Breathing is Good: Tiferet in Gevurah
Submitted by Shai Gluskin on April 29, 2008 - 23:54.
Canopy and Street: Sedgewick St. Phila, April 29, 2008
Tonight begins the 10th Day of the Omer (Arpil 29-30, 2008).
May that part of me that is broken in Tiferet in Gevurah be healed on this day.
Paperwork, scheduling, tax returns, scheduling, housecleaning, scheduling, the high cost of living, our high standards, scheduling, our high ambitions, the high stack of papers on the floor of my study—why... I think that is enough to make one downright grumpy! —which I do feel, often.
So many times, in attempted moments of breathing deeply (which doesn't come so naturally to either Sarah or myself), we sit together and enumerate our blessings:
- two amazing, smart, creative, social, forgiving, funny, kids, who even like each other (within reason), phuey, phuey, phuey, bli ayim ha'ra. [The "phuey's" are a spitting sound, and "bli ayin ha'ra" means "may the evil eye be removed." In Jewish superstition, saying something good, especially about your kids, is a cosmic invitation for the evil forces to unleash themselves on your blessing. The faux spitting and the mantra to remove the evil eye can nullify this invitation, should they be done in close proximity to the recounting of the blessings and with the appropriate tone and intensity.]
- a wonderful community with many friends who care about us.
- wonderful family with whom we are in close touch.
- the means to support ourselves and live a comfortable life AND give some to tzedaka
- our dog Boaz who is love, love, love!
- interesting work that we care about
- each other
Shai Breathing—in Clouds, on April 29, 2008And yet... it can be hard to take in, hard to steer clear of the grumpiness. This is what tiferet in gevurah is about for me this year. Tiferet is about the perspective, the breathing, the knowing, the feeling of being loved—that is reassurance at the same time it is a taking in of that which is so good. Tiferet helps to remove the evil that can be gevurah when its unbalanced. Our ambition and all those things listed above are not bad. Much wonder comes out of them. It's all about balance and perspective.
On this night of tiferet in gevurah, may I find re-commit myself to breathing and stopping.
It's oddly comforting to
It's oddly comforting to hear that someone as deeply intellectual as yourself is still not above taking precautions against the Evil Eye. :) Many of us Christian-heritage types still reflexively knock on wood, too, which I think combines northern European tree reverence with the cult of the cross. Superstition or not, I do think we moderns minimize the risk of inviting envy (via conspicuous consumption, for example) at our peril.
No harm in covering all your
No harm in covering all your bases! Maybe holding on these traditions is an attempt to be an antidote to the potential toxicity of intellectual endeavors.