opportunities will result in my reflex to help, instead of a few moments of indecisive deliberation.

There are so many opportunities to better ourselves: holding the door for someone whose hands are full, smiling at a stranger on the street, complementing a friend for their efforts, praising a freind's yummy cooking, etc. It's so exciting!

Blessings to all for a joyous day of wise action :-)

Wednesday's Special Psalm

Clic the pic for more photos...

Jews. We're people of The Book (תנ’ך).

Interestingly, selections from one of the many in The Book - psalms, (which were written mostly by King David a long long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, /not so far away, and in a land we know of as Israel), have been inserted and integrated into our daily prayers. At the end of our daily morning prayers (שחרית), we read a Psalm that has a special link to the day, so check this out..

Wednesday's Psalm is Psalm 94:1 - 95:3. Please read the full text at your leisure, this is a brief, simplified summary, in poetic form, because, frankly, I like poetry:

Avenger of evils, G-d of the world:
The wicked, rewarded. How can it be?

The poor and the strangers, the widows, the orphans:
they loom in sad darkness, and cry in affliction,
Why don't you redeem them? Are You not supposed to?

Bestower of knowledge,
Enchanter of wisdom,
The earth teems with fools;
Is this not Your kingdom?

Yet I'm led to believe
that Justice You breathe.
For time and again,
You've proven your might,
and I'm in no mood to start up a fight.

My soul you do comfort.
When up and when down,
Like pillows of love,
your loft knows no bounds.

I now take the time to gather my peers
We'll sing and we'll praise, The L-rd's holy Name.
Thank You dear G-d, for bringing us cheer!

--------------

Well, that's an artistic rendering of Wednesday's selection, but what's its significance?

Well... I think it reflects quite aptly a transition point in the week. Just as the song journeys through difficult questions and queries, it reflects how often I feel by Wednesday - worn out and weary of my purpose and actions in this world. The Psalm then flips to optimism by remembering G-d's helping Hand, even when we can't necessarily "see" it. I like this idea - it's also similar to the waxing and waning of the moon, of which the weeks are its parts (food for thought).

It's a fitting time to think about - you guessed correctly - Shabbos! As we round the bound, make it over the metaphorical hill, we now have the finish line in sight - Shabbos! and we can rejoice and sing songs of praise to Hashem for giving us another week to fulfill His Divine Will and make something of ourselves!

Thus, I ask you to join me, dear friends:
"Come sing to Hashem with joyous praise. Call out to our rock of salvation. Let's greet G-d with thanks and praiseful songs. Hashem is great, the king above all powers in heaven" (לכו נרננה לה' נריעה לצור ישענו. נקדמה פניו בתודה, בזמירות נריע לו. כי ק–ל גדול ה', ומלך על כל הארץ).

(Special points to whichever one of you can identify where else we sing these special songs...)

Have a GREAT Thursday, and a wonderful shabbos!

Why blog Shabbos?

Shabbos is the focal point, destination, goal, and driving force of every day, week, month, year, lifetime, existence. It is both the fuel and the energy, through which Hashem sustains our lives.

I've never lived without Shabbos, and I could never imagine doing so. It is a "Sanctuary in Time" (Abraham Heschel), a retreat from the craziness of our weekday lives, a brief escape into eternal bliss to turbo-charge us and prepare us for the following week, and help us recooperate from the previous one as well.

I hope to write and read lots more about shabbos as this blog evolves and transforms into an organic entity of its own. Please indulge yourself with my words.

For now, I hope to post stuffs I learn and thoughts i think about shabbos, the parsha (weekly Torah portion), upcoming holidays, and any other Jewstuffs I deem appropriate. I'd love your feedback and responses.

Peace, Love, and Happiness (read: Torah) to all.

Best,
Yosef