Post Shmini Atzeret Post

It's a few weeks from this blog's anniversary.  I may have lost track, but I think it's coming up on the twenty first year. I am more active on Facebook.  Still, I haven't forgotten completely about the blog and thought I'd give an old style post here a shot.

Yom Tov just ended. Again. But not again for 6 months now.

1. Kasha alai preidatchem - it's not hard for G-d, and if it was why would one more day make it easier? He sees that us seperating from him after this month of closeness is hard for us.  And that one more day will help us.

2. The above explains why this last day is focused on Torah, because that's what will help insure our connection for the months to come.

3. Vezoth HaBracha may be read because it's the end of the Torah and may also be read because it fits with the theme of the day.

Post Shabbos Breishit Post

This year is unusual in that from Rosh HaShanah through Shmini Atzeret no Yom Tov fell on a Shabbos.  So it was a continuous flow of holy days, all standing on their own legs alone.  So here I am three days after ambitiously starting this post right after Shmini Atzeret.  At that time I was overflowing with Torah thoughts from the chagim.  Now, I've got Breishit on my brain, but before I start sharing about that let's see if I still remember anything I learned about thos last days of Yom Tov.

The last day, connected to the holiday of Sukkot, and closing out all the key holiday for six months is Shmini Atzeret.  The last day of the holiday period that starts with Pesach and ends with Shavuot is called Atzeret. They are each the 51st day. 51 is N"A in Hebrew letters - Gematria. That's why we say Hoshia Nah and Hatzliachah Nah.  The two yin yang halves of the year.  Hoshiah Nah fits for the Tishrei cycle - the din side - sve us.  And the hatzlichah nah side fits for the Nisan side - the kindness of our creation as a nation - and the request for success.

I haven't gotten to write parsha thoughts yet.  PG, soon.

The First Sunday Of a Week w/o a Yom Tov in Some Time - 

Thinking about the splitting of the waters in the heavens and how it's similar to the splitting of the sea.  And how this fits with the idea that the creation of the JP was a new start, in a way, for the world.

I'm glad that some time ago I memorized what was created on each day, it comes in handy.  I like the idea that the first 2 days and the second 3 days match, a container and a thing that goes in it.

So much to say and to not say about these parshiot.

I'll close with 2 poems I wrote, one on Breishit and one on Noach:

Breishit

By Rabbi Neil Fleischmann

A month of holy days now done,

a new Torah cycle has begun.

After our focus on Teshuva - Return,

what’s a connected lesson, from Breishit, to learn?

First, G-d’s universe is bigger than we can ever be,

so there are things that we can’t grasp or see.

We were created last of all, that’s the paradigm:

We are almost peripheral, yet also most sublime.

G-d sought our trust, gave us one command,

but from the start, we strayed from His plan.

We made excuses that were quite lame,

tried to get G-d to shoulder the blame.

So let’s start straight, admit our mistakes,

that’s a big part of what it takes

to confidently move ahead with less fear.

Remember, G-d loves us. Have a good year!

Noach By Rabbi Neil Fleischmann

Noach stuck with G-d and from people he kept away,

this is what saved him at the end of the day.

Cleaving to G-d made him righteous and strong;

with the others who were destroyed he didn't belong.

Noach survived because he was close to G-d and great,

restarting the world was his reward and his fate.

After the flood he needed to connect with others,

to extend his hand and build society with his brothers.

But Noach only knew how to stay in his zone,

so, once again he separated himself, stayed alone.

Not reaching out to others led to his downfall,

in the new era he wasn't such a hero after all.

What made Noach special when he was in his prime

was the same thing that worked against him at a later time.

This is a profound psychological truth:

What works in old age is different than in youth.

What at one time can serve as our best protection

can in another context take us in a bad direction.

May we be blessed in life to always behave in the way we need,

to not be held back by old habits but to shine and be freed.