some RH readings
Sep. 24th, 2006 10:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cellioHere are a few readings from today's service that particularly resonated for me. The second and third were unattributed.
There was a king who had two servants. He loved them with a complete love. He gave each of them a measure of wheat and a bundle of flax.
The wise servant, what did he do? He took the flax and wove it into cloth. He took the wheat and made it into flour. He sifted it, ground it, kneaded it, and baked it. Then he arranged it on the table and spread the cloth over it. He left it until the king arrived. The foolish servant did nothing at all.
After some time, the king came to his palace and said, "my children, bring me what I gave to you". One brought out the bread on the table covered with the cloth. The other brought out the wheat in a box with a bundle of flax on top.
When the Blessed Holy One gave the Torah to Israel, He gave it to them as wheat from which to produce bread, and as flax from which to produce cloth.
-- Seder Eliyahu Zuta
* * *
(Based on V'ahavta:)
You shall love Adonai, the ineffable Source of all Life, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength.
We love Adonai when we love one another, for each of us is an expression of the One.
Set these words firmly upon your heart.
Mind alone is cold; heart alone is without direction. Only together, understanding linked to love, can they hope to fathom the wonders of existence. Thus, even as my mind seeks to understand life's meaning, so may my heart grow in love for all created things.
Teach them faithfully to your children; speak of them in your home and on your way, when you lie down and when you rise up.
May children learn from our example as well as from our words. May our homes be havens of peace, and each of us become envoys of peace. May I live each moment with purpose that I might lie down content with today, and rise up challenged by tomorrow.
Bind them as a sign upon your hands; let them be a symbol before your eyes; inscribe them on the doorposts of your house, and upon your gates.
Let our actions be just. Let our vision seek the good. Let our homes glow with the beauty of our heritage, our doors opened wide to righteousness and wisdom.
Be mindful of all my mitzvot and doo them; so shall you become holy and discover the One who dwells in the heart of the many.
Each mitzvah is a gateway to holiness. Each mitzvah elevates our humanity and reveals our divinity. May my every deed be done with fullness of mind, that I might see that I and all creation are one.
* * *
(An adaptation of the "who [shall die] by fire and who by flood" part of Unetaneh Tokef:)
When we really begin a new year it is decided,
and when we actually repent it is determined:
who shall be truly alive and who shall merely exist,
who shall be happy and who shall be miserable,
who shall attain fulfillment in life and who shall remain unfulfilled,
who shall be tormented by the fire of ambition and who shall be overcome by the waters of failure,
who shall be pierced by the sharp sword of envy and who shall be torn by the wild beast of resentment,
who shall hunger for companionship and who shall thirst for approval,
who shall be shattered by the earthquakes of social change and who shall be plagued by the pressures of conformity,
who shall be strangled by insecurity and who shall be stoned into submission,
who shall be content with life and who shall wander in a fruitless search for satisfaction,
who shall be serene and who shall be distraught,
who shall be at ease and who shall be afflicted with anxiety,
who shall be poor in thir own eyes and who shall be rich in self-confidence,
who shall be brought low with futilit and who shall be exalted through achievement.
Repentance, prayer, and good deeds have the power to change the character of our lives.
Let us resolve to repent, to pray and to do good deeds.
Thus may we begin a truly new year.
There was a king who had two servants. He loved them with a complete love. He gave each of them a measure of wheat and a bundle of flax.
The wise servant, what did he do? He took the flax and wove it into cloth. He took the wheat and made it into flour. He sifted it, ground it, kneaded it, and baked it. Then he arranged it on the table and spread the cloth over it. He left it until the king arrived. The foolish servant did nothing at all.
After some time, the king came to his palace and said, "my children, bring me what I gave to you". One brought out the bread on the table covered with the cloth. The other brought out the wheat in a box with a bundle of flax on top.
When the Blessed Holy One gave the Torah to Israel, He gave it to them as wheat from which to produce bread, and as flax from which to produce cloth.
-- Seder Eliyahu Zuta
* * *
(Based on V'ahavta:)
You shall love Adonai, the ineffable Source of all Life, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength.
We love Adonai when we love one another, for each of us is an expression of the One.
Set these words firmly upon your heart.
Mind alone is cold; heart alone is without direction. Only together, understanding linked to love, can they hope to fathom the wonders of existence. Thus, even as my mind seeks to understand life's meaning, so may my heart grow in love for all created things.
Teach them faithfully to your children; speak of them in your home and on your way, when you lie down and when you rise up.
May children learn from our example as well as from our words. May our homes be havens of peace, and each of us become envoys of peace. May I live each moment with purpose that I might lie down content with today, and rise up challenged by tomorrow.
Bind them as a sign upon your hands; let them be a symbol before your eyes; inscribe them on the doorposts of your house, and upon your gates.
Let our actions be just. Let our vision seek the good. Let our homes glow with the beauty of our heritage, our doors opened wide to righteousness and wisdom.
Be mindful of all my mitzvot and doo them; so shall you become holy and discover the One who dwells in the heart of the many.
Each mitzvah is a gateway to holiness. Each mitzvah elevates our humanity and reveals our divinity. May my every deed be done with fullness of mind, that I might see that I and all creation are one.
* * *
(An adaptation of the "who [shall die] by fire and who by flood" part of Unetaneh Tokef:)
When we really begin a new year it is decided,
and when we actually repent it is determined:
who shall be truly alive and who shall merely exist,
who shall be happy and who shall be miserable,
who shall attain fulfillment in life and who shall remain unfulfilled,
who shall be tormented by the fire of ambition and who shall be overcome by the waters of failure,
who shall be pierced by the sharp sword of envy and who shall be torn by the wild beast of resentment,
who shall hunger for companionship and who shall thirst for approval,
who shall be shattered by the earthquakes of social change and who shall be plagued by the pressures of conformity,
who shall be strangled by insecurity and who shall be stoned into submission,
who shall be content with life and who shall wander in a fruitless search for satisfaction,
who shall be serene and who shall be distraught,
who shall be at ease and who shall be afflicted with anxiety,
who shall be poor in thir own eyes and who shall be rich in self-confidence,
who shall be brought low with futilit and who shall be exalted through achievement.
Repentance, prayer, and good deeds have the power to change the character of our lives.
Let us resolve to repent, to pray and to do good deeds.
Thus may we begin a truly new year.