Shabbat Shalom

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VaYeitzei...VaYeileich
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Why does it say that Yaakov both left Be'er and went to Charan? Usually when you leave a place it's either because you want to get out of that place OR that you have to be somewhere else. This was a unique case of both the exiting where he was and the destination were equally significant. He was leaving, to run away from Eisav, and this was a fulfillment of Kibud Eim. Where he was heading was of import because that's where he would seek to find a wife. And this was a fulfillment of Kibud Av.Rav Nehorai teaches us to exile ourselves to a place of Torah. This is a situation, in which for us both the leaving and the going matter. We must remove ourselves from a negative atmosphere, and we must move to a positive Torah atmosphere.

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Taught 3 classes today. Friday is a good teaching day, there's a lighter feel. I had several pin drop moments - I love those. A positive adult that sits through whole classes of mine on a very regular basis asks me things like - "Do you notice that they listen when you talk to them?" and tells me thing like, "They're different in your class, they're happy to be here." Thanks. I am too. It's integration week, where we all adress the same topics in all disciplines. The assignment for grade 10 was to discus Der Yassin and Altalena, and for eleventh grade to discuss different educational aspects of The Holocaust. Like Frank Sinatra, I did it my way.

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Is it of any interest to anyone to read that I'm tired (except for my loving parents (tslabw)? What does it mean to be tired? How much does it relate to sleep? To age? To activities? To happiness? To worldview? I don't get enough sleep and I work hard for the money (so you better treat me right) - and not for the money too.

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Today I played a few rounds of Bananagrams with a nice group of students in the library. It's a great game - kind of like boggle on steroids. Someone wise once sad that teenagers want you to be nearby and then shut up. I think there's great wisdom in that. Besides talking, besides listening, there is being. You can meet and talk and send memos and emails and run programs and do studies, but you can't beat being.

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Does everyone have some out of the box aspect to them, or to some people have not one iota of out-of-the-boxedness?

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If you care to be interactive - I'd love to hear how your week was and what you think of some of my questions.

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In this week's parsha Yaakov proclaims, "G-d was in this place, and I, I did not know." There's a book by Lawrence Kushner in which each chapter approaches a different commentary's approach to this pasuk. Years a go my dear friend Jeff bought me this book when it was brand new. I am forever grateful. He threw a pebble in a brook and watched the ripples....

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This is one of those in the moment posts. I have been working for some time on an essay about sailboats. One of these days...

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The Seventh Day

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"Only I," she said

"Only I have no partner"

And G-d heard her pain

He brought her her other half

The Jewish People know peace