arthritic soul.

push with two hands,
and shatter you shall.

spare one,
and save another.

bouncing or breaking,
hand, hands, hand in hand.

#56

what does this photo say to you?

i'm sorry

our soldiers and family getting killed left and right, but no, it took this to get me to really cry. i'm sorry. i am so sorry.

DO YOU HEAR ME?!?

I knew him. dear G-d I knew him! What for? What for?!? WHAT FOR?! as if there's any answer that can make things better.

summer '06. harsher than an arctic winter.

boruch dayan ha'emes. i love You, i trust You, but please. please! no more sorrows.

the open road blocks...

...it's quite easy not to get in the way if you aint where you belong.

post 9 b'av quiz...

q1. what did you do with your kinos book(let) after 9 b'av?
q2. what does that say about your beliefs?

More Victory, Less Grace.

For you peace I pray

No more

Suffering losses

While your valor lies shamed.


Seen HERE.

self promotion...

...please note the added link in the sidebar. thanx.

9 b'av quiz

q1. which one worries you more?
a) your holy temple burnt down.
b) you misplaced your carkeys.

if you honestly answered a, proceed to q2.

q2. which one upsets you more?
a) your house burnt down.
b)your holy temple burnt down.

dead center...

...or living center?

neither around the church's earth nor galileo's sun, but man. and he around his soul, G-d within.

alone in the crowd...

unalienable rights abandoned...

...in exchange for the new american dream: "life, liberty - and the pursuit of stuff". even locke would be dissapointed, i think.

name that feeling...

...homesick, smack in the middle of my living room. now, what's that?

sophisticated or complicated?

cultured? i prefer plain old civilized.

because i love y'all so much...

sometimes when there's no clear explination it's 'cause there is none at all.

in retrospect, i see the poem as the opposite of purim - many seemingly random events connecting into one story. though not my intentions at all, i enjoyed the submitted "perushim" on the tzetel. thanx. the bags contained an orange, a cake, and a bottle of wine. that's it. see the connection? well, i don't.

a purim tzetel...

...the following is the note we enclosed in our mishloach manoth this year. can you guess what we put in it? (answer will be posted after the comments on this one hits 30. that's right, 30.

"Shivas Haminim"

7 sins, no sons, of Haman - minim (apikorsim) they were, and might not have been with a little more "CHIVAS". The other 2 sons were rishoim of a different "kind". NinE? Nyne! He had ten. Ve chose the theme of 7 (7 minim, 7 sons, 7 items in the bag) because today - the day of purim - is 7 days since the first day of the rest of your life if you count from the end of Moshe Rabbeinu's and add 70*70*0.7 years. Elsewhere, speaking of our holy leader, is a great mitzvah. Hehehe - get it? THAT'S IT. NOPE. Furthermore, his brother lit the LAMP which later was the center of the miracle of burning 7 days of oil on 1 - a GREAT event that never happened, certainly not on this day (not unless you count TAXI"S charging 7k for every one.

When all is said and done, you've said too much and gotten lazy.

HAPPY POORIM ;-)

p.s. only read this when the drunk start here & it will make more sense.

rise and shine...

...wake up and start dreaming.

paraphrased from matisyahu's warrior. better plagiarize with prejudice than just stagnate, no?

a revalation...

...hidden, i stand not in beauty's path.

cagey restraints...

...when chafing against fetters, take heart in the gloom. there are no limits if you never try rattling the bars.

from our kitchen

"never mind the whales - save the cake!" (even our oven has a mind of its own)

101:101

"i never let my schooling interfere with my education."
-mark twain via ken spiro

p.s. many thanks to the dedicated readers for stopping by far more often than i've been posting.

disappointed?

nobody can complete the puzzle when allowed but one piece at a time.

could i care less?

...can i be disturbed by my own apathy?

want a ride?

intellect the vehicle.
knowledge the fuel.
desire the key.

understanding.


p.s. i cant think of a good title. please suggest.

writing to the beat...

...effective writing is as dependent on a sensitive heart as a mesmerizing command of the language, i think.

low "cholesterol"=better writing ? ;-)

pride...

...can be healthy. my wife drew this for our summer cabin door. (i worked at a pool and lakefront.)

refresh...

...time to start again. camp is over, though far from gone. i hope to share what the experience has given me, i've only to distill the thoughts and feelings into words.

only.

test spot...

...two may be faced with like circumstances, and react identically. yet only one has succeeded while the other has succumbed. what is basic for one may be beyond excellence for another.

it's 100 percent, not points, that's a perfect score,
and remember to answer in your own words.

aging gracefully...

...r' y. tendler tries valiantly to impress on his young students the value of life and making full use of it - that time passes us by but once, irretrievably.


everybody gets older. not everybody grows up.

something light...

...a day without sunshine is, like, night.

hehe.
stolen off a t-shirt, but i was in the mood for smiles.

pairs...

...anguish and elegance

in faithful portrayal share

the absence of color.

well set...

...gold is to diamonds as silence is to words.

not trivial...

...i'll never err if i only ask questions, but i'll never teach. i'll never show doubt if i only give answers, but i'll never learn.

to be is to learn and to give, there is no question.
(with many thanks to m)

counterfeit...

...it is easier to be touchingly sorrowful than contagiously positive. a raging critic will always garner more notice than an honest salesman.

pity people who settle for attention in place of love.

rock bottom...

my wife wisely says "things on the floor can't fall down".

up ya go.

freedom crackers...

...matzah symbolizes freedom. right. maybe slavery, but freedom? what does 7 days of eating cardboard crackers priced like gold have to do with freedom. tear me away from basic needs like pizza and bagels. inflict me with krispy kreme withdrawal. send me searching from cabinet to fridge and back again for the items i crave. i need. i can't live without. and call it freedom!?

oh. i get it.

soul sushi...

...a fish headed downstream might be alive, or dead. a fish swimming upstream might need directions, but it's definitely alive. - rav s. pinkus (more or less)

wonder which way teenage trout swim in season.

inner fire...

...the sages of israel teach that the base desires of a person are counterintuitively proportionate to his greatness - the more refined the human, the more treacherous their draw.

as the flames intensify, their demand for fuel increases.

chevron, israel...

...in honor of the season of freedom.

opening windows...

...self esteem is not a cold stone wall between me and your success. it is a flexible window through which i can enjoy your accomplishments, knowing that they do not encroach on my own potential.

windows are more fragile than walls, but they let in a lot more sun.

wide awake...

...if you came here to take, this world is a nightmare. if you came here to give, this world is a dream.
- rabbi l. kelemen, in this amazing torah lecture.

or right click here to download from simpletoremember.com

don't pick on me...

...the talmud teaches "don't judge your friend until you have reached his place". perhaps his place can be reached only by choosing his me.

make friends with yourself too.

pick me...

...to you i am the sum total of all that i am. to me, i am the choices that i have made.

choose my me and find your you.

happy purim...

...one can fully never the individual. quite say they might imperfect, but not why? i because and can or wish, if willed against. ~hiccup~

take me drunk, i'm home.

metaphysical oragami...

...watching my six foot something friend fold in half and then again to reach my rascally baby at his feet reminded me of the old saying "man never stands so tall as when he stoops to help a child" (who said it?)

G-d must be a pro at folding if he can reach me.

driver's ed...

...a pithy admonishment, directed my way by a caring israeli: "better late in this world than early in the next".

the car's is not our only driver's seat.

know no regret...

...experience is the most effective teacher. it's also the most costly. and sometimes just not worth the price.

imagine fire's heat - don't touch it.

truly great...

...all it takes is a skilled flatterer to make a person feel important, or a sharp critic to make a person shrink. But it takes someone of rare quality to make a person feel both big and small at the same time, often by his presence alone.

The truly great man is a man of truth.

wide angle view...

...tonight i waited a loooong time for a bus in the shadow of the old city walls - and was okay with it because i realized people have paid dearly just to see the spot that i stood in.

but then again isn't all living like that?
(credit for the title goes to my wife. )

growing up...

...my son is learning to walk, and i'm afraid to let go of his hand. i hope it's because i'm afraid that he will fall, and not because i'm scared that he won't.

AISH HATORAH RE: LETTING GO

making it home...

...overheard: "so how's married life?" "marriage? marriage is a challenge. my wife treats me great, but marriage is a challenge."

but isn't challenge great, too?

hello new nephew!

in honor of my new nephew, i'd like to share a thought i recently overheard. the jewish congratulatory declaration of "mazal tov", which can be deciphered as "may you be showered in good", is always and only offered on occasions which widen and deepen one's yoke of responsibility.

may we be showered in growth and goodness.

our window on high...

...it's a dark window, the one in which we see ourselves. try looking from the other side - there's brightness to reveal a world.



shabbat me'ushar all.

starting off fresh....

....is always a good thing. right? so let's leave this start as a relativley clean slate.


g'night world.