Shavua Tov
It's hard to remember that yesterday I stood under this sky, before this lake and these mountains and snapped this picture
Shabbos has come and gone. Pesach still lingers. I am tired. It was nice to be in a bucolic setting. Sometimes I use a word, then wonder where that came from. It is time to go to sleep.
I've been trying to read Zelda straight and non stop. This affected the dream I had this afternoon about someone saying that you can only understand the theme of what you write after it is written. Zelda makes me want to give everything else up and devote myself to writing poetry. I suppose I can commit to poetry without adhering to that dependent clause.
A friend lent me a Batya Gur book after Shabbos. It's a mystery and came highly recommended. If it's anything like the quality work of Rochelle Krich I'll be happy. We had an interesting talk at lunch about consumerism and how America depends on it, but it's not a good way to live. Everyone I know is affected by this plague. As people start to detox from buying everything that shines in their eyes the effect will be bad for the economy. It's broadcast as bad news when spending is down. These revelations feel kind of dark.
We're in the middle of the week of gevurah qualifying chesed. It's not about gevurah. This is made clear by the first day of gevurah's week being about gevurah qualifying chesed. Yaakov Haber in his book Sefirot cites the saying that when we need to draw boundaries with others we should push away with the left hand and pull in with the right (Sotah 47b) (interesting to note that some study Sotah now, as it has 49 pages). He cites this (page 40) on the day of chesed within gevurah, adding, "Sometimes strength should be displayed weakly."
What would Zelda say?
I Am A Dead Bird
By Zelda
~
I am a dead bird
One bird that has died.
A bird cloaked in a gray coat
As I walk, a scoffer dismisses me.
~
Suddenly Your silence envelopes me -
Ever-living One.
In a teeming market a dead fowl will sing -
Only You exist.
In a teeming market, a bird hobbles with song
hidden.
posted by rabbi neil fleischmann @ 11:50 PM
3 Comments:
The poem is powerful and has made me pause and take deep breaths.
You said: "As people start to detox from buying everything that shines in their eyes the effect will be bad for the economy." This is the paradox of capitalism that has been troubling me for the last year or two. What would a healthy economy NOT based on endless, mindless consumption look like?
A. The poem is unbelievable. I love how she jumps scenes and tenses and personas and yet it feels cohesive. I really differed with the translator on this one, and thus this is my own translation. In the Hebrew, the last line was that one word standing alone, which I thought was important to retain in its original form.
B. This was the talk at the Shabbos home I stayed in. Ira said it's bad news, there is no replacement for our unhealthy consumerism. Pam suggested that the economy can be built up with positive things, like healthy energy, etc - create new jobs in that new realm. But, as Ira pointed out, that kind od sea change (if possible) would take a long time. The short way to "fix" things is to suck people back into unhealthy consumerism.
wow. beautiful.
I wrote about this same piece - trying to map the process the bird= goes through after confronting God.
thank you for your wise words.
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