Meditations for the Days of the Week Sunday Week 1 Week 2 | All things have a beginning. The earth, no, the universe, belongs to God. At the center of all lies Jerusalem. At the heart of Jerusalem lies the temple Mount. At the heart of the Temple mount lies the holy of holies. This is the place where it all began. This is where God unrolled the universe. This is the starting pint of all things. Inside me there is a lustrous kernel, a gift from God. I begin this week with the knowledge that You have placed this seed inside me. Thank You for this holy gift. ------------------------------------------ "I will call upon God, the Most High, to the One that fills me." Psalm 57 Are we ever alone? He patiently waits for us to only answer His call. Our heavenly Father's Voice travels out from his throne searching for a response from us. The plea courses through the universe seeking us, wanting an answer. The response is a simple, single word: Heneni. I am here. All we have to do is open our mouth.... |
Monday Week 1 Week 2 | Today is a song. A song of Zion. It is a song of redemption. Just as Zion is forever so is the song that accompanies it. The song is the most beautiful in the world. It is unparalleled in strength and purpose. It has existed forever and now abides in a special, sacred place. The song that beats deep inside of me. It sings of God. The words do not have to be studied or learned because I am both the lyric and melody. Today I sing the sing of God. From the farthest reaches of my self, I become the song. ------------------------------------------ Simon the Holy stated, "Do not be as servants who serve the Master in order to receive favor. Instead, be as servants who place themselves before the Master for no reward. And let the awe of heaven fall upon you." Avot 1:3 |
Tuesday Week 1 Week 2 | Judgment. We judge others by the way they talk, dress, or carry themselves. It is done in court as the verdict is read. Higher officials of the sate render judgments that can lead the nation to peace or war. The Angels on High challenge humanity to give in to its lowest or highest ideals. They too make a judgment about our ability to discriminate clearly between right and wrong. But it is God above the rest that has the final verdict over all. ------------------------------------------- Precious is the darkness as we can find comfort in God. King David used to say, "Bless God, all of God's servants, who stand in the house of the Lord in the nightime." Psalms 134 Said the Sage, Rebbe Yohanan, "Those who immerse themselves in study and prayer at night are considered as if they stood at the Temple service in the midst of Jerusalem." |
Wednesday Week 1 Week 2 | Make noise. Do not let the words, the laughter, the expressiveness of your soul to become lodged in your throat. Let them be heard. It is a privilege and a duty to share the goodness of your heart. The way of God is like the shofar. It lies still on the shelf until it is picked up by you and blown. Only then does it shout praise before God. Only with your breath does the shofar become alive with possibility. Let the blasts be heard. -------------------------------------------- "It is the greatest mitzvah to be full of joy." Rebbe Nachman My soul knows the truth: it sings every day at the sheer joy of life. When I am quiet, I can hear its song reverberating through my soul. I just need to let go of meaningless worries so that the voice can be heard... As it comes closer to my mind, love radiates from every point of my being. I become fully alive. |
Thursday Week 1 Week 2 | “Content is the person whom You teach, O Lord. Instruct Your children.” Psalms 94 May the fear/awe of You touch me. Ease the burden of pain from my shoulders. Unburden my mind from its afflictions. Free me from the mental chains that bind me. Instead, let my fervent wish be of You. I pray that my vision be fixed on heaven and not on the distractions that beckon and pull me to places that are foreign to my soul. Let me be full of You. -------------------------------------------- Moses stood before the Lord and opened his heart. Moses, our teacher, stood before the Holy One until a fire burned in his soul. -Talmud Ber. 32 Allow me to stand before You just as Moses. Let a calmness come over me so that can feel Your holy Presence. Let me be a flame to the Lord. |
Friday Week 1 Week 2 | I am here because of Your promise. I exist because You are true. From the time of Abraham with whom You established a covenant until now You have been faithful to Your word. I am buoyed by that trust. As a descendant of You servant Abraham, I stand before You humbled. His blood runs through my veins. May I find the strength to be as faithful as him. ---------------------------------------------- Dear God, Help me to open my soul. Let Your love infuse its splendor into my being. Grant me the joy of that closeness and allow that blessing to become part of my humble self and never grow arrogant. |
Shabbat Today is the holy Shabbat.
Week 1
I think of the towering pines, the great cedars, and massive oaks. They are firmly rooted in the earth and rise ever upward, to ward heaven. Their growth is sure and steady. They do not grow sideways and their roots descend so far into the earth that almost nothing can push them over.
Good people are like that. They resist the urge to go off in the wrong direction. Their rootedness makes decision-making easier. They know how to decide.
On this holy Shabbat make me as firm as those righteous ones.
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Week 2
Let my words come before You in purity and joy. My spirit rises to You in utter love on this, Your chosen day.
I stand before You now with all my ancestors. They join me, bolster my prayers, and add their soulful voices to mine in a majestic chorus of praise. May these voices be pleasing to You, Lord.
Smile on my tiny soul as I seek You in truth. Smile on me as I struggle to come closer to You.