B”H
18 Tishrei 5773, Thurs., at a Starbucks in Philadelphia, PA
Dearest Sweet Beloved Divine
Parent,
Thank You for the kindness
of a few moments to commune with You. Thank You for allowing humans to commune
with You. It’s a tremendous gift. Without this gift I’d feel so isolated and
lonely. This gift keeps reinforcing that no matter what, Someone really cares
about me ~ Someone really loves me. You care for even the lowliest, even the
simplest. Perhaps, it’s best to rephrase that and say that You care especially
for the lowliest and simplest. I know that it says in the Bar Yochai song, “Let
us make man...’ was said for your sake”. The Talmud also relates that it was
worth creating the entire world just for [the saintly] Rabbi Chaninah ben Dosa.
Yet despite this, we find
that Rabbi Shimon [bar Yochai] was sent back to the cave for disturbing the
life pattern of the lowly and simple people. Rabbi Chaninah himself only
reached his levels of saintliness for embodying the qualities of the lowly and
simple people. [Our Master] Moses’ soul was exalted beyond all the people. Yet,
he was only granted prophecy for their sake. The holy [Rabbi Israel] Ba’al Shem
Tov spent a lot of time with the lowly and simple. He lauded their ways to his
more sophisticated disciples.
We are now in the midst of
the “Celebration of Water Drawing”. In the Torah portion of “Nitzavim”, which
is always read on the Sabbath morning prior to Rosh Hashanah, Moses tells the
Jews, “You are standing today before the Eternal Being, your Lord...”. The Talmud
comments that “today” means the day of great judgment, i.e. Rosh Hashanah. Then
Moses continues with a list of societal roles, “Your heads, your tribes, your
elders … till your water drawers.”
The “water drawers” are
mentioned as the very last role because they were the lowliest, the least
appreciated. Yet what was celebrated on the festival of Succoth [in Jerusalem’s
Holy Temple]? “Water Drawing”. It’s so joyous that we still celebrate it, even
if it’s only a simulation of the original.
Gathered in this celebration
were certainly many “water drawers” ~ the underappreciated common folk forgotten in history, who came to celebrate
the pilgrimage festival in the Temple. The great sages wouldn’t communicate to
these people with sophisticated teachings, but, rather with gestures and
antics. They brought them the Torah in the entertainment suited as a teaching
tool for the common folk; [just] like the Ben Ish Chai whose every gesture
during his Purim dramatization for his community was laced with the depth of
Kabbalah. Yet, even a small child was transfixed.
Thank You [for this prayer
journal session] …
Love and Kisses …
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