Context is Everything - Macro and Micro Cuts from the Same Pic: Sedgwick St, Philadelphia, Spring, 2007

Tonight begins the 12th Day of the Omer (May 1 - May 2, 2008).

May that part of me that is broken in Hod in Gevurah be healed on this day.

Today, I listened to significant portions of the Reverend Jeremiah Wright's post 9/11 2001 sermons that included "Gad Damn America" and "The chickens have come home to roost" (interpreted by many to mean Wright believed the US deserved 9/11).

The sermon in which the phrase "God damn America" appears is about the unchanging nature of God compared to the changing nature of governments. It was U.S. governments that permitted slavery and Jim Crow, but all along God was on the side of justice. The "God Damn America" wasn't a generic criticism of the U.S. It was tied each time to a conditional, "when she..." Watch the 20-second sound byte compared to the 10-minute of context version.

Shai Under Water With Goggles

Tonight begins the 11th Day of the Omer (Arpil 30 - May 1, 2008).

May that part of me that is broken in Netzach in Gevurah be healed on this day.

Netzach, forever, endurance, in Gevurah, limitation, boundaries. Humor is the salve for the long haul. Not taking things too seriously, being able to play, rif, have fun, crack jokes—all these things lower blood pressure.

The holiday of Purim plays the important role in the Jewish calendar for a day where everything is upside down. "Drink until you can't tell the difference between Haman (the villain) and Mordechai (the hero)." In a religion that takes so much so seriously (what religion doesn't?), Purim is a safety valve against the excesses of our collective self-importance and the artifices we've created, religious and otherwise.

Purim is a whole day once a year. But we can have little Purim as a part of every day.

On this night of Netzach in Gevurah, may I re-commit myself to silliness.

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:

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Tonight begins the 9th Day of the Omer (Arpil 28-29, 2008).

May that part of me that is broken in Gevurah in Gevurah be healed on this day.

Gevurah means strength, bravery, limitation, death (the ultimate limitation) and more, of course. In it's kabbalistic context it can also be the source of the rule-of-law (another name for this is din—pronounced "dean"). Out-of-control rule of law devolves to evil, which is also sourced in din.

Recently, I've heard remembrances of the events of 40 years ago, particularly the chaos at Columbia University and the anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King. I was 10 years old then, and my son is ten years old now. I was wondering, which is the scarier time in which to live?

[img_assist|nid=212|title="Scream" Roller Coaster at Magic Mountain|desc=|link=popup|align=left|width=500|height=374]

Shabbat was the 6th day of the Omer (Arpil 25-26, 2008).

May that part of me that is broken in Yesod in Chesed be healed.

On Wednesday I took my kids to Six Flags Magic Mountain outside Los Angeles. We are visiting family in LA, on vacation, why not?

My kids love roller coasters. I had no illusion that I would go on all the rides with them. But I had not expected to become sick from riding one. Indeed I thought I was taking precautions by only going on coasters that my kids had already ridden, and even then, only after querying them, "What's the nausea factor on that one?". It turns out that "nausea factor" is not a universal and/or cross-generational unit of measure. I managed to avoid having to bow down to the porcelain goddess, but I was not a happy camper.

[img_assist|nid=210|title=Shai at Play and Work|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=500|height=409]

Tonight begins the 5th Day of the Omer (Arpil 24-25, 2008).

May that part of me that is broken in Hod in Chesed be healed on this day.

Everyday we see things that are broken and every day there are opportunities to fix things. I think that people have an innate desire to fix things. The Internet has shown how people are willing to staff bulletin boards, to help others, whether its learning how to parent, use a power-drill, or navigate software, folks gain pleasure in helping.

These informal settings have shown the power and productivity of informal exchanges of information. Our institutions, business, government, not-for-profit all could learn a lot from this revolution in information exchange.

But institutions are often about the control of information and not its flow.

Hod in Chesed. Reverberating, loving, commitment. Don't wait for an institution to create the opportunity to fix what is broken. Share knowledge with someone who seeks it. Find partners to create new solutions. Encourage institutions to become more open. The tools of participation are everywhere. Don't wait to be asked.

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Tonight begins the 4th Day of the Omer (Arpil 23-24, 2008).

May that part of me that is broken in Netzach in Chesed be healed on this day.

Netzach means enduring, forever, eternity, and even victory. In the context of this first week, chesed, lovingkindness, love-in-commitment, is calling us to experience the joy that can come out of commitment, particularly long-term commitments. It's the opposite of ambivalence. It's the opposite of:

• I wish I had a better job
• I wish I had better friends
• I wish I had a better partner

So often our culture frames long-term commitments/relationships as confining. Netzach in Chesed is asking us to see such commitments and relationships as expansive, freeing, joyful, and nourishing.

The following micro-practices have helped me try to develop the ability to ward off ambivalence and embrace long-term connection:

• Follow through on appointments, only reschedule for true emergencies.
• Turn off or ignore my cell phone when I'm in a conversation.
• Be on time.
• Not second-guess myself after I've made decisions.
• Embrace fulfilling of obligations, even when I know the decision to make that obligation was a poor one.

Just because I'm writing this doesn't mean I'm successful at the items on this list... especially being on time.

Galapagos Perspective

Tonight begins the 3rd Day of the Omer (Arpil 22-23, 2008).

May that part of me that is broken in Tiferet in Chesed be healed on this day.

Tiferet is the peek of sefira mountain.

Tiferet helps with perspective. In combination with Chesed, committed love, it's about getting a clear vision of one's own successes, about feeling the love that others have for you.

I definitely have my struggles taking in my successes. I'm quick to add a "but" when friends congratulate me.

So I thought I'd take a moment to create a short list of recent experiences I've had when I was able to take in the love or accomplishment.

• Giggling moments with my kids as we teach each other a faux Italian, invented in our house.
• The love and generosity from Sarah in making me a 50th birthday party, and the love I felt from my friends who attended.
• Early successes in my new business

My we find the mountaintop, that place of clarity, close to our hearts so we can fully take in the love directed toward us. May we feel the gravity of our daily successes.

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Monday night April 21, 2008 - to Tuesday April 22, is the second day of the omer.

"Projection" is that project of the psyche which creates reality based on one's own experiences, fears, longings, assumptions, values, perspective while under the illusion that external sources supply the datum for what one sees.

Congregants hold projections about the piety or the belief systems of their religious leaders. Parents hold projections about who their children are, spouses about their partners.

Ceremony and symbolism in part gain their power from projection. The High Priest atoning for the community of Israel in the Holy of Holies requires projection from the people.

Albatross Flying
Albatross Face Shot
Blue-footed Booby and Babe
Marine Iguana Looking at Ocean View

Sunday night April 20, 2008 - to Monday April 21, the 16th Day of the month of Nisan, is the first day of the omer.

And Adonay God created... and it was good.

Last summer I travelled to the Galapogos Islands with my in-laws, Richard and Barbara Braun and extended family. The Brauns initiated the trip and recruited all their children and grandchildren. It was a long time dream for them to see this amazing archipelago together with those closest to them.