#Home for Hebrew Orphans

[mariacallous]

A prominent Ukrainian rabbi has announced that his adopted son has been confirmed dead in battle against Russian forces.

Anton Samborskyi will be buried in Kyiv’s Jewish cemetery on Thursday, Rabbi Moshe Azman announced on Wednesday. Azman and his wife adopted Samborskyi at age 11 after the boy was orphaned, Azman said in a post on X last month when he revealed that Samborskyi had gone missing just weeks after being drafted into the Ukrainian army.

Azman is the rabbi of Kyiv’s Brodsky Synagogue and one of multiple men claiming title to chief rabbi of Ukraine. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, he has been a vigorous advocate for the Ukrainian cause, castigating the Russians on social media and posting about his efforts to distribute humanitarian aid and military supplies. He had earlier created a rural village to accommodate Jewish refugees during a previous Russian invasion, called Anatevka after the fictional shtetl in “Fiddler on the Roof.”

Samborskyi — to whom Azman and his wife gave the Hebrew name Matisyahu, in honor of the ancient Jewish priest and military leader — had lived with the family for a decade before moving out, marrying and having a child, according to Azman’s post. It was shortly after Samborskyi’s daughter was born in May that he was drafted, Azman said — reflecting a broader mobilization of troops amid a grueling war that is widely seen as effectively a stalemate.

Exactly how many Ukrainian soldiers have died in battle over the last two and a half years is unclear. The Ukrainian government has not published an ongoing tally but said in February, at the war’s two-year mark, that more than 30,000 troops had been killed. The United States has said it believes the numbers are significantly higher.

Whatever the true tally, the Ukrainian army appears to be strapped for manpower and has intensified efforts to recruit new soldiers, including by lowering the draft age and mobilizing men quickly, sometimes off the streets.

This summer, multiple people associated with Jewish communities in Ukraine said activities had grown more circumscribed because of the threat of being drafted that men face while out and about. In Dnipro, a heart of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement, an involved resident told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency last month that men of fighting age were staying home rather than joining in prayer services. And at Ramah Yachad, a Jewish summer camp in western Ukraine, fewer fathers traveled to drop their children off or pick them up, and fewer men were on staff this year.

“Since the beginning of this terrible war, trouble has knocked on the door of almost every Ukrainian — some have lost a loved one, others are fighting with injuries,” Azman tweeted in August, on the occasion of Ukraine’s Memorial Day, when he revealed that Samborskyi was missing. “On this day, I want to share with you my personal pain.”

Two weeks later, he was announcing a memorial service to be held at the synagogue where he has worked since 1995.

[lesfruitsdores]

Israeli films with female protagonists.

Zero Motivation (2014) dir. Talya Lavie

A unit of female Israeli soldiers at a remote desert base bide their time as they count down the minutes until they can return to civilian life.

Cinema Sabaya (2021) dir. Orit Fouks Rotem

Eight women, Arab and Jewish, take part in a video workshop hosted by Rona, young filmmaker. With each camera take, the group dynamic forces the women to challenge their beliefs as they get to know one other.

Jellyfish (2007) dir. Shira Geffen & Etgar Keret

Jellyfish tells the story of three very different Israeli women living in Tel Aviv whose intersecting stories weave an unlikely portrait of modern Israeli life. Batya, a catering waitress, takes in a young child apparently abandoned at a local beach. Batya is one of the servers at the wedding reception of Keren, a young bride who breaks her leg in trying to escape from a locked toilet stall, which ruins her chance at a romantic honeymoon in the Caribbean. One of the guests is Joy, a Philippine chore woman attending the event with her employer, and who doesn't speak any Hebrew (she communicates mainly in English), and who is guilt-ridden after having left her young son behind in the Philippines.

Blush (2015) dir. Michal Vinik

Trying to escape her tumultuous home life, Naama, 17, indulges in alcohol and drugs, but everything changes when she meets a sexy, free-spirited new girl at school and the two become more than fast friends.

Atomic Falafel (2015) dir. Dror Shaul

Two girls from nuclear towns in Israel and Iran spill their countries most valuable secrets on Facebook while trying to prevent a nuclear crisis.

Kiss Me Before It Blows Up/Kiss Me Kosher (2020) dir. Shirel Peleg

When two generations of Israeli women fall for a German woman and a Palestinian man, chaos follows. What happens with lovers who don't fit--but do belong together?

Red Cow (2018) dir. Tsivia Barkai

Red Cow is a coming-of-age film that takes place in the days leading up to the assassination of Rabin and depicts the life of Benny, 16, orphaned from mother at birth and the only child of Joshua - a religious, right-wing extremist, in those critical junctures when she is forming her sexual, religious and political awareness.

Sand Storm (2016) dir. Elite Zexer

A Bedouin village in Northern Israel. When Jalila’s husband marries a second woman, Jalila and her daughter’s world is shattered, and the women are torn between their commitment to the patriarchal rules and being true to themselves.

[rebelwheelsnycpoetry]

Regina Regina In Zionist Blue (a poem for Palestine)

by Michele Sommerstein

Pt 1 It's been months since I could hear your music, and not feel this sorrowed discomfort deeply rooted Regina Regina in Zionist blue for I used to play your tunes in times of need and joy but a comfort, no more for your voice and piano, these summers in the city these fields below these blue lips and dance anthems Pavlov's daughter drooling on her pillow and do you remember that time you covered a Lennon song in protest of the Darfur genocide all that real love real love because genocide is fucked up and it is and it was but now, all these songs are just a reminder (this pain, sometimes so angry that one longs to cry out stop! and why!) and with a sigh so heavy like a storm wind that fucks with the tides with a sigh so heavy from a heart that breaks because it doesn't have to be this way Regina in blue, there is another way

and yet I know we are not getting the same news and how there can never be peace when there is justice due and how some Zionists in power don't want that to ensue and how they lied to us and are lying to you gives me deeply rooted Zionist blues this anti-Zionist Jew and rising “not in our name!” and with great pride chanting for we exist too and we are many we who unlearned the toxicity that resides in Zionism who unlearned the fallacies, now knowing the truth

and this genocide, that they attempt to normalize, makes my head, cave in To the point sometimes where I don't know what the fuck to do… Regina Regina, in Zionist blue the 34,000 murdered and counting these artists, these doctors, these Palestinians these people undeserving of this violence & death he was my father - dead my cousin - dead my best friend - dead, the love of my life… my wife – dead (how do you not care? where is your heart?) and 12,000 of them just children, small children who are no longer here Regina how many more? who Israel is starving. Intentional. This famine, engineered these deaths avoidable these parents forced to witness their child's demise, children abruptly orphaned and the trauma in their eyes the fucking grief are you not a mother too?

Pt 2 and I'm not saying what happened on October 7th wasn't traumatic and fucked up because it was and I imagine was quite triggering for survivors of violence of which I am one and I imagine was quite triggering for a people who have been told since birth to not trust, to not relax. beware the non-Zionists and watch your back. “They don't want you to be safe, they don't want us to be free” (but at whose cost and what does that mean?)

and then came the day Hamas striked back and though we don't agree, I can acknowledge that the trauma and humanity of Israelis at the event in question in a quiet stillness, to stop and be present, but can you too acknowledge the humanity and trauma of those in Palestine? And not just this genocide unjustified, but for the last 75, years and counting Regina for while yes, the festival, themed as “love and unity”, Regina but on the borders of and for whom?

Pt 3 did you even learn about The Nakba, did you ever hear that word? More than three fourth of a million people, three fourth these Palestinians forced from their land, their homes, why did they not teach that in Hebrew school all those years ago not even mention Palestine, and so we never knew why did they not want us to know? why do they hide things from us, Regina? and what else do they not disclose?

and the modern footage and what it exposed these Palestinians who they try to control who could not even wave their own flag without vast persecution felt weirdly familiar remembering my grandmother paternal who lived in Russia who could not be openly Jewish without vast persecution how could I not see the similarities why don't you?

These powers that be that poke the wound, this trauma that they don't let nor want us to heal and with the fucking audacity, so brazen to look us in the eyes, to call this protection and love

But with all their propaganda, have you ever stopped to question? where is this promised safety that they have repeatedly mentioned? this unrealistic and false promise and obsession for it is impossible to achieve safety through oppression for it is impossible, to achieve safety through oppression it is impossible, to achieve safety, through oppression For consequence will always ensue as a result from these intentions

Pt 4 And I am so fucking tired tired of trying to shadow box any and all possible critique tired of trying to reach those that perhaps can not be reached those who do not see the human rights violations because they don't see Palestinians as humans those who deny their humanity, but then expect them to always honor theirs those who say Israel has the right to defend themselves but Palestine should just take it those who respond to protesters, these Zionist agitators with pepper spray unprovoked those who skirt accountability saying “yeah but what about” in response to this genocide those who accuse you of being antisemitic for even bringing up this genocide as if acknowledging genocide is antisemitic – it is not never again means never again for all those with their boom boom rapid fire rehearsed bad faith questions in an attempt to bewilder & overwhelm, in hopes that next time you'll be silent those who respond IN ALL CAPS, yelling vicious insults and intimidation screaming, in hopes that that next time you'll be silent do not be silent

and those who genuinely feel immense terror because they believe there is no safety without Zionism near for it is hard to see clearly when in a triggered space Help me officer, for I do not feel safe! She said after seeing the protesters peacefully protest

Regina Regina, with Zionist fists will probably not know this poem exists in ways I am just getting this off my chest A quest of catharsis and healing, so I may be lighter, mindful in my solidarity as an act of love put to action For if one does not do the work, to process the weight so heavy, these feelings this urgency & this compassion overload & burnout, overgrown & all-consuming and your actions unaware, become, far too motivated, by the need for your own release which isn't helpful to the movement, nor what Palestinians need

Pt 5 and so, safety, actual safety it is not rooted in imperialism or isolation It is all the people marginalized united and knowing that our liberation, our struggles, growing and connected and this idea that we must fight each other is wrong for it's the powers that be, not us, that benefit when we're divided those who attempt to thwart any semblance of progress when they see we're making strides and those who preach and fan the flames of fear and ignorance and it's on both sides, both sides, these elephants and donkeys co-opted for a price those who try to erase and decrease, the growing existence and resistance of non-Zionist Jews those who do not actually care about the safety of Palestinians or Jews, though they swear their loyalty true, they lie, white-toothed and smiling Those who don't want to make things right for this that goes against their profit line these vultures who profit from genocide with their overflowing greed insatiable they who want to keep us from the light so we do not grow so they can maintain this status quo, of wretched supremacy it is them we must fight, they are the enemy Not each other

AUTHOR'S NOTE: "Regina Regina In Zionist Blue" is a passionate nuanced poem written from the heart. A tale of two Jews, it is a call to action & reflection in a time of misinformation, exploitation of trauma, and genocide. A poem from an anti-Zionist Jew (myself) to a Zionist Jew (but really all Zionist Jews.)

I used to love Regina Spektor 's music. Her songs were one of my go-to's in good times and bad. But when she came out as a hardcore Zionist after the attack, her songs became this reminder of genocide and a symbol of every interaction I've ever had with Zionists. To be clear, I don't fault people for having strong feelings regarding the attack on October 7th. But to only have compassion for Israelis and nothing but viciousness for Palestinians, I feel is fucked up. Especially given the history and the current genocide.

For weeks, these heavy feelings were building up inside me, and then once I heard Macklemore's "Hind's Hall", it had to come out. I had to write this poem.

The poem delves into the history, trauma, toxicity, ideas of safety, solidarity, and more. My hope is that it will make some people think and re-think what they've been brought up with, and take action.

That said, “summers in the city”, “fields below”, ”blue lips”, “dance anthems” and “pavlov's daughter” are references to her song titles if anyone was a bit confused.

Lastly, here are 3 ways to take action from Jewish Voices For Peace.

[lcnebcnes]

❛❛   susan bones .  ❜❜   ― 💫 ― born just before the end of a war, you faced a lifetime of loss before you’d hit double digits (death would become a lifelong companion)... forever determined to be a light in a seemingly dimming world, kindness can defeat cruelty and love will overcome hatred (of that you are sure)... a family in power places you high on a list you’ve never wished to be named on, a target on your back in the upcoming battle (you can survive this, you must)...

BASICS.

full name : susan lucinda bones

name meaning :

susan : hebrew | “lily of the valley”

lucinda : latin | “light”

bones : old norse | “river that runs through a settled valley” & “promontory, headland”

nickname / alias : sue, suze, suzie

title : miss

gender / pronouns : cis woman / she/her

sexuality : pansexual

date of birth : april 24

age : 23

zodiac : taurus

place of birth : braemar, aberdeenshire, scotland

accent : scottish

languages : english, latin, gaelic

species : witch

APPEARANCE.

faceclaim : abigail cowen

height : 5′7″

eye color : blue

hair color : ginger

glasses : n/a

MEDICAL.

mental : adhd, insomnia, depression, anxiety, paranoia, survivor's guilt

physical : n/a

PERSONALITY.

positive traits : empathetic

negative traits : resentful

hobbies : singing, crocheting, watching quidditch, baking, dueling, learning new offensive and defensive magic

RELATIONSHIPS.

parents :

malcolm bones; father

isla bones, née mcphail; mother

siblings : n/a

extended family :

amelia bones; paternal aunt, deceased

edgar bones; paternal uncle, deceased

gillian bones, née taylor; aunt via marriage, deceased

duncan bones; eldest cousin, deceased

graham bones; middle cousin, deceased

freya bones; youngest cousin, deceased

kenneth bones; grandfather, deceased

fiona bones, née adair; grandmother, deceased

children : n/a

pets :

echo [flammulated owl]

MAGICAL.

blood status : half-blood

hogwarts house : hufflepuff

wand : pear wood with a unicorn core 12 ½" and quite bendy flexibility

patronus : hedgehog

boggart : lord voldemort

amortentia : tba

BACKGROUND.

quick facts :

can perform nonverbal magic, and is working towards learning wandless magic as well

has perfected her felix felicis potion

orphan

early history :

the only child born to isla and malcolm bones, susan was named for her aunt amelia's middle name. a rather powerful and respected family in the wizarding community, it's no shock that they were sought after by death eaters during the first wizarding world war. most of the family wouldn't survive.

first year :

susan bones started her education at hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry the same year as the famous harry potter. she shared a boat with seamus finnigan and hermione granger, and was the third student to be called upon by minerva mcgonagall for the sorting ceremony. there was an indescribable joy at being sorted into hufflepuff, the very house that her parents had shared before falling in love. the house that most of her family had called home while at hogwarts. during her first year, susan would learn all about the basics of magic and spell performance, like her other classmates. she was also present at the end-of-term feast during which gryffindor won the house cup breaking slytherin's seven year winning streak.

second year :

during her second year, susan seemed to develop a crush on the then defence against the dark arts professor, gilderoy lockhart, which caused her to be off-task daydreaming during his lessons. she participated in the duelling club, as a precaution due to the attacks that occurred after the chamber of secrets had been opened. the fact that lockhart oversaw this club was merely an added benefit, as was the discovery of a talent for duelling magic. if only she’d known how much that skill would come in handy in later years.

year two wasn’t all clubs and cute professors. when her friends were all petrified by the unknown creature (now known to be a basilisk) roaming the school, fear seemed hard to shake. for someone who had already faced so much loss, the thought that her friends’ lives were in peril was a hard one to shake. to say that she was filled with a sense of relief when professor sprout and madam pomfrey were able to cure the petrified students would be an understatement.

third year :

idk she was scared of sirius black like everyone else that year. i'll flesh this year out later maybe. maybe not. we'll see.

fourth year :

during susan's fourth year hogwarts held the triwizard tournament and hufflepuff's cedric diggory was one of the triwizard champions. she supported cedric in favor of harry, as he was in her house and her best friends were also strong supporters of him.

cedric's death at the end of the triwizard tournament left susan with a lot of questions, though of one thing she was certain. harry potter was no liar. voldemort was back, and it was only a matter of time before the rest of the wizarding world began to suspect the same.

summer before fifth year :

it was in late june that the death eaters who murdered susan’s uncle edgar and his family escaped from azkaban. news that immediately set the bones family on high alert, and for good reason. mid july saw an attack on the bones household, with susan left the only survivor. she’d credit it to pure luck and her mother’s forethought, if you could even get her to speak on the incident. 

her father’s shout from the kitchen had given enough warning for susan to barricade herself into her bedroom. unfortunately there was already a death eater waiting for the girl. fortunately he hadn’t been expecting her to throw a punch instead of a hex. it was only that split second of shock that allowed her to grab for the portkey her mother had placed on her nightstand only a few weeks earlier. an emergency escape hatch of sorts. and it worked. susan successfully escaped to an alley behind the leaky cauldron. she entered and gave a fake name to tom, the pub’s owner, and asked him to send for amelia bones. it was only when her aunt arrived, having recognized the fake name as a previously agreed upon safety code for her niece, that susan learned that neither of her parents had been so lucky as she’d been. 

the following days saw her settling into a spare bedroom at her aunt’s home, her new home, and struggling to accept her new reality. still weeks later, the grief at her parents’ death feels as fresh as it was standing in the leaky cauldron. she only hopes this school year proves to be the distraction she so desperately craves.

CONNECTIONS.

bestie : basically her ride or die from childhood. ➢ 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍

[orthodoxydaily]

Saints&Reading: Friday, December 28, 2023

december 16_december 28

THE HOLY PROPHET AGGEI/HAGGAI (500 B.C.)

The Holy Prophet Haggai was the tenth of the Twelve Minor Prophets. He was of the Tribe of Levi and he prophesied during the times of the Persian emperor Darius Hystaspis (prior to 500 B.C.). Upon the return of the Jews from the Babylonian Captivity, he persuaded the people to build the Second Temple at Jerusalem, and he proclaimed that the Messiah would appear in this Temple in the last times.

It is believed that Haggai was buried with the priests at Jerusalem, since he was descended from Aaron.

THE BLESSED EMPRESS THEOPHANIA OF BYZANTUM (893)

Saint Theophanó was a pious and virtuous Empress, who was greatly praised by the chroniclers of her time because of her evangelical life, her almsgiving, and her exceptional piety. She born in Constantinople, the daughter of Constantine Martinakios and his wife Anna, who raised their daughter with diligence. When she was of a marriageable age, Emperor Basil the Macedonian chose her to be the wife of his son Leo the Wise (886 - 912), with whom she dwelt in marital fidelity for twelve years.

The Holy Empress Theophanó and her husband Leo were imprisoned for three years, because Leo was falsely accused of plotting to assassinate his father, Emperor Basil. After obtaining her freedom,Theophanó spent her life in prayer and fasting, earnestly struggling for her salvation. She was recognized as a Saint and a wonderworker, even during her lifetime, because of the many good works which she performed out of love for her neighbor.

Though she lived in the world, she renounced everything worldly, and became a benefactor of the poor. She also built churches and monasteries, or restored those in need of repair. She was a true mother to her subjects, caring for widows and orphans, and consoling the sorrowful.

Despite all the grandeur and wealth surrounding her, she preserved her customary humility and modesty. She preferred to dress in simple clothing so that she would not recognized. Accompanied by two trusted servants, she would visit the homes of the poor and the persecuted, offering her assistance. Her faith was such that she was found worthy of the gift of performing miracles. When medical science gave up on a patient because it could not heal him, Saint Theophanó restored him to health. In spite of all the bitterness she had experienced in her life, Saint Theophanó could still sing praises to the Lord, according to the words of the Prophet King David: "Sing praises to the Lord, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises" (Psalm 46/47:6).

Saint Theophanó reposed circa 893-894. Even before her death, her husband started to build a church, intending to dedicate it to Theophanó, but she forbade him to do so. It was Emperor Leo who decreed that the Sunday after Pentecost be dedicated to All Saints. Believing his wife to be one of the righteous, he knew that she would also be honored whenever the Feast of All Saints was celebrated.

The incorrupt relics of Saint Theophanó are preserved in the Patriarchal Church of Saint George, at the Phanar in Constantinople. A particle from her relics is in Dionysiou Monastery on Mount Athos.

Source: Orthoodox Church in America_OCA

HEBREWS 11:8,11:16

8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 11 By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude-innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore. 13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. 15 And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

MARK 9:33-41

33 Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, "What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?" 34 But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. 35 And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all." 36 Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, 37 Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me. 38 Now John answered Him, saying, "Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us." 39 But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. 40 For he who is not against us is on our side. 41 For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

27th July >> Mass Readings (Except USA)

Saturday, Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time 

or

Saturday memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

Saturday, Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time 

(Liturgical Colour: Green. Year: B(II))

First Reading Jeremiah 7:1-11 Reform your behaviour and I will stay here with you, says the Lord.

The word that was addressed to Jeremiah by the Lord: ‘Go and stand at the gate of the Temple of the Lord and there proclaim this message. Say, “Listen to the word of the Lord, all you men of Judah who come in by these gates to worship the Lord. The Lord Sabaoth, the God of Israel, says this: Amend your behaviour and your actions and I will stay with you here in this place. Put no trust in delusive words like these: This is the sanctuary of the Lord, the sanctuary of the Lord, the sanctuary of the Lord! But if you do amend your behaviour and your actions, if you treat each other fairly, if you do not exploit the stranger, the orphan and the widow (if you do not shed innocent blood in this place), and if you do not follow alien gods, to your own ruin, then here in this place I will stay with you, in the land that long ago I gave to your fathers for ever. Yet here you are, trusting in delusive words, to no purpose! Steal, would you, murder, commit adultery, perjure yourselves, burn incense to Baal, follow alien gods that you do not know? – and then come presenting yourselves in this Temple that bears my name, saying: Now we are safe – safe to go on committing all these abominations! Do you take this Temple that bears my name for a robbers’ den? I, at any rate, am not blind – it is the Lord who speaks.”’

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 83(84):3-6,8,11

R/ How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.

My soul is longing and yearning, is yearning for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my soul ring out their joy to God, the living God.

R/ How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.

The sparrow herself finds a home and the swallow a nest for her brood; she lays her young by your altars, Lord of hosts, my king and my God.

R/ How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.

They are happy, who dwell in your house, for ever singing your praise. They walk with ever-growing strength, they will see the God of gods in Zion.

R/ How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.

One day within your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. The threshold of the house of God I prefer to the dwellings of the wicked.

R/ How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.

Gospel Acclamation Hebrews 4:12

Alleluia, alleluia! The word of God is something alive and active: it can judge secret emotions and thoughts. Alleluia!

Or: James 1:21

Alleluia, alleluia! Accept and submit to the word which has been planted in you and can save your souls. Alleluia!

Gospel Matthew 13:24-30 Let them both grow till the harvest.

Jesus put another parable before the crowds: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everybody was asleep his enemy came, sowed darnel all among the wheat, and made off. When the new wheat sprouted and ripened, the darnel appeared as well. The owner’s servants went to him and said, “Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? If so, where does the darnel come from?” “Some enemy has done this” he answered. And the servants said, “Do you want us to go and weed it out?” But he said, “No, because when you weed out the darnel you might pull up the wheat with it. Let them both grow till the harvest; and at harvest time I shall say to the reapers: First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burnt, then gather the wheat into my barn.”’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

--------------------------------

Saturday memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary 

(Liturgical Colour: White. Year: B(II))

(Readings for the memorial)

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Saturday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

Either:

First Reading Genesis 3:9-15,20 The mother of all those who live.

After Adam had eaten of the tree the Lord God called to him. ‘Where are you?’ he asked. ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden;’ he replied ‘I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.’ ‘Who told you that you were naked?’ he asked ‘Have you been eating of the tree I forbade you to eat?’ The man replied, ‘It was the woman you put with me; she gave me the fruit, and I ate it.’ Then the Lord God asked the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ The woman replied, ‘The serpent tempted me and I ate.’ Then the Lord God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this,

‘Be accursed beyond all cattle, all wild beasts. You shall crawl on your belly and eat dust every day of your life. I will make you enemies of each other: you and the woman, your offspring and her offspring. It will crush your head and you will strike its heel.’

The man named his wife ‘Eve’ because she was the mother of all those who live.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

OR: --------

First reading Genesis 12:1-7 All the tribes of the earth shall bless themselves by you

The Lord said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your family and your father’s house, for the land I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name so famous that it will be used as a blessing.

‘I will bless those who bless you: I will curse those who slight you. All the tribes of the earth shall bless themselves by you.’

So Abram went as the Lord told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had amassed and the people they had acquired in Haran. They set off for the land of Canaan, and arrived there. Abram passed through the land as far as Shechem’s holy place, the Oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. The Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘It is to your descendants that I will give this land.’ So Abram built there an altar for the Lord who had appeared to him.

OR: --------

First reading 2 Samuel 7:1-5,8-11,16 The Lord will make you great; the Lord will make you a House

Once David had settled into his house and the Lord had given him rest from all the enemies surrounding him, the king said to the prophet Nathan, ‘Look, I am living in a house of cedar while the ark of God dwells in a tent.’ Nathan said to the king, ‘Go and do all that is in your mind, for the Lord is with you.’ But that very night the word of the Lord came to Nathan: ‘Go and tell my servant David, “Thus the Lord speaks: Are you the man to build me a house to dwell in? I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be leader of my people Israel; I have been with you on all your expeditions; I have cut off all your enemies before you. I will give you fame as great as the fame of the greatest on earth. I will provide a place for my people Israel; I will plant them there and they shall dwell in that place and never be disturbed again; nor shall the wicked continue to oppress them as they did, in the days when I appointed judges over my people Israel; I will give them rest from all their enemies. The Lord will make you great; the Lord will make you a House. Your House and your sovereignty will always stand secure before me and your throne be established for ever.”’

OR: --------

First reading 1 Chronicles 15:3-4,15-16,16:1-2 They brought in the ark of God and put it inside the tent that David had pitched for it

David gathered all Israel together to bring the ark of God up to the place he had prepared for it. David called together the sons of Aaron and the sons of Levi. And the Levites carried the ark of God with the shafts on their shoulders, as Moses had ordered in accordance with the word of the Lord. David then told the heads of the Levites to assign duties for their kinsmen as cantors, with their various instruments of music, harps and lyres and cymbals, to play joyful tunes. They brought the ark of God in and put it inside the tent that David had pitched for it; and they offered holocausts before God, and communion sacrifices. And when David had finished offering holocausts and communion sacrifices, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord.

OR: --------

First reading Proverbs 8:22-31 Before the earth came into being, Wisdom was born

The Wisdom of God cries aloud:

The Lord created me when his purpose first unfolded, before the oldest of his works. From everlasting I was firmly set, from the beginning, before earth came into being. The deep was not, when I was born, there were no springs to gush with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills, I came to birth; before he made the earth, the countryside, or the first grains of the world’s dust. When he fixed the heavens firm, I was there, when he drew a ring on the surface of the deep, when he thickened the clouds above, when he fixed fast the springs of the deep, when he assigned the sea its boundaries – and the waters will not invade the shore – when he laid down the foundations of the earth, I was by his side, a master craftsman, delighting him day after day, ever at play in his presence, at play everywhere in his world, delighting to be with the sons of men.

OR: --------

First reading Ecclesiasticus 24:1-4,8-12,18-21 From eternity, in the beginning, God created wisdom

Wisdom speaks her own praises, in the midst of her people she glories in herself. She opens her mouth in the assembly of the Most High, she glories in herself in the presence of the Mighty One: ‘I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, and I covered the earth like a mist. I had my tent in the heights, and my throne in a pillar of cloud. Then the creator of all things instructed me, and he who created me fixed a place for my tent. He said, “Pitch your tent in Jacob, make Israel your inheritance.” From eternity, in the beginning, he created me, and for eternity I shall remain. I ministered before him in the holy tabernacle, and thus was I established on Zion. In the beloved city he has given me rest, and in Jerusalem I wield my authority. I have taken root in a privileged people, in the Lord’s property, in his inheritance. Approach me, you who desire me, and take your fill of my fruits, for memories of me are sweeter than honey, inheriting me is sweeter than the honeycomb. They who eat me will hunger for more, they who drink me will thirst for more. Whoever listens to me will never have to blush, whoever acts as I dictate will never sin.’

OR: --------

First reading Isaiah 7:10-14,8:10 The maiden is with child

The Lord spoke to Ahaz and said, ‘Ask the Lord your God for a sign for yourself coming either from the depths of Sheol or from the heights above.’ ‘No,’ Ahaz answered ‘I will not put the Lord to the test.’ Then Isaiah said:

‘Listen now, House of David: are you not satisfied with trying the patience of men without trying the patience of my God, too? The Lord himself, therefore, will give you a sign. It is this: the maiden is with child and will soon give birth to a son whom she will call Immanuel, a name which means “God-is-with-us.”’

OR: --------

First reading Isaiah 9:1-6 A Son is given to us

The people that walked in darkness has seen a great light; on those who live in a land of deep shadow a light has shone. You have made their gladness greater, you have made their joy increase; they rejoice in your presence as men rejoice at harvest time, as men are happy when they are dividing the spoils.

For the yoke that was weighing on him, the bar across his shoulders, the rod of his oppressor, these you break as on the day of Midian.

For all the footgear of battle, every cloak rolled in blood, is burnt, and consumed by fire.

For there is a child born for us, a son given to us and dominion is laid on his shoulders; and this is the name they give him: Wonder-Counsellor, Mighty-God, Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace.

OR: --------

First reading Isaiah 61:9-11 I exult for joy in the Lord

Their race will be famous throughout the nations, their descendants throughout the peoples. All who see them will admit that they are a race whom the Lord has blessed.

‘I exult for joy in the Lord, my soul rejoices in my God, for he has clothed me in the garments of salvation, he has wrapped me in the cloak of integrity, like a bridegroom wearing his wreath, like a bride adorned in her jewels.

‘For as the earth makes fresh things grow, as a garden makes seeds spring up, so will the Lord make both integrity and praise spring up in the sight of the nations.’

OR: --------

First reading Micah 5:1-4 He will stand and feed his flock with the power of the Lord

The Lord says this:

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, the least of the clans of Judah, out of you will be born for me the one who is to rule over Israel; his origin goes back to the distant past, to the days of old. The Lord is therefore going to abandon them till the time when she who is to give birth gives birth. Then the remnant of his brothers will come back to the sons of Israel. He will stand and feed his flock with the power of the Lord, with the majesty of the name of his God. They will live secure, for from then on he will extend his power to the ends of the land. He himself will be peace.

OR: --------

First reading Zechariah 2:14-17 'I am coming', says the Lord

Sing, rejoice, daughter of Zion; for I am coming to dwell in the middle of you – it is the Lord who speaks. Many nations will join the Lord, on that day; they will become his people. But he will remain among you, and you will know that the Lord of Hosts has sent me to you. But the Lord will hold Judah as his portion in the Holy Land, and again make Jerusalem his very own. Let all mankind be silent before the Lord! For he is awaking and is coming from his holy dwelling.

Responsorial Psalm 1 Samuel 2:1,4-8

My heart exults in the Lord my Saviour.

My heart exults in the Lord. I find my strength in my God; my mouth laughs at my enemies as I rejoice in your saving help.

My heart exults in the Lord my Saviour.

The bows of the mighty are broken, but the weak are clothed with strength. Those with plenty must labour for bread, but the hungry need work no more. The childless wife has children now but the fruitful wife bears no more.

My heart exults in the Lord my Saviour.

It is the Lord who gives life and death, he brings men to the grave and back; it is the Lord who gives poverty and riches. He brings men low and raises them on high.

My heart exults in the Lord my Saviour.

He lifts up the lowly from the dust, from the dungheap he raises the poor to set him in the company of princes to give him a glorious throne. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, on them he has set the world.

My heart exults in the Lord my Saviour.

Gospel Acclamation cf.Lk1:28

Alleluia, alleluia! Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee! Blessed art thou among women. Alleluia!

Or: cf.Lk1:45

Alleluia, alleluia! Blessed is the Virgin Mary, who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled. Alleluia!

Or: cf.Lk2:19

Alleluia, alleluia! Blessed is the Virgin Mary, who treasured the word of God and pondered it in her heart. Alleluia!

Or: Lk11:28

Alleluia, alleluia! Happy are those who hear the word of God and keep it. Alleluia!

Or:

Alleluia, alleluia! Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary, and most worthy of all praise, for the sun of justice, Christ our God, was born of you. Alleluia!

Or:

Alleluia, alleluia! Happy is the Virgin Mary, who, without dying, won the palm of martyrdom beneath the cross of the Lord. Alleluia!

Gospel Matthew 1:1-16,18-23 The ancestry and conception of Jesus Christ.

A genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham:

Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah, Tamar being their mother, Perez was the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon was the father of Boaz, Rahab being his mother, Boaz was the father of Obed, Ruth being his mother, Obed was the father of Jesse; and Jesse was the father of King David.

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Azariah, Azariah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah; and Josiah was the father of Jechoniah and his brothers. Then the deportation to Babylon took place.

After the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob; and Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary; of her was born Jesus who is called Christ.

This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph; being a man of honour and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.’ Now all this took place to fulfil the words spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Emmanuel,

a name which means ‘God-is-with-us.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[jdgo51]

God Sees You

Today's inspiration comes from:

When Grief Goes Deep

by Timothy Beals

When I was fifteen, my granddad was hospitalized. When I went to visit him, he was screaming, and my mom wouldn’t let me go into his room. I sat in the hall and listened as he cried out in desperation. I heard every word.

“Jesus, dear Jesus. I want to come home. Jesus, please release me from this body. I want to come home, dear Jesus.”

I listened to those words echo down the hall over and over. I now realize that my granddad had the same desire as Paul “to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far” (Philippians 1:23). Grandpa had been paralyzed and had suffered for years. He was a man of faith who believed God was with him.

I am reminded of Hagar, who fled from Sarai into the desert. My granddad must have felt as if he had been left in the desert. When Hagar was in the desert, the angel of the Lord told her, 

Go back to your mistress and submit to her. — Genesis 16:9

The angel promised Hagar that her descendants would be “too numerous to count” (Genesis 16:10). After Hagar’s encounter with the angel, she said, 

You are the God who sees me. — Genesis 16:13

In our grief, we can more clearly see God because He meets us in the desert to provide guidance and comfort.

When we are grieving, we may feel like we are in the desert. Yet it is when we are there that we can see God clearly. Hagar realized that while she was in the desert. She said, “I have now seen the One who sees me” (Genesis 16:13). 

In our grief, we can more clearly see God because He meets us in the desert to provide guidance and comfort.

God does not abandon us. While our family and friends may abandon us, God stays with us every step of the way. In John 14:18, Jesus promised, 

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

Although we may not feel like God is with us, we have to remember that 

faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. — Hebrews 11:1

When we are grieving and our hearts are crying out for comfort, God is there. He understands what we are experiencing. God comforts us (see 2 Corinthians 1:2–4). When we turn to God and pour out our hearts in grief, God reaches out and provides comfort to us — even when our friends and family cannot understand our heartache. 

Prayer provides an avenue for us to open our hearts to God.

God sees you. He’s listening. Even when you can’t find the words, He hears you.

God, I feel so alone. I don’t know how I can cope. Please comfort me and help me know that You see me and love me. Amen.

~by Beth Robinson

Excerpted with permission from When Grief Goes Deep: Where Healing Begins, edited by Timothy J. Beals, copyright Timothy J. Beals.

[cfaugust]

❛❛   susan bones .  ❜❜   ― 🦡 ― loading files…  

BASICS.

full name : susan lucinda bones

name meaning :

susan : hebrew | “lily of the valley”

lucinda : latin | “light”

bones : old norse | “river that runs through a settled valley” & “promontory, headland”

nicknames : sue, suze, suzie

alias : n/a

gender / pronouns : cis woman / she/her

sexuality : pansexual

date of birth : april 24

age : 18+

zodiac : taurus

place of birth : braemar, aberdeenshire, scotland

accent : scottish

languages : english, latin, gaelic

occupation : student/baker/teacher (verse dependent)

species : witch

powers/abilities : witch physiology

APPEARANCE.

faceclaim : abigail cowen

height : 5′7″

eye color : blue

hair color : ginger

dominant hand : right handed

glasses : no

MEDICAL.

mental : adhd, insomnia, depression, anxiety, paranoia, survivor's guilt

physical : n/a

PERSONALITY.

positive traits : empathetic, just, determined

negative traits : resentful, volatile, impulsive

hobbies : singing, crocheting, watching quidditch, baking, dueling, learning new offensive and defensive magic

RELATIONSHIPS.

parents :

malcolm bones; father

isla bones, née mcphail; mother

siblings : n/a

extended family :

amelia bones; paternal aunt, deceased

edgar bones; paternal uncle, deceased

gillian bones, née taylor; aunt via marriage, deceased

duncan bones; eldest cousin, deceased

graham bones; middle cousin, deceased

freya bones; youngest cousin, deceased

kenneth bones; grandfather, deceased

fiona bones, née adair; grandmother, deceased

spouse : verse dependent

adrian pucey; kelseywritesx

children : verse dependent

amelia pucey; daughter via adrian pucey [kelseywritesx]

tba pucey; son via adrian pucey [kelseywritesx]

pets :

echo [flammulated owl]

MAGICAL.

blood status : half-blood

hogwarts house : hufflepuff

wand : pear wood with a unicorn core 12 ½" and quite bendy flexibility

patronus : hedgehog

boggart : lord voldemort

ADDITIONAL INFO.

quick facts :

i play susan in an au where hogwarts letters are received at age 18 instead of 10, making hogwarts years playable without sacrificing my own comfort in not playing minors. because hogwarts threads are fun, and i deserve fun and comfort on my own blog. i think this also allows for further exploration of the darker elements of the source material

can perform nonverbal magic, and is working on learning wandless magic as well

has perfected her felix felicis potion

orphan

early history :

the only child born to isla and malcolm bones, susan was named for her aunt amelia's middle name. a rather powerful and respected family in the wizarding community, it's no shock that they were sought after by death eaters during the first wizarding world war. most of the family wouldn't survive.

first year :

susan bones started her education at hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry the same year as the famous harry potter. she shared a boat with seamus finnigan and hermione granger, and was the third student to be called upon by minerva mcgonagall for the sorting ceremony. there was an indescribable joy at being sorted into hufflepuff, the very house that her parents had shared before falling in love. the house that most of her family had called home while at hogwarts. during her first year, susan would learn all about the basics of magic and spell performance, like her other classmates. she was also present at the end-of-term feast during which gryffindor won the house cup breaking slytherin's seven year winning streak.

second year :

during her second year, susan seemed to develop a crush on the then defence against the dark arts professor, gilderoy lockhart, which caused her to be off-task daydreaming during his lessons. she participated in the duelling club, as a precaution due to the attacks that occurred after the chamber of secrets had been opened. the fact that lockhart oversaw this club was merely an added benefit, as was the discovery of a talent for duelling magic. if only she’d known how much that skill would come in handy in later years.

year two wasn’t all clubs and cute professors. when her friends were all petrified by the unknown creature (now known to be a basilisk) roaming the school, fear seemed hard to shake. for someone who had already faced so much loss, the thought that her friends’ lives were in peril was a hard one to shake. to say that she was filled with a sense of relief when professor sprout and madam pomfrey were able to cure the petrified students would be an understatement.

third year :

idk she was scared of sirius black like everyone else that year. i'll flesh this year out later maybe. maybe not. we'll see.

fourth year :

during susan's fourth year hogwarts held the triwizard tournament and hufflepuff's cedric diggory was one of the triwizard champions. she supported cedric in favor of harry, as he was in her house and her best friends were also strong supporters of him.

harry's death at the end of the triwizard tournament left susan with a lot of questions, though of one thing she was certain. barty crouch jr didn't kill her classmate. no, voldemort was back, and it was only a matter of time before the rest of the wizarding world began to suspect the same.

summer before fifth year :

it was in late june that the death eaters who murdered susan’s uncle edgar and his family escaped from azkaban. news that immediately set the bones family on high alert, and for good reason. mid july saw an attack on the bones household, with susan left the only survivor. she’d credit it to pure luck and her mother’s forethought, if you could even get her to speak on the incident. 

her father’s shout from the kitchen had given enough warning for susan to barricade herself into her bedroom. unfortunately there was already a death eater waiting for the girl. fortunately he hadn’t been expecting her to throw a punch instead of a hex. it was only that split second of shock that allowed her to grab for the portkey her mother had placed on her nightstand only a few weeks earlier. an emergency escape hatch of sorts. and it worked. susan successfully escaped to an alley behind the leaky cauldron. she entered and gave a fake name to tom, the pub’s owner, and asked him to send for amelia bones. it was only when her aunt arrived, having recognized the fake name as a previously agreed upon safety code for her niece, that susan learned that neither of her parents had been so lucky as she’d been. 

the following days saw her settling into a spare bedroom at her aunt’s home, her new home, and struggling to accept her new reality. still weeks later, the grief at her parents’ death feels as fresh as it was standing in the leaky cauldron. she only hopes this school year proves to be the distraction she so desperately craves.

continued biography :

coming soon.

CONNECTIONS. (adoptable affiliated ocs)

tba : details. ➢ 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍 (𝟎/?)

[yhwhrulz]

Worthy Brief - January 10, 2024

Disarm discouragement!

Proverbs 15:23 A man has joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good it is!

A modern parable has been written about the tools of the enemy that I believe we can really learn from.

"Some time ago, an advertisement appeared in which the devil was putting all his tools up for sale. On the day of public inspection, each one of his tools was marked with its selling price: Hatred, Envy, Jealousy, Doubt, Lying, Pride, and so on, were each on the block. Set apart, however, from all the rest of the pile, was a harmless-looking tool, well-worn, but priced very high -- it was discouragement!"

Someone asked the devil, 'why is that one priced so high?' He replied, 'Ah, that one is more useful to me than all the rest. With it I can pry open a man's heart and enter, when I cannot get near him with any other tools. Once inside, I can lead him any way I choose. The tool is very worn because I use it on almost everyone, since few people know it belongs to me.'"

The enemy loves to sow discouragement -- but believers have a tool much more powerful -- encouragement! We can speak a word into the lives of those who desperately need to hear it: to the college student adjusting to his new environment; to the missionary who may feel alone in the harvest field; to the disillusioned newlywed young couple; to the forgotten servants of God who labor in an obscure and difficult ministry; to the orphans and the widows; to all those who need to hear a word in due season!

Pete, we have the power in our lips to rekindle a discouraged soul. Let's inspire one another with words of encouragement! It costs nothing, and reaps an eternal reward…encourage one another daily, as you see the Day draw near. [Hebrews 10:25]

Your family in the Lord with much agape love,

George, Baht Rivka, Obadiah and Elianna (Dallas, TX) (Melbourne, FL)

Editor's Note: During this war, we have been live blogging throughout the day -- sometimes minute by minute on our Telegram channel. - https://t.me/worthywatch/ Be sure to check it out!

Editor's Note: We are planning our Winter Tour so if you would like us to minister at your congregation, home fellowship, or Israel focused event, be sure to let us know ASAP. You can send an email to george [ @ ] worthyministries.com for more information.

[nataliesnews]

A dream and nothing good 10.9.2023

I had a rather weird thing happen to me some nights ago. I usually leave Audible on so that the story can send me to sleep. It sent me back to look for this old picture of my first year in Israel when I was on Beit Hashita. I woke up thinking of Sergio, whom I had been dreaming of. I had not thought of him in years. He  had been my boyfriend then at the ulpan.. He is the one with the sombrero and, I think, was from Mexico. I could not think why I should suddenly, after all these years, have dreamed of him. Then, as often happens, I had to go back to the story and listen to the part which I had not heard as   I had fallen asleep while listening. And there suddenly the name Sergio came up in the story. I wonder if one could learn a new language during one's sleep. 

I wonder how a parent whose son or daughter is about to go into the army feels about the following: 

Tel Aviv school board summoned the principal  over rally where 200 students said they won’t enlist

Education Ministry reportedly says it'll weigh revoking high school's license, funding; board barred event from being held, but organizers went ahead anyway

 What about the 1000s of ultra orthodox who are going to be set free by law and will be given the same stipends if not more than the secular youth who will have to endanger themselves in protecting these parasites. And the rest of us will go on working for them and,  if not working, will see part of our pensions going to them. Their rabbis are not called in to be questioned.

Yesterday at Sheikh Jarrah the police were much engaged in charging into the demonstrators so as to grab the Palestinian flag and beat up those holding it. I remind you that there is no law against it. This is the post by the demonstrator who was arrested. You can see the policeman showing how well he has learned from the murderers in America. Also how he has to be pulled off his prey

"Thanks to policeman Idan Luzon who knocked me down, pinned me to the floor with a knee on my chest and beat me, while two people who claimed to be policemen arrested Eran (right). They did not identify themselves. We demanded that they identify themselves and told them that until they show a policeman's ID, they are not policemen for us. The punishment for our insolence is beatings and arrest. Policeman Luzon had to be taken off me by force, in the picture you can see his station commander taking him off me. Shabbat Shalom to everyone except the Israel Police (Photo: Tzipi Menashe) " Printed on facebook.

This is a sign at one of the settlements.   "WARNING.   This road leads to the settlement of Bat Ayan.It is under Jewish control. It is dangerous to their lives to enter. Sorry Muhammad."

In other words like in Germany ....no dogs and Jews allowed.

The signs underneath were held by people at the demonstration in support of the new laws. They claim that Yigal Amir was right. Kahana was right. Amiram ben Oriel was right. Baruch Goldstein was right.

 They were all murderers. The people holding the signs are accomplices to murder.

I am sure you know who Amir was.

.

Ben oriel:   The Duma village arson attack refers to the firebombing of a Palestinian family home[1] in late July 2015 in the village of Duma, which resulted in the death of three people; 18-month-old Ali Dawabsheh was burned alive in the fire, while both his parents died from their injuries within weeks. One child escaped. An orphan.

Baruch Kopel Goldstein (Hebrew: ברוך קופל גולדשטיין; born Benjamin Carl Goldstein;[2] December 9, 1956 – February 25, 1994) was an Israeli-American mass murderer, religious extremist, and physician who perpetrated the 1994 terrorist attack on a mosque attended by Palestinians, known as the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre in Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.[3][4][5] Goldstein was a supporter of the Kach, a religious Zionist party that the United States, the European Union and other countries designate as a terrorist organization

Kach is Kahana   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meir_Kahane#Election_to_Knesset

And where women are concerned...Also female soldiers were ordered not to sing in the kitchen as it was bothering religious soldiers. And this

-In latest case of alleged harassment, woman says bus driver told her ‘You’re naked’

22-year-old says Dan driver repeated his comments twice when she boarded with a sleeveless shirt; company says it's investigating complaint

And to show you in what direction Israel is going ......yesterday one of our women was arrested and handcuffed in Tel Aviv for photographing accomplices to the police....she was fingerprinted and kept for hours until eventually released. Now she has been accused of attacking one of the policemen.

And a man arrested on  Saturday morning for putting up placards.

Not a good beginning to the week and worse will follow.

[readingbooksinisrael]

[image id: @autijacen replied: Which fantasy books based in Judaism/with Jewish characters do you recommend op? I'd like to expand and the concept sounds interesting. end image id]

Great question, actually!

The books I was thinking of while writing this post were:

-The Mangoverse series/Shira Glassman (@ shiraglassman). I actually wouldn’t recommend this unless you really want to read a fantasy with a Jewish setting because the first book isn’t that good. The later books get better though!

She also has contemporary romance books I haven’t read yet. Knit One, Girl Two is especially popular, I believe.

-When the Angels Left the Old Country/Sacha Lamb (@kuttithevangu). So good! An angel and a sheyd (a demon) learn Tora together. Then a girl from their shtetl vanishes on the way to America, and they set out to find her.

-Spinning Silver/Naomi Novik. One of my favorite books ever (and, in general, everything I’ve read by her has been amazing). The daughter of a poor, too kind moneylender takes over the business. When she boasts too near to a magical road an Ice King demands she keeps turning larger and larger amounts of silver into gold. (It’s a very loose retelling of Rumplestiltskin.)

Other:

-Playing with Matches/Suri Rosen. Not my favorite in general, but it is so good for just having a religious Jewish character and taking place in a religious Jewish setting and it just being that way, no comment! It’s about a girl who gets expelled from school. To redeem herself she decides to find a match for her older sister.

-The Safe Place/Tehila Peterseil. Another one that just so happens to be religious Jewish, but also one of my favorite books of all time. It follows a young girl who has an undiagnosed learning disability, and its made me cry.

-The Star and the Sword/Pamela Melnikoff The first chapter book I ever found that was Jewish and so so good. It takes place during the reign of Prince John. Two siblings’ home is massacred and they set out across Sherwood Forest to reach their uncle. Of course, they meet Robin Hood.

-Dave at Night/Gail Carson Levine. This one is a little dear to my heart perhaps because I have similar family history. It follows a young boy in the 1920s who is orphaned and put into the Hebrew Orphanage. He sneaks out at night to jazz parties in Harlem.

-The Golem and the Jinni/Helene Wecker You probably heard this, but I love the way it looks at both the religious rabbi and his non-religious nephew. If you haven’t heard of it, it takes place in turn-of-the-century New York. It follows a golem, who is freed when her owner dies on the ship on the way to America, and needs to figure out how to evade suspicion when she is very much not a human; and a jinni, who is accidentally freed from a lamp after thousands of years in a Syrian community.

Books well-known by Jews, but not so much by non-Jews:

-All-of-a-Kind Family series/Sydney Taylor Based on the author’s memories of growing up with lots of sisters in the 1920s Lower East Side. If you are at all into period children’s books read this.

-K’ton’ton: The Jewish Tom Thumb/Sadie Rose Weilerstein Another older book. What the title says. It follows K’ton’ton through a lot of holidays so you get some regular tiny-person adventures (getting lost in cake batter) and some very Jewish ones (riding the top of a lulav (a palm branch) in shul (synagogue).

Bonus:

-How Mirka Caught a Fish/Barry Deutsch This is a bonus because it’s the third in a series I wasn’t able to read the first in :( and I definitely felt that I was missing some context. But it’s another one that follows a religious Jew, this time with magic! It deals with family relationships and all that other good middle grade graphic novels stuff.

I'm going to be angry for a sec.

I'm so tired of every time a book comes out that's mainly or all Jewish characters people take down stars on goodreads for being that way, or a fantasy book with Judaism in it somehow comes out and people say that there's no point to it, and every time I find myself trying to explain to people who aren't interested in listening so I'm done explaining.

If you find yourself asking these questions ask instead:

-Why don't I complain when there aren't any Jewish characters at all?

-Why don't I say there's no point to it when a fantasy world is inspired by Christianity (giving gifts on a winter holiday, religious events where people mainly listen to one preacher, stuff like that)?

[dailyaudiobible]

6/9/2023 DAB Transcript

1 Kings 5:1-6:38, Acts 7:1-29, Psalms 127:1-5, Proverbs 16:28-30

Today is the ninth day of June, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It is great to be here with you today, as we gather yet again around the Global Campfire together, for a reason. We gather to take the next step forward together, and I'm referring to the next step forward in the Bible, since we’re here at the Daily Audio Bible. And that next step leads us back into the book of First Kings, where we are understanding Solomon, King Solomon's reign. Today, First Kings, chapters 5 and 6.

Commentary:

Okay, so, we have a couple of things going on, both in Old and New Testaments, so that we stay in the stories as were moving through them. So, in First Kings, we are learning of King Solomon and his reign, and his governance and how he established things and how he put rulers under him and how he had peace on every side. And he has decided now, to build the temple of God, something his father David and wanted to do, but was prohibited from doing. And so, David stored up all kinds of resources in preparation for the building of the temple. And then Solomon got to work. Seven years later, seven years later the temple is completed. And now there is this permanent home. This permanent representation of God's presence dwelling among His people. So, this is the first permanent temple built, God had been moving around in the tabernacle, the portable tabernacle, moving around with the children of Israel and it had made its home for centuries in Shiloh. But now, there is this permanent structure in Jerusalem, the temple of the Most High God, giving the people an identity. And this is the first temple built to the Lord God in Jerusalem. And so, now, when we, when we look back biblically or we look back historically, this is known as Solomon's Temple or the first temple. Later, during the time of our Savior, the Lord Jesus, He also visited the temple, it’s just a different temple. It's known as the Herodian Temple or the second Temple, or the second temple period. And before we finish the books of Kings, we’ll understand why there needed to be a second temple constructed and that it came quite a bit later. But for now, there's a brand-new Temple in Jerusalem, a temple to the Most High God, and the centerpiece of Solomon's construction.

And then, we flip over into the Book of Acts and we’re hearing a story being told, that sounds like…like it's a review of everything that we've read since we began the Bible, going all the way back to the book of Genesis, and meeting up with Abraham. And what we’re reading is actually testimony from somebody who’s defending themselves. So, we met this man named Stephen yesterday, we learned about the diaconate and people helping the orphans and the widows and just the way that things were beginning to become structured and spread out, as the early church grew. And Stephen was one of these helpers, but he was arrested, and he’s been brought before the High Council and they are charging him with blasphemy. And so, in his own defense he is telling the Hebrew story and in telling the story he is establishing himself as a Hebrew person who actually knows the story. Who actually knows where they came from. So, he is retelling this to the High Council so that they know he has a pedigree and that he is a Jew and that he understands the Hebrew customs and the Hebrew rituals and the Hebrew law. And he's telling this to establish his heritage and defense that he is in no way trying to abolish Moses’ teachings and that he is in no way trying to commit blasphemy. He knows who the Lord God is, he knows who he is, he knows who the people are. And so, as we listen to Stephen’s testimony in his own defense, we have this opportunity to review some of the major stories that we, that we encountered as we’ve navigated our way until this very day, since the beginning of the year. And so, let's enjoy Stephen’s testimony over these days.

And then lastly, the Psalms, Psalm 127. One of my favorite scriptures, something that I refer back to in my life often. Unless the Lord builds the house, the work of the builders, or the laborers is in vain. Unless the Lord protects the city, guarding it isn’t going to do any good. I mean, I’m kind of a risk-averse person. I’m looking for the problems out in front of me and there's a nasty little trick in all of that, and that is to get control over things so that you're in control over things, so that you know what's coming and what's not coming. Only, I have found that, no matter how well-prepared a person might be, there’s no way to know everything that a day may bring, or a week or month or a year, may bring. And so, returning back to Psalms 127 and saying, unless the Lord builds the house, the work is wasted. There’s something really comforting in there, but something really reassuring in there and that's because of the pace of the world. Like we live behind right, like we live literally feeling like if we can get through this day well, we’re going to be behind, and we’ll never catch up. And so, we’re running, running, running, running, running, and then we run right into this Psalm that tells us, unless the Lord is building this, this is a waste of time. If God isn't included in what we’re doing, if God, through His Holy Spirit, isn't guiding what we’re doing, then we’re driving ourselves in, into insanity because our culture is telling us to go faster. But unless the Lord builds the house, going faster is in vain. Unless the Lord is the foundation of the plans and the motivations of our lives, we’re wasting our time. And so, often when we’re told something like that in the Scriptures, we can go yeah, okay, I see that, I get that inside, I get that truth. But the converse is true, if the Lord is building the house, if we are collaborating with God in our lives, then nothing is wasted and we will have rest, shalom, the way things are supposed to be. And so, let’s just examine our lives today, in light of Psalm 127. And invite the Holy Spirit to help us determine which, which path we’re walking.

Prayer:

And so, Holy Spirit, come into that we ask You. We confess life can be so fast with obligations so, so wide, we’re so overcommitted to so many things that we can lose ourselves, and we can lose even the direction that we’re going in. And then we run into Psalm 127 and are reminded yet again, rest is something that You want us to have. Peace is how we were created to live, shalom, how things are supposed to be, is how things are supposed to be. And we try to arrange for that using our own strength, only to find out that we’re laboring in vain. And so, come, Holy Spirit, and show us where we’re wasting our time and energy. Where we’re wasting our lives. We ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base and that is where to find out what's going on around here. And so, check that out. You can do all of the checking out within the Daily Audio Bible app, as well. Which you can download free from the App Store that works with your device. Check out the Daily Audio Bible Shop. I’ve been mentioning this week, it's ballcap season so, we’ve put all the snapback Daily Audio Bible hats, including the…the limited-edition camo one, on sale this week. So, that’s just today and tomorrow. So, grab yourself a ballcap for the summer festivities out in front of us. You can see those and check them out in the Daily Audio Bible Shop in the Lifestyle Section.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible. Thank you, humbly, especially thank you, humbly, here in the summertime. We wouldn't be here if we weren't in this together and so, thank you. There is a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or the mailing address is P.O. Box 1996 Springhill, Tennessee 37174.

And as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app, that's the little red button up at the top or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that's it for today, I'm Brian, I love you and I'll be waiting for you here, tomorrow.

Prayer and Encouragements:

Hello, this is Kristen, aka Christ in Me. While listening to the DAB community prayer this week, my grief began to surface. This was an old grief, but it was still there, as grief is something that we deal with for the rest of our lives. This grief was for my mother. I lost her when I was 14, a very difficult time in a girl’s life, to lose a mother. I experience isolation and depression like I never had before. I felt lost and alone. This affected me for the rest of my life. I had lost the most important person in my life. She was an amazing, wonderful woman. I could not have been blessed with a better mother than the one that I have. I have been listening and hearing prayers, due to loss, losses in families. But the common thread is there are children in these families who are experiencing the loss of a mother. Father, I lift up these children to You. I pray Your wings around them to comfort them. I pray they seek You in this difficult time. I pray the enemy would not have a hold on them. Lord, keep them on a path to You. I pray their families would pull them close and remember to love on them and be there for them. I pray for them in Jesus mighty name. Amen.

Hello, Daily Audio Bible. I am Debra from Culling, Texas. I just came to tell you that every morning, I read a story from the Bible. And I am here to encourage you to keep reading the Bible or Daily Audio Bible if that is more easier for you. God is good. He is always moving and keeps His promises no matter what you’re going through, God will help and guide you. Ask God for guidance and He will guide you. There is surely a future hope for you and your hope will not be cut off. Keep your faith and trust in God, for He is faithful through all things. Don’t lose hope. When you are down to nothing, God is up to something.

I come to you DAB, this Carpi Diem Driver from Maryland. I come to you seeking your prayers and we all deal with fear and chains that hold us back from being the best that we can possibly be. I ask the community to come together to break these chains of fear. Break the chain for God of thought of anxiety. Break those chains and heal that knot in our stomach, those stones, Lord God. Heal those stones, Lord God. Allow us to face the fear and to do it anyway, know that You are with us. Knowing, Lord God, that You are there to guide us, to give us wisdom, to give us the clarity, Lord God. To allow us to see the truth of these fears and the truth of these fears is they are lies that the enemy wants us to believe about Your love. But Your love can conquer all fear. Allow that love to penetrate our hearts, our minds and our souls and our spirits, allowing us to when we feel those fears, to give them to You. We allow these fears to be laid at Your feet and allow Your spirit, Lord God, to give us the wisdom and clarity to face these fears and to do it anyway, because we know that You are with us every step of the way. Release the anxiety, release the depression, release that spirit that holds us back from allowing us to be the blessing to this world. To be the light in this world. To be the best that we can possibly be because of You. Because we are child’s of the Most High God.

Hello, I’m returning a call. I called way back in December, around the holidays. My name was God is With Me. And it’s June. And I just wanted to give a good update. I was the one that called, and I heard prayers requests for me, and I thank you so much. I was the one that called about my son that wanted to take his life. And he was 18 years old, 17 at the time when he was saying it, but he turned 18 in January. And he’s in the 12th grade and he is doing so much better. And I remember I’ve heard somebody call and say they had a someone, their daughter was in that same predicament. My son told me something that happened to him 10 years ago when he was 7. And it just made him spiral in the years. And tomorrow he is graduating. And he is so much better. He is doing so much better. Please continue to pray for me and my family. This was a journey I didn’t think we were gonna get through 12th grade. And he did well in his school, he’s going to college in the fall. And I just pray for continuing prayer for me, and I just pray for those. I listen every day. And I’m so thankful that I have an outlet for someone to hear my voice and my family and pray for us also. I am, I heard the man call about his son that was 24 that took his life. You are in my prayers. I know how hard; I don’t know but I can just imagine how difficult that is. Please pray for our teens and young adults in this world we live in, it’s so hard. And it was so hard for me.

First time caller to the prayer line. I want to thank the Daily Audio Bible for offering this opportunity and my dad for introducing me to Daily Audio Bible. I wanted to let the woman know who was asking for prayer who’s been hit by a vehicle, had a prosthetic eye placed, had her tibia/fibia shattered. Had family members or that had been hit with dementia. That you’re being prayed for, and God is hearing your prayers. And you’re loved. I’m calling today because I, myself, am a nurse and I had surgery earlier this year. And I’m not currently on leave. If I could be prayed for, I would greatly appreciate it. And also, I’m 40 years old, desperately looking for love still, for a Godly man to enter my life, wanting children. I have to thank Brian for his un-favoring, unwavering faith in the Lord for the last 18 and a half years. I’m not consistent every day but this is consistent in my drive to work of over an hour to the hospital and through COVID it helped me stay faithful in believing in what I was doing to help patients on my way to work. Thank you, Brian and my faith, in the Lord. I appreciate you and I thank you for what you do to serve our community. God bless. Bye Bye.

[jesusismyredeemer]

Jesus: The God Who Knows Your Name

by Max Lucado

Carinette has a spark in her. A look. A bounce in her step. A light in her eyes. She is one of fifty-seven children in the Haitian orphanage: all dark skinned, bright eyed, curly haired, Creole speaking, and fun loving. Each one is precious. But this seven-year-old stands out from the others. Not as a result of special treatment. She eats the same rice and beans as the others eat and plays on the same grassless playground. She sleeps beneath the same tin roof as the other girls, hearing the nearly nightly pound of rain. Her routine is identical to the other children’s. Yet she is different.

The reason? Ask her. Ask Carinette about the visitors who traveled from a faraway world just to see her. They were looking for a girl, a little girl, a girl just like her. They knew her name. They knew her favorite song. They knew that she loves to look at books and jump rope. And, in a moment that changed her forever, they invited her to live with them.

“They are coming for me,” she will tell you.

Ask to see the pictures of her soon-to-be home; she’ll show them to you. Fail to ask; she’ll offer to show you. Her adoptive parents brought her pictures, a teddy bear, granola bars, and cookies. She shared the goodies with her friends and asked the director to guard her bear, but she keeps the pictures.

They remind her of the father who knows her. They remind her of the home that awaits her. The photographs convince her to believe the incredible: somebody knows her name and has promised to take her home.

As a result Carinette is different. She still lives in the same orphanage, plays on the same playground, eats in the same cafeteria. But her world changed the day she learned that someone faraway knows her name and is coming for her.

Might you be willing to believe the same?

Are you open to the idea of a Father, a heavenly Father, who knows you? A soon-to-be home that awaits you? Would you consider this life-changing idea:

the almighty and all-knowing God has set His affection on you. Every detail about you He knows. Your interests, your hang-ups. Your fears and failures. He knows you.

About His children God says,

The Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. — 1 Chronicles 28:9

He regards you as “the apple of his eye” (Zechariah 2:8). He can “sympathize with our weaknesses” (Hebrews 4:15 NKJV). “When my spirit was overwhelmed within me…” King David wrote, “You knew my path” (Psalm 142:3 NKJV).

“He knows the way that I take,” declared Job (Job 23:10 NKJV). Do you know this God who knows you?

He knows your name. And He can’t wait to get you home.

I came to know the story of the Cap-Haïtien orphan, not by traveling to Haiti, but by standing in the church foyer. I’m a pastor. Like other pastors I like to greet people after church services. And like other pastors I am a captive audience for parents and grandparents who want to show off new additions to the family. I’ve held more babies than I can count and looked at more pictures than a photographer. But I can’t recall ever being more surprised than the day Dan wanted to show me a photo of his new daughter.

The girl in the photo smiled a big smile, wore a pink ribbon, and had skin the color of chocolate.

The guy who handed me the photo smiled a big smile, wore cowboy boots and a hat, and had skin the color of Casper the Friendly Ghost.

“Daughter?”

That’s when I heard about the orphanage, the trip, and the decision to expand their family by adding one more face around the table. He scarcely took a breath for the next five minutes, telling me all about her hair, eyes, and favorite color, song, and book. He couldn’t stop talking about her. He was crazy about her.

Might you believe the same about your Father? This is the ever-recurring, soul-lifting message of Heaven. “The Lord delights in you” (Isaiah 62:4 NKJV).

Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. — Isaiah 43:1 NKJV

I have written your name on the palms of My hands. — Isaiah 49:16 NLT

The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy. — Psalm 147:11 NKJV

The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand. — Psalm 37:23-24 NLT

Do such words surprise you? Where did we get this idea of a God who does not care, who is not near? We certainly didn’t get it from Jesus.

Jesus Christ is the perfect picture of God. Just as Carinette had her photos, we have Jesus. Want to know how God feels about the sick? Look at Jesus. What angers God? Look at Jesus. Does God ever give up on people? Does He stand up for people? Find the answer in Jesus.

The Son is the radiance and only expression of the glory of [our awesome] God... and the exact representation and perfect imprint of His [Father’s] essence. — Hebrews 1:3 AMP

The pictures inform Carinette’s thoughts about her home-to-be. She’s not home yet. Within a month she will be, maybe. Two at the most. She knows the day is coming. She knows the hour is imminent. Every opening of the gate makes her heart jump. Any day now her father will appear. He’s coming. He promised he’d be back. He came once to claim her. He’ll come again to carry her.

Till then she lives with a heart headed home.

Shouldn’t we all? Carinette’s situation mirrors ours. Have we not been claimed? Are we not adopted children?

So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when He adopted you as His own children. Now we call Him, ‘Abba, Father’”. — Romans 8:15 NLT

God sought you. He searched you out. Before you knew you needed adopting, He’d already filed the papers.

For God knew His people in advance, and He chose them to become like His Son, so that His Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. — Romans 8:29 NLT

Abandon you to a fatherless world of tin plates and hard bunks? No way. Those privy to God’s family Bible can read your name. He put your name in His book. What’s more, He covered the adoption fees.

God sent Him [Christ] to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that He could adopt us as His very own children. — Galatians 4:5 NLT

We don’t finance our adoption, but we do accept it. Carinette could tell the Johnsons to get lost. But she didn’t. You can tell God to get lost. But you wouldn’t dare, would you?

You are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. — Galatians 3:26 NLT

The moment we accept His offer we go from orphans to heirs:

You are His heirs… — Galatians 3:29 NLT

Heirs! Heirs with a new name. New home. New life.

Heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. — Romans 8:17 NKJV

Heaven knows no stepchildren or grandchildren. You and Christ share the same will. What He inherits, you inherit. You are headed Home.

Oh, but we tend to forget, don’t we? We grow accustomed to hard bunks and crowded classrooms. Too seldom do we peer over the fence into the world to come. And how long since you pictured your future home? Is Peter speaking to us when he urges,

Friends, this world is not your home, so don’t make yourselves cozy in it. — 1 Peter 2:11 The Message

Like Carinette we are adopted but not transported. We have a new family but haven’t met all of them yet. We know our Father’s name, and He has claimed us, but He has yet to come for us.

So here we are. Caught between what is and what will be. No longer orphans but not yet home. What do we do in the meantime? Indeed, it can be just that — a mean time. Time made mean with disease, deceit, death, and debt. How do we live in the meantime? How do we keep our hearts headed Home?

Let us look only to Jesus, the One who began our faith and who makes it perfect. — Hebrews 12:2 NCV

Look to Jesus. Ponder His life. Consider His ways. Meditate on His words. Jesus. Just Jesus.

[magnetothemagnificent]

Hey, this is a bit of an odd question. Thank you for answering of you do!

I’m writing fanfic but I won’t bog you down in the details of that universe and make it generic.

My married couple had a baby through surrogacy. The wife/mother is Jewish and practicing. The husband/father is not. He used his own sperm but they needed to use a donor egg and that person wasn’t Jewish.

The kid is raised in an interfaith family (the mom is much more observant but still Reform, the dad isn’t particularly religious but is proud of his ethnicity.)

The kid decides he wants to go to Hebrew school. He also wants to become a bar mitzvah.

Since the mom is Reform, is he Jewish or would he need to officially convert because the donor egg used wasn’t Jewish?

The holes we dig ourselves into writing!

I'm gonna preface this by saying that I'm not an expert in Reform Jewish standards, but from what I understand, a child is considered Jewish if at least one parent is Jewish and if they are raised in a Jewish household with a strong sense of their Jewish identity.

The donor egg wasn't Jewish, but the child was raised Jewish. It would be a similar situation to adoption.

Here is an excerpt from a responsa by the CCAR (Central Conference of American Rabbis) regarding adoption:

"The first position holds that no formal conversion is required in the case of adoption, and it is not difficult to understand the theoretical basis upon which it rests. Adoption, after all, is simply another way of creating a family, and the ties which bind this family are equivalent to those that exist between parents and their biological children. The Rabbis teach that “one who raises an orphan in his home is considered as though he had begotten that child.”[9] And this Committee has declared that the adopted child “is absolutely and completely a member of the family, a full child of the parents,”[10] who are that child’s parents “in every respect.”[11] If so, then we might well conclude that the legal process of adoption transfers the Jewishness of the parents to the child, in the same way that the biological child of two Jewish parents automatically enjoys Jewish status.

We think, however, that the second position is the more persuasive one: adoption by a Jewish family does not confer Jewish status upon the child of Gentile parents, and a formal conversion is necessary. The legal process of adoption indeed creates a family. Still, that process is an act of the state, of the civil government in whose jurisdiction we happen to reside. To say that “adoption is conversion” is to say that the secular magistrate[12] is empowered to confer Jewish status upon a child, and it is difficult in the extreme to imagine that any of our responsa and religious writings would suggest that we depart so radically from the historical standard of Jewishness. Simply put, we do not believe that the government of state, province or nation is entitled to decide “who is a Jew.”[13] That determination is rather a Jewish concern, one which rests exclusively with the Jewish community. The way that the Jewish community–including our own–confers Jewish status upon a person born of non-Jewish parents is through the process of giyur. Therefore, the child of Gentile parents who is adopted into a Jewish family requires a formal conversion to Judaism, a conversion process that is distinct from the adoption itself."

So, essentially, it's a debate, and it seems to be a case-by-case situation. The two positions are:

-The act of adoption and naming the child is considered enough of a conversion, and thus they are validly Jewish

-Conversion is still necessary

Another excerpt from CCAR responsa regarding a similar situation to yours:

"On the other hand, the Conference and this Committee have also issued statements that suggest the opposite position, namely that an adopted child requires conversion. A 1978 responsum writes that the adopted child’s naming ceremony, performed in the synagogue once the adoption process is completed, “would be considered sufficient ritual conversion” in most Reform synagogues[10]; that is to say, a ritual conversion is necessary, and the ceremony of naming would be a suitable rite for that purpose. In 1984 this Committee reiterated that the adopted child should be named in the synagogue, “with a berit [i.e., circumcision] for a male, and if the family desires, tevilah, [ritual immersion].” The above are defined as “ritual acts” that constitute “the conversion conducted at the time of infancy.”[11] Gates of Mitzvah (1979), the CCAR’s guide to the Jewish life cycle, tells us that “an adopted child should be named in the synagogue and entered into the berit as soon as the initial legal procedures for adoption have been completed.” If the child is not an infant, “the rabbis should be consulted as to the procedure for formal entry into the Jewish community.”[12] Here, too, a ritual of entry into the Jewish community – i.e., a conversion – follows the adoption. Our current Rabbi’s Manual (1988) recommends that all legal adoption procedures be completed “before finalizing any change of [the child’s] religious status,”[13] indicating once more that the legal adoption and the establishment of the child’s Jewishness are two separate processes. Finally, this Committee explicitly urged conversion for adopted children in a 1999 teshuvah.[14]"

And it comes to a similar conclusion, that there are two viewpoints:

-The act of integrating the baby into Jewish life through naming, circumcision, etc, is enough of a conversion

-Full conversion is still necessary.

So, it's very much not something everyone agrees on, and it varies from congregation to congregation and community to community.

Now, as for whether or not the child would be able to go to Hebrew School......many Hebrew Schools, especially non-Orthodox Hebrew Schools, are welcoming to any child of any Jewish background to be able to attend, whether or not they are considered Jewish by halakha. Obviously every Hebrew School is different, but I don't see how there would be a problem for your character to attend Hebrew School. After all, there are families in the process of conversion who are not yet Jewish who need somewhere to send their kids, too.

For the purpose of writing your story, I think you have a lot of flexibility with how you want the character's journey to go, considering that this topic is one that doesn't have a concrete answer yet.

[orthodoxydaily]

SAINTS&READING: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2024

august 21_september 3

APOSTLE THADDEUS OF THE SEVENTY (44)

Saint Thaddeus, Apostle of the Seventy, was by descent a Hebrew, and he was born in the Syrian city of Edessa. The holy Apostle Thaddeus of the Seventy must be distinguished from Saint Jude, also called Thaddeus or Levi (June 19), who was one of the Twelve Apostles.

When he came to Jerusalem for a feastday, he heard the preaching of John the Forerunner. After being baptized by him in the Jordan, he remained in Palestine. He saw the Savior, and became His follower. He was chosen by the Lord to be one of the Seventy Disciples, whom He sent by twos to preach in the cities and places where He intended to visit (Luke. 10: 1).

After the Ascension of the Savior to Heaven, Saint Thaddeus preached the good news in Syria and Mesopotamia. He came preaching the Gospel to Edessa and he converted King Abgar, the people and the pagan priests to Christ. He backed up his preaching with many miracles (about which Abgar wrote to the Assyrian emperor Nerses). He established priests there and built up the Edessa Church.

Prince Abgar wanted to reward Saint Thaddeus with rich gifts, but he refused and went preaching to other cities, converting many pagans to the Christian Faith. He went to the city of Beirut to preach, and he founded a church there. It was in this city that he peacefully died in the year 44. (The place of his death is indicated as Beirut in the Slavonic MENAION, but according to other sources he died in Edessa. According to an ancient Armenian tradition, Saint Thaddeus, after various tortures, was beheaded by the sword on December 21 in the Artaz region in the year 50).

SAINT MARTHA , SCEMANUN OF DIVEYEVO (1829)

Our Venerable Mother Martha (in the world Maria Semenovna Milyukova) was born on February 10, 1810 into a peasant family of the Nizhny Novgorod governorate, Ardatovsky district, in the village of Pozhidovo (now Malinovka). The Milyukov family, who led a righteous and God-pleasing life, was close to Elder Seraphim of Sarov. In addition to Maria, there were two older children - her sister Praskovya Semenovna and her brother Ivan Semenovich.

This village, along with those adjacent to it, were appanages - they did not belong to the lord-landowner, but to the treasury. Its land was divided separately, but it was infertile, because the black earth plots were seized by neighboring landlords. The peasants lived very poorly, from childhood they had to work a great deal in the fields, and to take care of the livestock.

With Saint Seraphim's blessing, Praskovya Semenovna entered the community of Mother Alexandra (in the world Agathia Semenovna Belokopytova), the first founder of Diveyevo Monastery, and a nun of exalted spiritual life.

When Maria was thirteen years old, she and her sister Praskovya came to Father Seraphim for the first time. This occurred on November 21, 1823, the Feast of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple. As Praskovya Semenovna told it, Maria "was attached to me," and so both of them came to Sarov. The great Elder, seeing that the girl Maria was a chosen vessel of God's grace, he did not allow her to return home, but ordered her to remain in the community. Thus, thirteen-year-old Maria Semenovna was numbered with Father Seraphim's chosen orphans, in the community of Matushka Alexandra, of which the Eldress Xenia Mikhailovna Kocheulova was the Superior, whom Father Seraphim called "a pillar of fire from earth to heaven" and a "spiritual rasp" because of her righteous life. The extraordinary, hitherto inconspicuous girl Maria cannot be compared with anyone: she was angelic, a child of God, and from an early age she began to lead an ascetical life. In the severity of her ascetical contest (podvig) she surpassed even the sisters of the community, who were distinguished for the severity of their life, and even surpassed the Superior Xenia Mikhailovna herself. Unceasing prayer was her food, and she would reply only to necessary questions with heavenly meekness. She was almost completely silent, and Father Seraphim loved her with exceptional tenderness, disclosing to her all his heavenly revelations concerning the Monastery's future glory, and other great spiritual mysteries. He ordered her not to speak of these things until that time. She obeyed his instructions, despite the requests and entreaties of the sisters and her relatives. Whenever she returned after seeing Saint Seraphim, she was radiant with inexpressible joy.

Soon afterward, Maria entered the community of the Kazan church. The Queen of Heaven had blessed the creation of a new community next to that one, which is how the construction of the Monastery, which the Mother of God had promised to Mother Alexandra, began.

From 1825, Father Seraphim began going to bless first the sisters, and then the virtuous Superior of the Diveyevo community, Xenia Mikhailovna, who, of course, deeply respected and highly revered Father Seraphim, but she would not agree to change the Rule of her community, which seemed to be too severe, both to Father Seraphim and all the sisters who had been rescued in the community. The number of sisters had increased so much in the community that they needed to enlarge their property, but it was impossible to expand in any direction. Batiushka Seraphim summoned Xenia Mikhailovna and tried to persuade her that it would be easier to replace the severe Sarov Rule, but she wouldn't hear of it.

"Obey me, my joy," Father Seraphim said.

But the uncompromising Eldress finally replied: "No, Batiushka, let it be the old way. We have been content with the Rule which our founder, Father Pakhomios († 1794) has already established for us!"

Then Father Seraphim dismissed the Superior of the Diveyevo community, reassured that what the great Eldress Mother Alexandra had asked him to do no longer weighed on his conscience, or that the time for God's will to be done had not yet come. But on November 25 of that year, on the Feast Day of the holy God-pleasers Clement, the Pope of Rome, and Saint Peter of Alexandria, while he was making his way through the thickets of the forest along the bank of the Sarovka River, and going to his Far Hermitage as usual, Saint Seraphim saw the Mother of God and two Apostles standing behind her: Saint Peter and Saint John the Evangelist. The Queen of Heaven, struck the earth with her staff, so that a spring issued from the ground, a fountain of clear water. She said to him, "Why do you wish to disregard what my servant Agathia, the nun Alexandra, has asked you to do, and to forsake Xenia and her sisters, for this commandment to my servants must not be broken, but strictly observed; for it is by my will that she gave it to you. I will show you another place, also in the village of Diveyevo, and there I will establish this, my promised abode. In remembrance of the promise I gave her, take eight sisters from Xenia’s community, the place of my servant’s repose."

She also told him the names of which girls to take. Two weeks after this vision of the Queen of Heaven, on December 9, 1825, Maria and another sister, came to Saint Seraphim, and Batiushka told them that they should accompany him to his Far Hermitage. Arriving there and going into the dwelling, Father Seraphim gave the sisters two lit wax candles, which they brought with them at his orders, together with oil and breadcrumbs. He told Maria to stand on the right side of the cross hanging on the wall, and Praskovia Stepanovna (that was the name of the other sister) on the left. So they stood for more than an hour with lit candles, and Father Seraphim stood between them, praying all the while. After praying, he stood before the cross and told them to pray as well. Thus, before beginning to establish a new community he prayed mystically with the sisters, who had been designated by the Mother of God for special service to her and to the Monastery.

For four years, Maria struggled, helping Saint Seraphim and the sisters to establish the new community, she stored poles and timbers for the mill which the Mother of God blessed them to build on the site where the new community would be built. She carried bricks for construction of the church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos; she ground flour and fulfilled other obediences, during which she never neglected her heartfelt prayers, "silently lifting up her ardent soul to the Lord."

This wondrous girl was endowed by the Lord with a very rare gift of pure and unceasing prayer. In all things she was always guided by Saint Seraphim himself. As an example of her unconditional obedience, it was said that when her sister Praskovia Semenovna had a question about a certain Sarov monk, Maria was surprised and like an innocent child she asked: "What kind of monks, Parasha, look like a priest?"

Surprised in turn by her sister's question, Praskovya Semenovna replied to her: "After all, you go to Sarov, didn't you see what you were asking about?" – "No, Parashenka," Maria Semenovna said humbly, "because I don't see or know anything; Father Seraphim ordered me never to look at them, and I tie a handkerchief over my face like this, so I can see the road beneath my feet."

That is how the child-ascetic was. She lived in the Monastery for just six years, and then she went peacefully and quietly to the Lord at the age of nineteen.

On August 21,1829, Diveyevo Monastery lost its wondrous young girl of holy life, Maria Semenovna Milyukova, Schema-nun Martha. Having foreseen the hour of her death in the spirit, Saint Seraphim suddenly wept with great sorrow and told Father Paul in the neighboring cell, “Paul! Maria has departed, and it grieves me that, as you see, everyone is crying!”

Batiushka Seraphim wished to make her an oak coffin, rounded and hollowed out. Praskovya Semenovna went after him with another sister of Diveyevo, Aquilina Vasilyevna. Praskovya Semenovna was very upset, and Batiushka embraced her in a paternal way, caressing and encouraging her. Then he joined the hands of Praskovya Semenovna and Aquilina Vasilyevna and told them: "Now you shall be sisters, and I am your father, for I have begotten you in the Spirit! Maria is the Schema-nun Martha, I tonsured her into the Schema. She has everything: the Schema, the mantiya, and my kamilavka, all this is hers. Put it down! Don't be discouraged, Matushka." Father Seraphim turned to Praskovya Semenovna and said, "Her soul is in the Kingdom of Heaven, near the Holy Trinity, at God's Throne, and your entire family shall be saved by her."

In addition, Batiushka Seraphim donated 25 rubles for the funeral expenses and 25 copper rubles to give to all the sisters and laymen, whoever was at her burial, three kopecks each. He also donated two towels for the altar, a bunch of yellow candles for her to be commemorated for forty days after her repose, so that they would burn in the church day and night for forty days, and at her coffin a yellow one ruble candle, and at the funeral, half a pound of white twenty-kopeck candles.

Thus, with the blessing of Saint Seraphim, Maria Semenovna, Schema-nun Martha, was laid in a coffin: in two scrolls (shirts), in a paper cassock, belted with a woolen black edge, over this was in a black and white cross-stitched Schema and a long robe. On her head was placed a green velvet embroidered gold cap, and on top of it Batiushka Seraphim's kamilavka, and finally, still tied with a large dradedam a dark blue handkerchief with tassels. In her hands - leather prayer ropes. All these things were given to her by Father Seraphim with his own hands, ordering them always to commune of the Holy Mysteries, which was exactly what Maria did on each of the Twelve Major Feasts, and during the four fasts.

The righteous Seraphim sent all those who had just come to him in these days to Diveyevo for the funeral of Maria Semenovna. So, to the sisters who knew nothing about it, those who worked on Satis (a forest area on the banks of the Satis River), to Barbara Ilyinishna and others, the Elder said: "You are my joys! Come soon to Diveyevo where the great servant of God Maria has departed to the Lord!" The sisters could not understand how Maria could die, and they were surprised to find Maria Semenovna in her coffin.

Then Maria Semenovna's brother Ivan, who had also attended his sister's funeral, went to speak to Batiushka Seraphim. Suddenly the Elder said: "Are you really Maria's brother?" – "Yes, Batiushka," he replied. Batiushka looked at him a second time and asked: "Are you Maria's brother?" – "Yes, Batiushka," he said again.

Then the Elder thought for a long, long time, still staring intently at Ivan, who stood before him. Suddenly he became so joyful and luminous that the sun's rays seemed to shine from his face, and Ivan had to turn away from Father Seraphim, unable to look at him. Then Batiushka exclaimed: "Behold, my joy! What mercy she has received from the Lord! She is in the Kingdom of Heaven at the Throne of God, near the Queen of Heaven, with the holy virgins! She is an intercessor for your entire family! She is the Schema-nun Martha, I tonsured her. Whenever you are at Diveyevo, never pass by her grave without kneeling down and saying: "Our lady and Mother Martha, remember us before God's Throne in the Kingdom of Heaven!"

Then Saint Seraphim repeated this to Ivan Semenovich three times.

After that, Father Seraphim summoned Sister Xenia Vasilyevna Putkova (later the Nun Capitolina) whom he always assigned to write down various names for commemoration, and said to her, "Behold, Matushka, list her as the Nun Maria, but because by her deeds and by the prayers of the wretched Seraphim, she has received the Schema! Pray to her as Schema-nun Martha, you and everyone around her."

According to the testimony of the sisters and those close to Diveyeo, Maria Semenovna was tall and attractive in appearance; with an oblong, pale, bright face, blue eyes, thick light blonde eyebrows, and hair of the same color. She was buried with her hair loose. She rests on the left side of Mother Alexandra, the first founder of the Kazan community. Few of the stories told by the older nuns about Maria Semenovna have been preserved. Maria Ilarionovna (later the nun Melitina) related the following: "Living in the world and hearing about Father Seraphim from everyone," she said: "I wished to be at Sarov and to receive his blessing. First of all, when I arrived at Sarov, I went to Batiushka in his wilderness; he came out to meet me, blessed me, and said with a smile, 'Matushka, do you know Maria Semenovna?' I said 'I do know her, Batiushka; she lives three yards away from us.'

'Behold, Matushka," the Saint continued, 'I will tell you about her, how zealous she was about her work. When a church was being built at Diveyevo in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, the girls themselves carried small bricks, one took two, another took three, and she, Matushka, could carry five or six bricks, and silently, with a prayer on her lips, she lifted up her ardent soul to the Lord. Soon she developed a stomach ailment and surrendered her soul to God.'

According to Saint Seraphim, the nineteen-year-old ascetic Schema-nun Martha, who departed to the Lord, was appointed, as the Superior of the Diveyevo "orphans" in the Kingdom of Heaven, in the abode of the Mother of God, concerning which he said to the Eldress Eudokia Ephraimna: "The Lord has twelve Apostles, the Queen of Heaven has twelve virgins, so you twelve are mine. Just as the Lord chose the Great Martyr Katherine as His bride, so from you twelve virgins, I selected Maria as His future bride. There she is above you, she will be the eldest!"

Their brother, Ivan Semenovich, also ended his life as a monk at Sarov Hermitage. Having the obedience as the gatekeeper at Sarov, he said: "As a layman and a peasant, I often worked for Father Seraphim, and he foretold many, many wonderful things to me concerning Diveyevo, and he always said: "If anyone offends my orphan girls, he shall be punished severely by the Lord; but whoever stands up for them, and defends and helps them when in need, God's great mercy will poured forth on that person from on high. Whoever even sighs and pities them in his heart will be rewarded by the Lord. And I will tell you, Batiushka, remember this: happy is everyone who stays with the wretched Seraphim at Diveyevo for a day, from morning to morning, for the Mother of God, the Queen of Heaven, visits Diveyevo every twenty-four hours!"

Remembering his commandment to Batiushka he added: "Gatekeeper, I have always said that, and I tell everyone."

Three of his daughters later entered the Diveyevo community. One of them, Elena Ivanovna, married a spiritual man, Saint Seraphim's friend Nicholas Alexandrovich Motovilov, who was the Monastery's benefactor. She was a "great lady," as Batiushka Seraphim called her when she was just a child, ordering her sister to fall down at the young girl's feet. Elena Ivanovna was the only one present at Father Seraphim's burial in 1833, and she survived until his glorification in 1903. Widowed in the last years of her life, she lived at Diveyevo. Elena Ivanovna reposed at an advanced age in 1910. Before her death, she was secretly tonsured as a nun.

Praskovya Stepanovna, an old sister in the community by the mill related how terrible it was to disobey Father Seraphim, she recalled that once Batiushka ordered her to come with the young woman Maria Semenovnaya with two horses pulling logs behind them. They were to go straight to Batiushka in the woods, where he would be waiting. They prepared two thin logs for each horse. Then, thinking that all four logs could be carried by one horse. The sisters attached the logs to one horse, and to the second horse, they attached a large, thick log. But as soon as they tried to move from their places, this horse fell, wheezed, and almost died. Knowing that they were guilty of acting contrary to what Batiushka had blessed, they immediately fell to their knees in tears and asked for forgiveness, and then removed the thick log and attached the other logs as before. The horse jumped up and ran so fast that they could hardly catch up. The words of Schema-nun Martha have come down to us through generations of Diveyevo sisters, recorded by an old woman, Justinia Ivanovna (later the nun Hilaria), from a manuscript page found in the cells of Schema-nun Margarita Lakhtionova.

After the Monastery was restored, the Lord wondrously celebrated the Feast Day of the Venerable Schema-nun Martha by consecrating the Transfiguration Cathedral. It was built in 1917 but was not consecrated. It lay in ruins during the Soviet years and the authorities transferred the cathedral to the restored Monastery in 1991, The restoration work went on until 1998, and the Cathedral's consecration just happened to coincide with the day of the Saint's blessed repose.

According to the memoirs of the nun Seraphima Bulgakova of Diveyevo Monastery, before the Monastery's closure in 1927, there was a portrait of Schema-nun Martha, painted by the sisters immediately after her death. According to the testimony of Archpriest Stephen Lyashevsky, in addition to this portrait, another one was painted by his mother (Capitolina Zakharovna Lyashevskaya, later the nun Maria). It is a hagiographic image of the Schema-nun Martha with the following scenes around the borders: Schema-nun Martha carrying bricks to the top of the Nativity Church under construction; Father Seraphim tonsuring her into the schema; Father Seraphim, Maria, and Praskovya Semenovna pray with lit candles for Diveyevo; the soul of Schema-nun Martha ascending to God's Throne; the Queen of Heaven and Schema-nun Martha in a vision in the church; and three holy graves. The present location of Schema-nun Martha's portrait is unknown, but the hagiographic image is believed to have been taken abroad.

In 2000, Schema-nun Martha was canonized for local veneration as a Saint in the Nizhny Novgorod diocese, and now her relics rest in the church of the Nativity of the Theotokos in the Seraphim-Diveyevo Monastery. Saint Martha of Diveyevo is commemorated on August 21 (the day of her repose), June 14 (the Synaxis of the Diveyevo Saints), and on the Synaxis of the Nizhny Novgorod Saints (Movable Feast on the Sunday after August 26).

Source, all texts: OCA

2 Corinthians 2:14-3:3

14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. 15 For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.

1 Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you? 2 You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; 3 clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.

Matthew 23:23-28

23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. 24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! 25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. 28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

[iantimony]

shabbosposting take 2

one day late, bonus edition: 2022 recap + 2023 goals

listening: I made a playlist of hebrew/yiddish metal and prog so that's been a highlight recently, I really like orphaned land so far

edit: i also have free bird stuck in my head bc we did fake karaoke in my friend's basement on new years eve and my bf put it on and now It Will Not Leave

reading: nothing to be honest ... oops ...

watching: finished Bocchi the rock, extremely charming, sparked joy. I've been rewatching hbomberguy video essays because they are reliable and good to have on in the background

playing: a little more hadesgame, Thinking about disco elysium and w101 but I haven't actually done it

making: I did do some embroidery! unfortunately I was. Very optimistic about how much I would get done over break. I brought it home with me with the intention that I could mail it from here but I am going to definitely have to bring it back with me lol

BONUS: what delights have I experienced?

walking around: kinda minor still, mostly just walking the dog

fellowship: part of why I am Very tired is because I have completely filled my schedule with seeing friends :") so I have really had no time to myself at all which is kinda overwhelming. but it's been really good to see everybody! I just wish I had a little more time to fit everything in and not feel so crammed

deliciousness: did a christmas day brunch at ceruleanvulpine's, super delicious spread with eggs, french toast, bagels, sausage, little cookies...dinner at the bf's place after, lamb and kebab and pesto pasta and just kind of a fun mishmash of different style foods...indian food at a friend's place new years eve...and then new years day brunch yesterday with cold cuts and I made my favorite orzo salad. I made myself a BANGIN sandwich today with the leftovers it was great

goofing, transcendence, amelioration, enthrallment, wildcard n/a

---

general reflection

2022 was kind of a weird and bad year! I spent most of the first half of 2022 dealing with the fallout of Dead Parent Zone, got a bad enough grade in a class that for the first time ever I had to retake it, and grappling with being so far from home for school while also dealing with all that shit. then I took on way too many obligations for the fall semester and shot my mental health in the foot a bit as a result.

there were some good things too, though - I was nervous about how a long-distance relationship would go but it's honestly going so, so well and he's been a real source of joy for me this past year. I did pass my classes even though it was a struggle so I don't have to retake anything again, and I already planned to do less next semester. despite it all I did finish a little art, and I got back into life drawing, and had a lot of good moments with friends. in general I think graduate school has been a good choice for me so far, and as much as I bitch and moan about indiana it's like, Fine,

but actually the people are really good, I have a great support network, and ultimately I think it'll continue to be good. it's really made me appreciate the east coast LOL

2023

as ceruleanvulpine said in their resolutionpost, I wanna make more weird art! in general I want to create more and fill the enthrallment, amelioration, and transcendence delight categories more often. I want to finish this embroidery project (ideally soon), the knitted tank top I did that just needs the straps, scarf for my SO...I'd love to start writing again and play more horn but we'll see

I also wanna listen to more weird music, and invest in actually owning some files, especially for some of the lesser-known bands and through bandcamp and stuff

this past year I definitely fell back into some of my more unhealthy coping mechanisms just to deal with the day-to-day (specifically extreme dissociation), I really want to kind of dial those back again, focus more on existing in Reality and more in each moment, which hopefully will also help with some of the skin picking and other anxious habits that resurfaced. maybe more yoga, maybe re-establishing a meditation process, idk yet but I'll work towards it

I would love to think more about my fashion and how I present myself too, and work on making and tailoring more of my clothing in general

I've been pretty good about being active so I'd like to keep that up, I still can't do a pull-up but maybe this is the year! (lol) I should also start doing some minor exercises for my shitty arthritis toes to keep those okay

a lot of last year was kind of a wash regarding research so I'm really looking forward to refocusing on that and really getting things moving.

finally! I want to get back to tabletop! I miss doing it so much! it fell by the wayside for me because of how busy and overwhelmed I was, especially this past fall semester, but I want to start running and playing games with my pals again.

maybe Too Many things listed here, a little ambitious, but maybe that way I'll be able to hit at least one or two of them :b here's to 2023 and making it better than 2022!