"this Too Shall Pass" Well Can It Fucking Get On With It

"this too shall pass" well can it fucking get on with it

Mademoiselle magazine - December 1970

It's bleak out there. Please drink some water, do some deep breathing, and admire my miniature pomegranate tree

She does not have any fruits yet, but this year's gonna be her year--and yours

"Judaism is about sanctifying life." - Rabbi Sacks

where would we Jews be without our faith—our emunah—our individual and collective will to always believe that better lies just ahead, within reach, if only we would stretch? 

Far more satisfying—in fact, deeply gratifying—is Rabbi Jonathan Sacks’s notion that Judaism is in its essence about sanctifying life. The Hebrew word l’kadesh means the conscious, willful act of making something holy, setting aside and transforming the mundane into a vehicle for joyfully acknowledging the Creator of the universe. Judaism, thus, seeks to endow life with holiness. 

The sanctification of life begins with a commitment to choose it. In Deuteronomy (30:19) we learn: “I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse; therefore, choose life, that you may live.” Life above all. Jewish tradition gives forth the concept of pikuach nefesh, setting aside all commitments and commandments for the sake of saving a life. Life is so sacred that it is valued above law.

The Deuteronomy verse likens life to blessing. In a world where LIFE = BLESSING, we see that life is not only about existing, but about filling our lives with holy purpose. Living one’s life to the fullest means filling one’s life with meaning and mitzvot. Easy to say; hard to do. Might be time to stretch.  

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Albert Aublet (1851–1938) - Selene, 1880