#his name is baruch and i love him

[matan4il]

Israel's 76th Independence Day

-> Geek fact: Today is the 14th of May, but also the fifth of (the Hebrew month of) Yiar. The Hebrew and Gregorian calendar only coincide once every 19 years. Since Israel was established, this is only the 4th time when we get to celebrate it on a day which is both the Hebrew and the Gregorian date of its founding.

-> Israel's Independence Day start the eve before, with a ceremony that both concludes our Memorial Day for our fallen soldiers and terror victims, and transitions into celebrating our independence. I don't think anyone can understand life here, or the Israeli people, without getting this impossible, yet necessary emotional transition.

-> This year, more than ever, the two days, commemorated one right after the other, feel impossible to separate.

-> We have an Independence Day ceremony. Every year, it celebrates the best of Israeli society. All of it. Jews and non-Jews. 12 Independence Day torches are lit (representing the 12 ancient tribes of Israel) by individuals who stood out in making a change for our society. As you might imagine, this year the ceremony was more emotional than ever before, with an incomprehensible number of heroes of all kinds.

-> Some highlights for me included the lighting of a few torches in the scenes of the massacre instead of all being light on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. For example, families of some of the murdered at a southern Israeli beach, invaded by sea, lit together a torch at the place where their loved ones were taken away.

-> The Jewish prayer for the release of all hostages, sung by Lior Elmaliach in front of 132 empty yellow chairs (same color as the ribbon that people wear to call for this return).

-> One of the released hostages singing a mash-up of two songs about the sun (re-finding it, and discovering that the sun is inside us), while all the violins around being lit in yellow, and the yellow ribbon for the hostages' return looming larger than life in the background.

-> An Israeli soldier, who fought in this war in Gaza, performing a love song to the Land of Israel on his violin (it was performed in that moment without the lyrics, but the song goes, "The land of our people, the land of our eternity, a land in which we were born, a land in which we will live, come what may"), lit in white, while all the violins around him are lit in blue, the two colors of the Israeli flag.

-> That moment when Iris Chaim, whose son Yotam was one of the three hostages accidentally killed in Gaza by our own soldiers, who right away sent a message to those soldiers that she understands, she's not angry at them, and they're invited to her home, who's been working to lift and unite people's spirits before and since, when she was saying she's the mother of... she named her first born son, but then she had to stop and take a deep breath before saying Yotam...

-> When the flag bearers, outstanding soldiers carrying the flags of all the units of the IDF, did the traditional portion of the ceremony where they form different shapes, but this year they started by spelling the Hebrew word נזכור (nizkor, we'll remember).

-> How soldiers wounded in the current war (enough to need crutches or wheelchairs) participated in multiple sections of the ceremony, including the more physical ones, like the flag bearers' formations (in the pic below: forming Israel's flag).

-> They had a group of kids from different northern and southern Israeli communities who are still, even over 7 months since the start of the war, internal refugees. They got to perform as singers and musicians together with several very successful Israeli singers. The second song they performed felt especially fitting, as it's about going out into the world, strengthened despite adversity.

-> It's not easy to celebrate when the pain is so endless. The other day, I shared this list for our Memorial Day of just some of our victims that we lost, but will never forget. One of them was 24 years old Baruch Korichman. On the eve of Purim 1924, he was walking to his home in Tel Aviv. Out of nowhere, two Arabs showed up and shot him to death, then fled the scene. Even though the British Mandate was in place, meant to hunt the murderers down and bring them to justice, meant to take care of Baruch, no one really did anything. The body was taken to the courtyard of a hospital, Baruch's mom was called, and a small crowd of locals started gathering around, angry and protesting the injustice and the lack of proper treatment. Baruch's mom turned to the crowd and asked them to be quiet, and not stop Jews from celebrating Purim.

IDK how she managed to do that, care about other people's joy even as she was going through the worst nightmare of any parent. IDK how Jews during the Holocaust managed to find it within themselves to go on celebrating Jewish holidays. I just know that they did. And if they could, so can we. We can remember the Holocaust survivors, who survived the worst of what human nature is capable of, who came to the Land of Israel right after the end of WWII, and who saw the founding of the Jewish state, who got to celebrate its creation and first Independence Day. Most talked or wrote about it in terms of a miracle. The State of Israel is still a miracle. All the hatred we've seen turned against it even on Oct 7, while our people were still being massacred, is proof of that. And it is a good thing to remember that, even while we hurt.

On Oct 7, Israeli civilians went out to save their own, because the State of Israel has given them the tools to be able to, to know how, to have the strength, courage and self-confidence to go and tackle the enemy. On Oct 7, Israeli civilians knew that someone was coming to save them. Even if it took time, even if there was no way of knowing who would get there first, they knew an army that cares and wants to save them is on its way, and when I think about my Jewish People, in the shooting pits in Europe, about to be massacred by an antisemitic army, knowing for sure that there is no one on the way, that no one cares, that no one's interested in saving them, I know that as difficult as Oct 7 was, it's not the same, and it will never be the same, not as long as Israel exists. So I will continue to celebrate its independence, even as I know there is no cure for antisemitic hate and violence. We can't eradicate them. But all of us here together have created something that gives us dignity as human beings and as Jews, that our ancestors were denied. We are here, and we are the People of Israel, and we can stand tall in the face of the worst of our haters and murderers. Am Yisrael chai!

(for more of my posts regarding Israel, click here)

[multifunctionalnitroglycerin]

The locked Tomb Series Names and Symbolism #2

Apparently I am going to do more of these... So, today's subject; Anastasia and Samael. Bear with me, for this is going to be a long one.

I will admit that Anastasia and Samel are two of the characters that have most piqued my interest, alongside Cassiopeia, so it's needless to say that I am looking forward to seeing more of them in Alecto, as well as getting some answers. For now, however I would like to comment a bit on my own take for the symbolism Muir might or might not be trying to bring forth with these characters.

We are going to start with Samael first in this post, mostly cause I don't have a lot to say about him. There are only few things I know off the top of my head and they do not really seem relevant but let's do out best, shall we?

We are going to turn to Hebrew lore for this one, and I admit I am not the most well-versed when it comes to this, so feel free to correct me if I have gotten sth wrong. The gist of it is that Samael (meaning Venom of God - thanks wikipedia) is an archangel considered the accuser or adversary, seducer and destroyer. One of his most prominent roles in Jewish lore is that of the Angel of Death, meant to take the soul of Moses, and head of satans. He condones the sin of man, while remaining still a servant of God. In the Greek Apocalypse of Baruch, he is said to have planted the tree of knowledge, thus leading to his banishment. It is also mentioned that he is responsible for tempting Adam and Eve with a snake.

There is probably a lot more going on, but please bear with me. From what we can get from this one however, alongside the scant mentions of Samael in the books (as Anastasia's cavalier, whom John had to kill because sth went wrong, and someone Alecto carries some grief/guilt over "I am so sorry about Samael") I think we can assume that to some degree at least, Samael opposed what John stood for, with or without actively standing against him. A safe assumption to make considering that he risked partaking in Anastasia's new formula of ascension (which also speaks of the immense amount of trust he placed in his necromancer). I do think however, that he was a bit more vocal about his distaste in John's Method of achieving Lyctorhood, possibly even campaigning in favor of Anastasia and Cassiopeia's research. Or he would have supported it, seducing more people into it, had he lived. I would also like to address the "planted the tree of knowledge" bit, here. Because it would be awfully fitting, if said tree of knowledge was the fruits of Anastasia and Cassiopeia's labor. If said tree of knowledge was that necromancers didn't have to kill and consume their cavaliers in order to ascend, or proof that John's way was not the only way. That of course plays into the narrative that John is in fact a pathetic little man that is spectacular at manipulating events and rewriting history the way he wants it to be written, while still being a pathetic little man. (I swear he is so good at making you forget just how much grief he has caused, just how vindictive he can be.) So much like God banishing Samael, John kills Anastasia's cavalier during the haze of ascension claiming that something went wrong and he had to at least save Anastasia. (I am not entirely convinced that all of this is a lie, and I have a theory that Alecto could have played a role in something actually going wrong, unknowingly aiding John's goal)

One more thing I want to say about Samael that perhaps contradicts what I have so far written, is that note in the lore that he condones the sin of Man while remaining a servant of God. And I think that if we translate this in our case, TLT Samael, probably loved and respected John as his God, while campaigning and promoting the sin of man, which in this case, is lyctorhood without sacrifice. And that makes his death, if he was ignorant of what happened during it, all the more tragic and all the more beautiful.

Now to the Angel of death and leader of the satans thing. We all remember those demons that appeared in the end of NtN right? Now, this might be ridiculously far-fetched because to our knowledge Samael is dead right? (Who tells us this I wonder, and how do they learn of it?How accurate of a narrator are they? How reliable their source?) BUT what if, in John's killing Samael while within the eight fold world something went wrong? Something no one could anticipate? And Samael is not quite as dead as we think he is? Could he be the leader of these Demons in Antioch, sworn to destroy God for what he forced upon him and his necromancer and so many others before and after them? Does he retain cognition of who he once was? Does he not? Is he altered to really resemble a demon as we know them in lore? Or is he really dead and the echo of that disruption of the Eight- Fold word spawns those demons?

I don't know about you people but I am looking forward to unearthing some truths in Alecto.

Anastasia will be in a separate post, because this would end up being huge otherwise. Have a merry little Christmas people and take care of yourselves!

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Last September, while working at his desk in Philadelphia, Samuel R. Delany experienced a mysterious episode that he calls “the big drop.” His vision faded for about three minutes, and he felt his body plunge, as if the floor had fallen away. When he came to, everything looked different, though he couldn’t say exactly how. Delany, who is eighty-one, began to suspect that he’d suffered a mini-stroke. His daughter, Iva, an emergency-room physician, persuaded him to go to the hospital, but the MRI scans were inconclusive. The only evidence of a neurological event was a test result indicating that he had lost fifteen per cent of his capacity to form new memories—and a realization, in the following weeks, that he was unable to finish his novel in progress, “This Short Day of Frost and Sun.” After publishing more than forty books in half a century, the interruption was, he told me, both “a loss and a relief.”

For years, Delany has begun most days at four o’clock in the morning with a ritual. First, he spells out the name Dennis, for Dennis Rickett, his life partner. Next, he recites an atheist’s prayer, hailing faraway celestial bodies with a litany inspired by the seventeenth-century philosopher Baruch Spinoza: “Natura Naturans, system of systems, system of fields, Kuiper belt, scattered disk, Oort cloud, thank you for dropping me here.” Finally, he prepares oatmeal, which he faithfully photographs for the friends and fans who follow him on Facebook. Every so often, when the milk foams, he sees Laniakea—the galactic supercluster that’s home to Earth.

In the stellar neighborhood of American letters, there have been few minds as generous, transgressive, and polymathically brilliant as Samuel Delany’s. Many know him as the country’s first prominent Black author of science fiction, who transformed the field with richly textured, cerebral novels like “Babel-17” (1966) and “Dhalgren” (1975). Others know the revolutionary chronicler of gay life, whose autobiography, “The Motion of Light in Water” (1988), stands as an essential document of pre-Stonewall New York. Still others know the professor, the pornographer, or the prolific essayist whose purview extends from cyborg feminism to Biblical philology.

There are so many Delanys that it’s difficult to take the full measure of his influence. Reading him was formative for Junot Díaz and William Gibson; Octavia Butler was, briefly, his student in a writing workshop. Jeremy O. Harris included Delany as a character in his play “Black Exhibition,” while Neil Gaiman, who is adapting Delany’s classic space adventure “Nova” (1968) as a series for Amazon, credits him with building a critical foundation not only for science fiction but also for comics and other “paraliterary” genres.

Friends call him Chip, a nickname he gave himself at summer camp, in the eleventh year of a life that has defied convention and prejudice. He is a sci-fi child prodigy who never flamed out; a genre best-seller widely recognized as a great literary stylist; a dysgraphic college dropout who once headed the Department of Comparative Literature at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; and an outspokenly promiscuous gay man who survived the aids crisis and has found love, three times, in committed, non-monogamous relationships. A story like Delany’s isn’t supposed to be possible in our society—and that, nearly as much as the gift of his writing, is his glory.

It took several months to persuade him to meet. Delany has polemicized against the face-to-face interview, reasoning that writers, who constitute themselves on the page, ought to be questioned there, too. He warned in an e-mail that a visit would be a waste of time, offering instead a tour of his “three-room hovel” via Zoom: “No secret pile will be left unexplored.” Yet a central theme in his work is “contact,” a word he uses to convey all the potential in chance encounters between human beings. “I propose that in a democratic city it is imperative that we speak to strangers, live next to them, and learn how to relate to them on many levels, from the political to the sexual,” he wrote in “Times Square Red, Times Square Blue” (1999), a landmark critique of gentrification which centered on his years of cruising in the adult theatres of midtown Manhattan.

His novels, too, turn on the serendipity of urban life, adopting the “marxian” credo that fiction is most vital when classes mix. Gorgik, a revolutionary leader in Delany’s four-volume “Return to Nevèrÿon” series, rises from slavery to the royal court in an ancient port city called Kolhari, where he learns that seemingly centralized “power—the great power that shattered lives and twisted the course of the nation—was like a fog over a meadow at evening. From any distance, it seemed to have a shape, a substance, a color, an edge. Yet, as you approached it, it seemed to recede before you.”

In January, Delany finally allowed me to visit him at the apartment complex that he now rarely leaves. A hulking beige structure near the Philadelphia Museum of Art, it looms like a fortress over the row houses of the Fairmount. I crossed a lobby the length of a ballroom and rode the elevator to the fourth floor. As I walked down the hallway, I noticed a small man behind a luggage trolley taking my picture. It was Delany, smiling in welcome with his lively brown eyes and strikingly misaligned front teeth.

[A Delightful portrait of my favorite Science Fiction writer]

[you-get-me-closer-to-god]

Vamptember Day 1

“5+1 / Pantheist / Leather”

SUMMARY: Struggling to keep up with your college lectures, an interesting pair come to your rescue.

PAIRING: Platonic Armand, Daniel, and Female Reader

WORD COUNT: 2,385

WARNINGS: none!

AUTHOR’S NOTE:

Yippeee!! Vamptember is afoot! So I’m planning on making this a series and adding onto it every day. I don’t know if I can up the word count any more than 2k but by god will I try, gang. I will be posting this also on Ao3 a little later, if you’d rather read it there. I also plan on adding a few characters here and there of course ;)

I chose “Pantheist” for today’s prompt, cause I’m a slut for religion. Enjoy!

Baruch Spinoza was a philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, born in Amsterdam, the Dutch Republic, and mostly known under the Latinized pen name Benedictus de Spinoza. One of the foremost and seminal thinkers of the Enlightenment, modern biblical criticism, and 17th-century Rationalism. At least, that’s what your notes say. And you hope to God it’s all correct, because all throughout your evening lecture, you had not been paying attention. Your brain was fried after waking up at six in the morning for the free breakfast in the dining hall. And even though your body couldn’t afford loosing any more sleep, your wallet definitely couldn’t afford any groceries, so it was your only chance to eat all day. What was even more disheartening was that your very last class was scheduled to start at nine o’clock at night. At. Night. When you would usually be snuggled up in bed, fast asleep after reading a few chapters of the book on your bedside table.

So there you sat, nodding off every few minutes, trying desperately to stay conscious as your mind weaved the professor’s words into a lovely little dream for you to quickly slip into.

And every time you tried to zone back in, your professor’s five-syllable words and complicated “if this then that” curriculum just left you all the more discouraged. You ended up doodling in the margins of your notebook hopelessly until he called for the end of class. The room shuffled around you as college students from all walks of life stumbled sleepily to their dorms, slamming textbooks shut and slinging bags over their shoulders. You just sat there, yawning, waiting for an opening to join them in the trudge back home. It reminded you of a war movie you had seen with your dad one time, watching the people file out like a brigade of soldiers, thousand yard stares and dry blood-shot eyes on every face.

Except one.

One bright, young face in particular stood out from the crowd, not just his face, but his whole being. It’d be hard not to stand out with red hair like that.

His eyes were clear as they searched the room calmly, he moved- not necessarily energetically, but it was clear he seemed to have an abundance of energy.

That was a guy who was used to the late-night schedule. Easily descending the stairs to the door, he carried his backpack like it weighed nothing. Which you knew was impossible, if he indeed had all the required reading in there. You didn’t quite make out what he was saying, but he turned to a friend who walked next to him and began to speak.

His friend looked pretty much like how you felt.

Slouchy posture, languid steps, dark circles under his grey eyes, messy blonde hair pointing this way and that. It looked like he was trusting his more enlivened friend to walk him in the right direction. And given how the other brought his arm around his slouchy friend to lead him through the doorway, instead of smacking into the frame, that was probably the case.

You watched as the pair disappeared down the hall and you slowly pushed yourself up out of your seat as an opening in the crowd presented itself. Slowly making your way down the steps, you followed the brigade of students out of the room and onto the campus, into the cool night air, dorm room bound.

The interesting pair of friends lingered in your mind as you drifted off to sleep that night. You’re pretty sure you’ve heard talk of them around, but, you’ve never seen them yourself, until that point.

The “polite young foreign genius” and his “less polite, gangly friend”. There were stories, oh were there stories, but you never payed any attention to them. Gossip always left a bad taste in your mouth, as much as you loved it, so you just did the adult thing and assumed everything you heard was false. Though, some rumors did give you a good laugh. Like how the younger one was a prince from some European country, and, being so out of touch with society, he payed this poor miserable sob to hang out with him.

It was funnier now having lay your own eyes on them. You could totally see it.

The next night, Nine o’clock returned, and you sat at the same desk with your notebook open, trying to decipher your sleep-deprived hand writing from the other night. You gave up after a few attempts and only being able to make out ‘Baruch Spinoza???’ scribbled in sharp, frustrated pencil. Great, incredibly helpful, as the name was also written on the board right in front of you.

A heavy sigh came from your lips and you rubbed your face in an attempt to clear your brain fog. You had no idea how you were going to graduate if you couldn’t even stay awake for the classes. On top of that, barely surviving on free cereal and hash browns in the cafeteria was certainly not optimal brain food. You considered laying your head down on the desk right there and withering away as students began filling up seats. You gave it a shot, resting your forehead on your folded arms and trying to ignore the every growing hunger in your stomach, the tension headache slowly forming behind your eyes.

The quiet and creaky auditorium gradually filled with voices, rising in volume as more and more people began to strike up conversation around you. It irritated you. You were grumpy and you wanted everyone in the world to stop talking. Or, at least give you the answers to the upcoming test. Either one would’ve lifted your spirits.

“No, I didn’t know him personally, Daniel, you’re not very funny.”

A unique voice lifted up and out of the clamor from behind you, catching your interest immediately.

“Now if you would’ve said ‘Giordano Bruno’ we might have had a very interesting conversation,”

He pronounced the Italian name with ease, nailing the accent perfectly.

“-However these ‘professors’ read one book and suddenly they are the masters and we pay them. You’ve read ‘Ethics’, Daniel, take to the stage and give us your best shot. I’m sure you’d be doing a better job than this fop.”

His tone was passionate and irritated, Daniel, you assumed, chuckled quietly next to him.

“I think I should take offense to that.”

As you listened to their conversation, you realized that some actually helpful notes would make your year, possibly save your life and college career. And from what little you’ve heard from them so far, their notes would definitely be better than yours. Well- anyone’s notes would be better than yours, but these two seemed to know what they were doing. You lifted your head from your arms gingerly and turned around to ask.

But you were embarrassingly dumbfounded.

You don’t know how you didn’t realize it last night, it must have been the sleep deprivation or the lighting, or the fact that he sat very near to you now, but the red head was possibly the most beautiful person you had ever seen in your life.

Smooth auburn hair in delicate curls and waves rested just above his shoulders, a richly deep color that you’ve never had the pleasure of seeing naturally. Dark brown eyes that held your stare unblinkingly, almost against your will with an oddly cold and unforgiving expression. It unnerved you slightly.

Pale round face and dignified posture, his mouth in a slight pout or frown. You would’ve been surprised if he wasn’t a prince.

You cleared your throat, breaking away slightly, realizing you were being incredibly rude.

“I’m sorry- I was just wondering if you guys had any notes I could copy? I must have fallen asleep in the middle of the lecture and…”

You held up your notebook to them, showing your sad and pathetically empty page, and shrugged.

The blonde nodded, mumbling a “sure” and reached into his bag, pulling out a crumpled spiral-bound composition book that looked water damaged, and began flipping through pages.

“Thank you so much, I just- I don’t usually do this, it’s just this schedule.” You replied, feeling a bit like a burden as he flipped through page after page, looking for the correct notes. One of the pages was brown and wrinkly, as if someone had spilt a full cup of coffee all over it.

“It’s no problem, I have it somewhere…”

You shifted a little, noticing the other staring at you still. You glanced back and met his gaze again, unsure if you did something wrong.

You wanted to ask him what his problem was, but he cut you off.

“You don’t often fall asleep during a lecture? Is this correct?”

He had a hint of an accent you couldn’t quite place, but it was all around enjoyable. His voice was oddly clear and sharp, it penetrated the noise in the auditorium easily.

“Yeah, that’s right.” You answered him, feeling a little judged.

“Why is that, do you think?”

He spoke unapologetically, never breaking eye contact. You suddenly felt like you were at a job interview. You furrowed your eyebrows and unconsciously stood up straighter. Were you going to have a bully? He seemed young enough to be bullying people still.

“I’m sorry?” You said, finally.

“What do you think of this professor? Do you think him adequate for what you are paying for tuition?” He rolled the “r” on the word “professor”.

“Oh.”

A bit of relief washed through you as you realized he was complaining about the teacher again, not taking a dig at your academic determination. Although, it felt like a loaded question. He looked like he had a plethora of opinions waiting to be released as he awaited your answer.

“I don’t really- yes? I think I do. I’m not sure really. I haven’t been awake for any of his lectures yet.” You laughed nervously.

He turned his head calmly to look at his friend, who ignored him as he still flipped through the pages.

“This is exactly what I’m talking about, Daniel. This poor girl can’t even keep her eyes open.”

He gestured to you with an open hand, still facing Daniel, who finally ripped out a page from his composition notebook and handed it to you, his tired grey eyes meeting yours.

“There it is.”

And before you could thank him-

“Are you a pantheist yourself?”

You looked from one to the other, feeling a bit of whiplash beginning to fester in your neck.

“A what?”

“A pantheist. Such as Baruch Spinoza, the topic of the lecture.“

His brown eyes bore into yours, he barely ever moved, and when he did, to gesture with his hand or adjust his seat, he did it with a sort of biblical grace. Like how you imagined Jesus moved. Your eyes caught the motion of his hand and noticed pale fingers decorated with rings.

“I was raised Christian but…” You said, writing the notes hurriedly into your own notebook, squinting at the messy handwriting.

“My relationship with the big man is a bit complicated now.” You gave him a tight smile “What about you? You seem to know a lot about it.”

He gave you a slow and understanding nod before replying.

“It is one topic of many that interest me, however I’m no loyal to it than yourself.”

He stared down at you with regal posture and stillness as you hunched over your paper, scribbling the last few sentences. With these few paragraphs alone you were already thinking of all the books you needed to borrow from the campus library. In all honesty, with the amount of class you slept away yesterday, you were looking at an all-nighter surrounded by books and a bucket sized coffee cup.

“Again, thank you so much. You have no idea how much this helped. I‘ve got my work cut out for me.” You looked up and smiled gratefully, giving the paper back to him.

“Sure.” Daniel replied. He began opening his notebook to place the paper back inside, when the paper was delicately taken out of his hand. He didn’t even take pause and he closed his notebook anyway, as if used to his friend’s sticky fingers.

“It was such a pleasure to talk with you. It is not very often I find someone so willing for a conversation like myself, I tell you.”

As he spoke to you, he took a pen which rested atop his desk, very sleek and elegant, it looked like it had a nice heft and weight to it as it shifted between his fingers. He jotted down something at the bottom of the page, dark eyelashes resting on his cheekbones as his eyes cast downward before flitting up again and handing the page back to you.

Curiously, you took it again with two fingers, glancing at Daniel for any sign of correction or confusion. He merely placed his notebook back into his bag, uncaring.

“We do not need it.” Daniel’s friend assured you, “Please keep it.”

You stared at him for a second, and smiled. Something about his energy was…addicting. His subtle feline movements, his confident tone and gestures, the cool, pointed expression that never wavered from his face. He was all too perfect.

It was almost eerie…

The auditorium around you had quieted down gradually as the professor walked in, his heels thumping on the old wood floor. Desks creaked and chairs scooted in as friends departed from their conversations to sit down.

“Again, thank you so much.” You whispered, giving both a grateful nod, which they returned, before finally turning around in your seat again and peering at the page you were gifted.

Immediately it caught your eye. In rich black ink and curling neat cursive, was a short paragraph on the bottom of the page, an odd contrast with the lazy and dull pencil writing above it.

It was an apartment address, in a neighborhood you passed frequently just outside campus. A very wealthy neighborhood, if you remembered correctly.

Under the address, was a short note written in handwriting that matched his looks perfectly, small, neat, and clean.

“If ever you should need help again, please have no hesitance in coming by our apartment.”

-Armand

——————————————————————————

Let the self-insert cringe commence!!!!

@the-vagabond-angel my muse <3

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

A Promise of Restoration

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was imprisoned in the courtyard of the guard, which was in the palace of the king of Judah.

For Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying: “Why are you prophesying like this? You claim that the LORD says, ‘Behold, I am about to deliver this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it. Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape from the hands of the Chaldeans, but he will surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye. He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will stay until I attend to him, declares the LORD. If you fight against the Chaldeans, you will not succeed.’ ”

Jeremiah replied, “The word of the LORD came to me, saying: Behold! Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, is coming to you to say, ‘Buy for yourself my field in Anathoth, for you have the right of redemption to buy it.’ Then, as the LORD had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and urged me, ‘Please buy my field in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for you own the right of inheritance and redemption. Buy it for yourself.’ ”

Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.

So I bought the field in Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, and I weighed out seventeen shekels of silver. I signed and sealed the deed, called in witnesses, and weighed out the silver on the scales. Then I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy with its terms and conditions, as well as the open copy— and I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the sight of my cousin Hanamel and the witnesses who were signing the purchase agreement and all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard.

In their sight I instructed Baruch, “This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Take these deeds—both the sealed copy and the open copy of the deed of purchase—and put them in a clay jar to preserve them for a long time. For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.”

After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD: “Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!

You show loving devotion to thousands but lay the iniquity of the fathers into the laps of their children after them, O great and mighty God whose name is the LORD of Hosts, the One great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are on all the ways of the sons of men, to reward each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds.

You performed signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and You do so to this very day, both in Israel and among all mankind. And You have made a name for Yourself, as is the case to this day.

You brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror. You gave them this land that You had sworn to give their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.

They came in and possessed it, but they did not obey Your voice or walk in Your law. They failed to perform all that You commanded them to do, and so You have brought upon them all this disaster. See how the siege ramps are mounted against the city to capture it. And by sword and famine and plague, the city has been given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What You have spoken has happened, as You now see!

Yet You, O Lord GOD, have said to me, ‘Buy for yourself the field with silver and call in witnesses, even though the city has been delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans!’ ”

Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me?

Therefore this is what the LORD says: Behold, I am about to deliver this city into the hands of the Chaldeans and of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will capture it. And the Chaldeans who are fighting against this city will come in, set it on fire, and burn it, along with the houses of those who provoked Me to anger by burning incense to Baal on their rooftops and by pouring out drink offerings to other gods.

For the children of Israel and of Judah have done nothing but evil in My sight from their youth; indeed, they have done nothing but provoke Me to anger by the work of their hands, declares the LORD.

For this city has aroused My wrath and fury from the day it was built until now. Therefore I will remove it from My presence because of all the evil the children of Israel and of Judah have done to provoke Me to anger—they, their kings, their officials, their priests and prophets, the men of Judah, and the residents of Jerusalem. They have turned their backs to Me and not their faces. Though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline.

They have placed their abominations in the house that bears My Name, and so have defiled it. They have built the high places of Baal in the Valley of Hinnom to make their sons and daughters pass through the fire to Molech—something I never commanded them, nor had it ever entered My mind, that they should commit such an abomination and cause Judah to sin.

Now therefore, about this city of which you say, ‘It will be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword and famine and plague,’ this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I will surely gather My people from all the lands to which I have banished them in My furious anger and great wrath, and I will return them to this place and make them dwell in safety. They will be My people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, so that they will always fear Me for their own good and for the good of their children after them.

I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never turn away from doing good to them, and I will put My fear in their hearts, so that they will never turn away from Me. Yes, I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.

For this is what the LORD says: Just as I have brought all this great disaster on this people, so I will bring on them all the good I have promised them. And fields will be bought in this land about which you are saying, ‘It is a desolation, without man or beast; it has been delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans.’ Fields will be purchased with silver, and deeds will be signed, sealed, and witnessed in the land of Benjamin, in the areas surrounding Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah—the cities of the hill country, the foothills, and the Negev—because I will restore them from captivity, declares the LORD.” — Jeremiah 32 | The Reader’s Bible (BRB) The Reader’s Bible © 2020 by Bible Hub and Berean.Bible. All rights Reserved. Cross References: Genesis 18:14; Genesis 23:16; Exodus 3:8; Exodus 3:20; Exodus 6:6; Leviticus 25:25; Deuteronomy 4:26; Deuteronomy 9:7; Deuteronomy 14:23; Deuteronomy 28:63; Deuteronomy 30:3; 1 Samuel 9:16; 1 Kings 11:7; 2 Kings 6:32; 2 Kings 21:1; 2 Kings 25:1; 2 Kings 25:4; 2 Kings 25:11; Ezra 9:7; Nehemiah 3:25; Isaiah 1:4; Isaiah 44:26; Jeremiah 13:19; Jeremiah 21:4; Jeremiah 31:28; Jeremiah 33:10; Jeremiah 36:4-5; Matthew 16:27; Matthew 19:26; Matthew 23:32; Matthew 27:66; Luke 2:27; John 8:2; John 17:21; Acts 7:43; Acts 10:9; Philippians 4:6-7; Hebrews 13:20

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

6th October >> Mass Readings (Except USA)

Friday, Twenty Sixth Week in Ordinary Time 

or

Saint Bruno, Priest.

Friday, Twenty Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical Colour: Green: A (1))

First Reading Baruch 1:15-22 We have been disobedient to the Lord our God.

Integrity belongs to the Lord our God; to us the look of shame we wear today, to us, the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem, to our kings and princes, our priests, our prophets, as to our ancestors, because we have sinned in the sight of the Lord, have disobeyed him, and have not listened to the voice of the Lord our God telling us to follow the commandments which the Lord had ordained for us. From the day when the Lord brought our ancestors out of the land of Egypt until today we have been disobedient to the Lord our God, we have been disloyal, refusing to listen to his voice. And so the disasters, and the curse which the Lord pronounced through his servant Moses the day he brought our fathers out of Egypt to give us a land where milk and honey flow, have seized on us, disasters we experience today. Despite all the words of those prophets whom he sent us, we have not listened to the voice of the Lord our God, but, each following the dictates of his evil heart, we have taken to serving alien gods, and doing what is displeasing to the Lord our God.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 78(79):1-5,8-9

R/ Rescue us, O Lord, for the glory of your name.

O God, the nations have invaded your land, they have profaned your holy temple. They have made Jerusalem a heap of ruins. They have handed over the bodies of your servants as food to feed the birds of heaven and the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth.

R/ Rescue us, O Lord, for the glory of your name.

They have poured out blood like water in Jerusalem; no one is left to bury the dead. We have become the taunt of our neighbours, the mockery and scorn of those who surround us. How long, O Lord? Will you be angry for ever; how long will your anger burn like fire?

R/ Rescue us, O Lord, for the glory of your name.

Do not hold the guilt of our fathers against us. Let your compassion hasten to meet us; we are left in the depths of distress.

R/ Rescue us, O Lord, for the glory of your name.

O God our saviour, come to our help. Come for the sake of the glory of your name. O Lord our God, forgive us our sins; rescue us for the sake of your name.

R/ Rescue us, O Lord, for the glory of your name.

Gospel Acclamation Psalm 144:13

Alleluia, alleluia! The Lord is faithful in all his words and loving in all his deeds. Alleluia!

Or: Psalm 94:8

Alleluia, alleluia! Harden not your hearts today, but listen to the voice of the Lord. Alleluia!

Gospel Luke 10:13-16 Anyone who rejects me rejects the one who sent me.

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Alas for you, Chorazin! Alas for you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. And still, it will not go as hard with Tyre and Sidon at the Judgement as with you. And as for you, Capernaum, did you want to be exalted high as heaven? You shall be thrown down to hell.

‘Anyone who listens to you listens to me; anyone who rejects you rejects me, and those who reject me reject the one who sent me.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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

Saint Bruno, Priest 

(Liturgical Colour: White: A (1))

(Readings for the memorial)

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

First Reading Philippians 3:8-14 I look on everything as so much rubbish if only I can have Christ.

I believe nothing can happen that will outweigh the supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For him I have accepted the loss of everything, and I look on everything as so much rubbish if only I can have Christ and be given a place in him. I am no longer trying for perfection by my own efforts, the perfection that comes from the Law, but I want only the perfection that comes through faith in Christ, and is from God and based on faith. All I want is to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and to share his sufferings by reproducing the pattern of his death. That is the way I can hope to take my place in the resurrection of the dead. Not that I have become perfect yet: I have not yet won, but I am still running, trying to capture the prize for which Christ Jesus captured me. I can assure you my brothers, I am far from thinking that I have already won. All I can say is that I forget the past and I strain ahead for what is still to come; I am racing for the finish, for the prize to which God calls us upwards to receive in Christ Jesus.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 1:1-4,6

R/ His delight is the law of the Lord. or R/ Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord. or R/ The just will flourish like the palm-tree in the courts of our God.

Happy indeed is the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked; nor lingers in the way of sinners nor sits in the company of scorners, but whose delight is the law of the Lord and who ponders his law day and night.

R/ His delight is the law of the Lord. or R/ Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord. or R/ The just will flourish like the palm-tree in the courts of our God.

He is like a tree that is planted beside the flowing waters, that yields its fruit in due season and whose leaves shall never fade; and all that he does shall prosper.

R/ His delight is the law of the Lord. or R/ Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord. or R/ The just will flourish like the palm-tree in the courts of our God.

Not so are the wicked, not so! For they like winnowed chaff shall be driven away by the wind: for the Lord guards the way of the just but the way of the wicked leads to doom.

R/ His delight is the law of the Lord. or R/ Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord. or R/ The just will flourish like the palm-tree in the courts of our God.

Gospel Acclamation John 8:12

Alleluia, alleluia! I am the light of the world, says the Lord; anyone who follows me will have the light of life. Alleluia!

Gospel Luke 9:57-62 'I will follow you wherever you go'.

As Jesus and his disciples travelled along they met a man on the road who said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ Jesus answered, ‘Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’

Another to whom he said, ‘Follow me’, replied, ‘Let me go and bury my father first.’ But he answered, ‘Leave the dead to bury their dead; your duty is to go and spread the news of the kingdom of God.’ Another said, ‘I will follow you, sir, but first let me go and say goodbye to my people at home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Once the hand is laid on the plough, no one who looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[subcon-crybaby-charlie]

Headcanons/the oc-ifications of DTMG characters bc i have a touch of brainrot for my DTMG au, Seeing Spirits.

Billy:

° Baruch Cohen/Billy Joe Cobra was born to a weathy pop artist (Beth Copper) and a Singaporean immigrant (Adriel Cohen) and was into music at an early age thanks to influences from both. He loved learning about his dads culture while his mom dragged him to multiple toddler talent shows and the like, being a stage mom in all reality. This behavior later caused Billy's parents to divorce and since his mom was rich while his dad was not billys mom kept custody over him, later taking full custody by the time he was 12.

° When he was 12 he met jesse and he gave Jesse his necklace, which his mom scolded him for. (The ring on the necklace was actually something his dad gave him, im saying its a baby ring bc i have one of those)

° Billy fired his mom (who was his manager at the time) when he became a popular solo artist at 15, because he picked up her desire for people to be able to offer her something in return and he couldnt see anything she could offer him for being famous since she was a one hit wonder.

° His mom later died that same year from alcohol poisoning and so he inherered her mansion/his childhood home.

° Billy actually went to his dad after his mom died but asked to be emancipated because he found out his dad had remarried and had two other kids and he regrets asking for it. His stepmoms name is Barb and his stepsisters are Carrie (15 in seeing spirits) and Andy (12)

° Billy drank for the first time at 16, he was pressured into it but quicky picked it up as a habit along with marijuana usage, but after his death he cant stand the smell of either substance.

° Billy is Bisexual (like the irl artist Billy Joe Armstrong, whom he is based on) and genderfluid but due to having an image to maintain he tries to hide the fact that he likes boys as well.

° Billy was hit by a drunk driver while fleeing from a block party when he was 19, he died on the scene and instead of calling anybody the driver dumped his body elsewhere out of fear.

° Billy became a ghost the moment he died and he actually walked home, he didnt realize he was a ghost till Spencer moved into his mansion 5 years later.

° Billy has mommy issues, not daddy issues tho, his dad was a good parent. He wishes he could've spent more time with his dad.

Spencer:

•Spencer was born in 1999 and lived in a very small town in Michigan with his parents (Hugh and Jane Wright)and little sister Jessica up until they learned that they were related(though distant) to a famous popstar (Billy) and moved into his house in 2013, when spencer was 14 years old. They were given the house bc they were the only family members that wanted the house

•Spencer's anchor (the item that lets him see Billy) is an old gitaur pick necklace of Billy's. The pick on the necklace is red with a yellow lightning bolt.

•Billy actually threw the necklace at Spencer when he was moving into his room (Spencer's bedroom is Billy's old bedroom) because Billy didn't want them to move into his house. Billy didnt know he was dead at the time either.

•Spencer has depression and parental issues on both ends because his parents favor Jessica. He also has a hard time trusting adults.

•Spencer is pretty good at taking care of himself due to the fact that his parents leave him at home a lot, the old nanny he had (which was also Hugh's nanny) died in 2013 and his parents were gonna force him to go to Jessica's tournaments but he convinced them to let him stay home by himself.

•Spencer had a falling out with Rajeev the summer before junior year bc he kept ratting out his movie plans and other things he was excited to do to Lolo, and when he confronted him about this they had a fight. Hes still really good friends with Shanilla though.

• Spencer is AroAce and autistic.

• Spencer does script writing, Photoshop/advertisement on MeTube, and directing for his films, Shanilla does editing, and Ezekiel/Zeke (a new entry to the friend group/an oc) helps with the camera set up.

• Spencer likes scene/emo clothing styles.

Shanilla and Rajeev:

* Theyre twins but out of the two Rajeev is the most spoiled since hed be the one to pass on the family name while shanilla is the more responsible one of the two. Because of this, shanilla often babysits her brother and he has to go wherever she goes.

* Shanilla used to have a massive crush on Spencer but backed off when he asked her too and came out as AroAce.

* Shanilla's anchor is a rope braclet that Billy had with several music and snake based charms.

* Rajeev kept his anchor because Spencer didn't wanna fight with him to get it back. His anchor is a polished leather belt that belonged to Billy.

* Rajeevs fight with Spencer started because Spencer didn't trust him enough to tell him that he was going to a film camp over the summer because Lolo's dad was sponsoring the trip and Spencer expected that Rajeev would tell Lolo and she would have her dad cancel the trip.

* Rajeev is still forced to hang out with Spencer's friend group because his sister still hangs out with them and he has to go wherever his sister goes.

* Even though they share a birthday Rajeev is the only one who gets a party because Shanilla doesnt like parties and thus doesnt want her own.

[voidingintotheshout]

Mini Movie Review

Holiday Date (Hallmark, 2019).

Grade: B minus.

Please note that this review contains spoilers.

OK, so I don’t know if I like this movie. I have to ding it quite a few points for the completely bananas premise, which involved both main characters lying and gaslighting this woman’s family for the entire movie and them in true Hallmark fashion, none of the family members are remotely mad about this, and everyone gets along in the end.

So the actual plot is that this lady gets dumped by her fiancé a week before Christmas. Why he couldn’t have just waited until after Christmas IDK. The first question that it made me think about is did he know that she was planning on introducing him to her family? Because it seems like breaking up with her when he knew she was about to mention him to her family would’ve been the best time. If alternatively, she was planning on bringing him to her family for Christmas, and hadn’t even mentioned this to him when Christmas was less than a week away is another thing entirely. That seems kind of crazy. Maybe it’s my fault for trying to inject logic into a hallmark movie.

In any event, she is left by this guy that she was engaged to but she now is alone and has already told her family that Ethan is coming and is “Mr. Christmas”. That’s when she goes to a holiday party and meet this dude that is an actor and who wants to “connect” with small-town life, so he agrees to be her fake fiancé in exchange for being able to understand what small town living is like. The only thing is that he is Jewish.

As a gentile, I’m unsure, but from what I’ve gathered, he seems like one of the more assimilationist Jews that I’ve heard of. In the clip below, he goes on about how he’s so excited to get into Christmas and to put up lights and decorate a tree and sing Christmas carols and open presents and stuff like that. I could be wrong, but a lot of Jews don’t wish they were Christians. They’re really proud of their culture. Also, he does a recitation, if that’s the right word, of the prayer “Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu l'hadlik neir shel Shabbat.” However, he does it in what feels like the most gentile pronunciation I could’ve imagined. I mean the actor playing this person is Jewish from what I’ve gathered, and it’s all about him sharing his Jewish faith with these Gentiles, which is great, but him as a character, as a representative of all Judaism was really… confusing.

Like, it’s what I expected because Hallmark has gotten a lot of knocks from people in the Jewish community about their depiction in Hallmark movies as this group that wishes they could be Christians and not actually celebrating why they’re happy to be Jews. I knew that’s kind of what this movie was going to be depicting. It’s telling that most of the scenes about his Jewish culture involved the Christians being presented as good allies, and being excited to learn about this culture, which is also great, and not about why this culture matters to him. Like obviously latkes are delicious. Sufganiyot (jelly donuts eaten during Hanukkah) are obviously delicious. I don’t know. I liked it but I feel like the movie worked because it wasn’t just another two attractive white people and their one person of color friend in a absurd small town that doesn’t make any sense except during Christmas, making extreme life choices based on their love of the holiday season. It was about people connecting—but wow.

The fact that her family was totally fine with her lying and bringing a fake boyfriend, lying and implying that the boyfriend was Christian, and then revealing that they’re Jewish, revealing that the person isn’t even named Ethan. They aren’t an architect. Those two weren’t dating, but you expect your parents to believe that the dude who you bought as a prop to trick them is a guy you have fallen in love with and are now dating. Then, both of you decide to quit your jobs on Christmas Eve to do jobs that objectively will not pay enough to live in New York. And everyone is cool with it? That is a typical Hallmark movie ending.

[sleepymarmot]

Yesterday was the first time I encountered the name of Janet Sobel, an Ukrainian American female artist who influenced Jackson Pollock. Under the cut are the notes I took while trying to learn more about her.

Naturally, the first thing I did was to look her up on Wikipedia. The only color example of her art in the article was this:

My first thought was "This looks like Marc Chagall!"

The second: "They lived at the same time. I wonder if both of them were drawing from the same tradition. Was she also Jewish?"

Wikipedia said the following (direct quotes):

Janet Sobel was born as Jennie Olechovsky in 1893 in Katerynoslav, Russian Empire (now Dnipro, Ukraine).

Her father, Baruch Olechovsky, was killed in a Russian pogrom.

Her depiction of soldiers with cannons and imperial armies, as well as traditional Jewish families, reflected the experiences of her childhood. Her figures often demonstrated the time of the Holocaust, where she relived the trauma of her youth.

And that might already be clear enough for some readers including myself, but for an unknown reason the article doesn't directly call the artist Jewish. For example, Chagall's page is in the "Jewish painters" category, but hers isn't.

So I returned to the google search results... And literally the next English-language biographical article said this in the blurb, without even the need to open the link: "She was born Jennie Lechovsky in 1893, to a Jewish family". Is there, like... a reason Wikipedia decided not to say it directly?...

Anyway, turns out, Sobel and Chagall actually met while he was in America!

Another artist whom Sobel met at this time was her near-contemporary Marc Chagall, with whom she shared Russian culture and language and a love of music. When Sol took her to visit Chagall in his studio, he recalls that the two spoke Russian together (rather than Yiddish, another language that they had in common). Chagall had only landed in New York on June 23, 1941, the very same day the Nazis invaded Russia. During the seven years he remained in the United States, he never tried to learn English, provoking one biographer to quip: "The longer he stayed in America, the more Russian he became." At the time of their meeting, both Chagall and Sobel were preoccupied by accounts of the war raging on the Eastern Front, the land of their youth, and both were feeling profoundly Jewish. Chagall's memories of his native Vitebsk included his uncle teaching him to play the violin, and, as a result, he liked to listen to music all day long while he worked. This habit was not so different from Sobel's who commented: "I always read books, the Russians and the English, and I love music…. I don't think that ever I would paint a picture without music to listen to. All humans must have something like that, that warms them inside." (source)

The same article also points out some Ukrainian and Jewish motifs and references in Sobel's art, as well as a few more reproductions of her art. Even so, my cursory search didn't explain the similarity with Chagall's style I felt in the picture above — the big floating face, the way the colors are placed. Surely it wasn't just my imagination! Needs further research. Maybe she was inspired by his art directly, instead of both of them independently having similar influences?..

Here are some other quotes, mostly concerning the way this Jewish Ukrainian immigrant grandmother, unsurprisingly, faded into obscurity. Turns out that in addition to the obvious reasons, there were some unfortunate coincidence involved, including a paint allergy (details in the links).

But Sobel’s fame did not last long. The news media often referred to her as a grandmother and housewife first, then as an artist, said Sandra Zalman, an associate professor of modern and contemporary art at the University of Houston. “Sobel did not fit into the categories that the art world conceived of her,” Zalman said in a phone interview. “She got attention for being an outsider, but then is quickly forgotten for being an outsider.” Pollock, for instance, was the quintessential American artist. Dressed all in black, he would crouch or stand over a canvas while athletically flinging paint, a cigarette hanging from his mouth. Sobel, on the other hand, would lie on her stomach on the floor of her apartment in her high heels and stockings, passively watching the paint fall onto her canvas from the bristles of a brush. “It is not easy to paint,” she told The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. “It is very strenuous. But it’s something you’ve got to do if you have the urge.” Some art critics dismissed her creations as “untrained” or “primitive.” Sobel’s skills, Zalman said, were not a threat to Pollock; her influence was merely a place holder for his fame. (source)

---

Pollock's was an instinctive, shoot-from-the-hip technique that didn't painstakingly plot its next move – rather, one that grabs a bottle, takes a swig, wipes its lips on its cracked knuckles, and couldn't care less who's watching. This is painting free from form and formalities, the kind of painting that only an American, a real American, could invent. Only it wasn't. Contrary to established myth – a myth accelerated by sensational spreads in Time and Life magazines in 1949 and 1956 under such eyebrow-raising headlines as "Jack the Dripper" and "Is he the greatest living painter in the United States?" – Pollock's "signature" style wasn't his invention at all, but the brainchild of another artist, one whose extraordinary story confounds and invigorates our understanding of one of the most celebrated contours in recent cultural history. Put simply, modern art has a problem. Her name is Janet Sobel. (...) Writing years later in 1955, the art critic Clement Greenberg admitted to visiting the exhibition with Pollock and that the two "noticed one or two curious paintings shown at Peggy Guggenheim's by a 'primitive' painter, Janet Sobel (who was, and still is, a housewife living in Brooklyn)". Putting to one side Greenberg's derisory instinct to belittle the status and achievement of Sobel ("curious", "primitive", "housewife"), what he goes on to acknowledge places beyond doubt the enduring significance of the encounter: 'Pollock (and I myself) admired these pictures rather furtively… The effect – and it was the first really 'all-over' one that I had ever seen… – was strangely pleasing. Later on, Pollock admitted that these pictures had made an impression on him." Why "furtively"? It is, after all, a word that admits a level of guilt and secrecy to the act of looking. Despite Pollock's own admission that Sobel's work "had made an impression on him", Greenberg can't resist diminishing the magnitude of that acknowledged impact. Greenberg goes on to insist that when Pollock "began working consistently with skeins and splotches of enamel paint, the very first results he got had a boldness and breadth unparalleled by anything seen" in the work of any previous painter, including Sobel. "Even as he selects Sobel as Pollock's predecessor," notes the art historian Sandra Zalman, "Greenberg asserts that Pollock had already surpassed her." (source)

---

What seems to me even more important for understanding Janet Sobel’s motives for making art and possibly for explaining, in part, why the New York art world abruptly forgot her work is contained in her statement that she sent to Porter for the catalog of A Painting Prophecy, 1950: “I am interested in people and everything that pertains to them.” Her statement is short, succinct, and humanistic, but in it, Sobel unfortunately, does not identify herself as a visual artist, and so the statement differentiates her profoundly from the artistic and intellectual ambitions expressed in the statements of the exhibition’s twenty-one other artists, who included Robert Motherwell, Stuart Davis, William Baziotes, Adolph Gottlieb, Jackson Pollack [sic], Louise Bourgeois, I. Rice Pereira, Jimmy Ernst, and Mark Rothko. Sobel’s statement, however, shows a remarkable congruance with the humanistic title of a book that first appeared in 1952, Life Is with People: The Culture of the Shtetl, which Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, a New York University professor, writes “was the first major anthropological study of East European Jewish culture in the English language.” In contrast to others, I would even argue that Janet Sobel’s fame in the early and mid-1940s came about because she was a woman, especially one whose very homey domesticity was so different from the public’s ideas of what the typical avant-garde artists then coming to prominence—like Jackson Pollock—were like. It may also be true that during World War II, when American men were more likely to be serving in the armed forces and overseas, it was easier for a woman to receive recognition for working in a factory or as an artist and doing a “man’s job.” Beyond her work’s artistic qualities, the press was intrigued that so conventional a woman—a matronly, plump, unpretentious, middle-aged, middle-class Jewish Brooklyn mother of five, a grandmother, a housewife, who had no art training and who had begun to make art only in the past five or six years—was so gifted and original an artist. However, Sobel never had to seek out the interest and support of members of the New York art world and cultural hierarchy on her own; she was very fortunate that her son Sol so energetically showed his mother’s artworks to his own art teachers and to prominent individuals like Sidney Janis, who at the time was known as a collector and art writer and had not yet opened his gallery; and to the philosopher and educator John Dewey. (source)

---

But despite that critical acknowledgment, Sobel was soon forgotten by the New York art scene. In 1946, She would move to Plainfield, New Jersey, where she was effectively cut off from her contacts in New York. She would continue to paint into the 1960s and exhibit her works locally.  Her sudden obscurity was also the result of the critical consternation that followed Sobel. “Sobel’s work did not fit easily into any of the categories of the burgeoning 1940s New York art world or alternately it slid into too many of those categories. Sobel was part folk artist, Surrealist, and Abstract Expressionist, but critics found it easiest to call her a “primitive.” Greenberg’s endorsement functions ambivalently it lends credence to Sobel’s aesthetic accomplishments but safely sequesters her work,” wrote art historian and professor Sandra Zalman in an essay on Sobel’s work.  Dealer Gary Snyder has been an advocate of Sobel’s work for decades, first seeing it in the exhibition “Abstract Expressionism: Other Dimensions” at the Zimmerli Art Museum of Rutgers University in 1989. “What struck me was the quality of the work, which was equal to that of Pollock, and of the same era,” said Snyder, who organized a pivotal exhibition of Sobel’s work in 2002, the first solo show of her work since her exhibition at Guggenheim’s exhibition in 1946.   Snyder feels that, for many, Sobel simply didn’t fit with the narrative being built up around the New York School of painters so she was written out of its origin story. “Those years, the reputation of New York School of Abstract Expressionism was burgeoning with these bad boys of Jackson Pollock, and Willem de Kooning. Janet Sobel didn’t fit into that myth of powerful hard-drinking painters of big paintings. The attention went elsewhere.”  At the very end of her life, in 1966, the art historian William Rubin, then a curator at the Museum of Modern Art, would visit a bedridden Sobel while researching the work of Jackson Pollock. Rubin would there select two all-over abstractions by the artist to be brought into MoMA’s collection, one of which, Milky Way, is currently on view at the museum.   Beginning in the late 1980s, there has been a steady reappraisal of Sobel’s work, particularly in the past 15 years. Still, those conversations have largely centered on her drip paintings and their relationship to Pollock. “Her stored experiences are what led to the spiritual, humanist, and profound nature of her art. When we visit MoMA and see The Milky Way, we realize that this is more than a painting—it is a message, to us, the viewers,” said James Brett, founder of the Gallery of Everything, London, which presented a booth devoted to Sobel’s work at Frieze Frieze Masters 2022, featuring five works seen in the background of the Ben Schnall photograph.  Today, Sobel’s oeuvre feels prescient and important for reasons well beyond exhausted conversations about the origins of Abstract Expressionism. Indeed, the folkloric qualities of her earliest paintings and her deep involvement in an American Surrealist style led largely by women feel particularly relevant to larger questions about the telling of art history. She remains quite singular in that regard.  “She’s a very unusual self-taught artist in that unlike most self-taught artists, her work evolved over time, like more Modern artists,” said Snyder. “She moves from a primitivism to a Surrealism, to a drip-style of Abstract Expressionism all within about 10 years, which is quite phenomenal growth.” (source)

Here's a video from the MoMA showcasing one of Sobel's most famous paintings, Milky Way (1945):

While reading all this, I discovered that Pollock was married to the artist Lee Krasner, who was also from a Jewish Ukrainian family (but born in America, unlike Sobel, and her Wikipedia entry doesn't hesitate to use the word "Jewish"), and who significantly influenced his work. Isn't it interesting how a white man from a Protestant family became an icon of American modern art, while these women were forgotten for decades?

[matan4il]

Sooooooo from someone who spends too much time researching name meanings before naming their characters to someone who knows too much about names (jk, you can never know too much, I just thought using superlatives would be fun, and yes, I know "too x" isn't even a superlative, just let me have this 🤣):

Thoughts on the naming of 911 characters? And skdhflsdhf if you wanna add some shippy thoughts to it, go ahead😂💕

LOL Hon, can I just mention how much I love that we have in common the whole spending too much time researching name meanings before naming a character thing? XD And you know you can always consult me whenever you want to! My brain is full of redundant information and someone should take advantage of that!

I wanted to do this properly, so I ended up making a whole goddamn post about name meanings for 911 characters, including a few gifs. Sorry that means it took me a bit longer to reply, and thank you so much for your patience! xoxox

My thoughts on these name choices by 911, wow... OK, so can I mention that the most heartbreaking one to me is the naming of Daniel? As you can see in the post, Daniel means "God judges me" which is basically a sentiment expressed by religious Jews, an accepting of God's judgment and an expression of trying to do right in his eyes. But when someone passes away, in Judaism we say, "Baruch dayan ha'emet," meaning 'blessed is the judge of truth' to express an acceptance of this fate, too. Considering how young Daniel was when he passed away, the choice for his name just sends a shiver down my spine.

Evan meaning 'God has graced' gets to me, we just have the irony of this boy who grew up feeling like he was nothing in the present, that he could only hope to be someone in the future (as he tells Maddie in 405), this boy who was only brought into the world for God's grace to be directed towards saving his older brother, and he doesn't see, he doesn't realize just how much grace there is in his own existence! Once again, breaking my heart...

Another one that gets to me is Eddie's name meaning 'rich protection', when he's a dad who has dedicated himself to protecting his son and doing everything in his power to making Christopher's life as good as it can be, sparing no expenses on it, working twice as hard to be able to take good care of him, all while barely spending any money on himself (as his bedroom shows in 204). I also really like that he and his dad Ramon share the 'mund' part in their original Germanic names, meaning 'protection.' They are both devoted father, looking to protect their kids! They just go about doing it in very different ways...

And of course there's an interaction between their names. While Buck has trouble seeing his own grace, and is reckless and de-values his own life, Eddie is also protective of him, doing everything he can to make it clear to Buck that he is not expandable, and that there is no one Eddie trusts in the world more than him. Their love story is coded into their names, for heaven's sake!

Athena's name meaning might be unknown, but the connection between her and the Greek goddess of just, brave, smart war always got to me! Athena is opposed in Greek mythology to Ares, the god of bloodthirsty, treacherous, destructive war. It's just so fitting for a character whose whole essence is to be a warrior for good. And in that instance, the show even made explicit reference to this, saying Beatrice didn't choose her daughter's name randomly.

I like that when David was brought specifically to be Michael's love interest, he's given a name that is the ultimate one for lovers. David (spelled in Hebrew דוד) comes from the Hebrew word 'beloved' (pronounced 'dod' and also spelled in Hebrew דוד). Not only is that a very fitting meaning, but in the biblical book The Song of Songs, you'll find the verse, "Ani le'dodi ve'dodi li" which means "I am for my beloved and my beloved is for me," considered by many people familiar with the biblical text to be the ultimate expression of a lovers' bond there. That THIS is the name chosen for the character brought in to be a part of the first proper mlm couple 911 has featured makes me happier than I can explain!

I can talk about other notable choices (naming probably the biggest villains on the show with names that refer to 'peace' or imply it by meaning 'dove'), but I don't wanna overburden this post. I do think some of the names, when the origin is unknown / uncertain, and when some have very little connection (if any) to their characters, are a reminder that TV show writers don't always do the research. Sometimes they just like a name! Or select one randomly! Or have personal associations that play into choosing a name, that have nothing to do with the "official" name meaning. In other words, we (as fic writers) allowed to ignore this, too. ;) I personally like having intention behind my character's name, as an extra layer of meaning, but it is 100000% okay not to pay it any attention! *hugs*

Hope you have a wonderful day! As always, here's my ask tag. xoxox

[lindajenni]

nov 1

a short work

"for He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, because the Lord will make a short work upon the earth." rom 9:28

i cam across this scripture in my bible reading and it jumped out at me for some reason. some reason like maybe the Holy Spirit warning of what imminently lies ahead. perhaps even nearer than we think. the books of daniel and revelation go hand in hand in the end times, so let's look at them.

God has a plan; a seven thousand year plan for dealing with mankind. six thousand of those years is almost complete. "seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy." dan 9:24

sixty nine of those weeks have come and past and the seventieth week is nigh upon us. it will be a time like no other; a time that has never been before or will be again. at the end, rebellion, sin, death and decay will have given way to the holiness of God and His ultimate desire for sons in His image. "but as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." john 1:12

even now it is a time like any other. sure, they eat, they drink, they buy, they sell, they plant, they build. only now times are intensified. there were wars and rumors of wars, but the once verboten talk of nuclear is common now with ever increasing earthquakes in diverse places. but as long as it didn't touch their little part of the world, it was as if it was just someone else's trouble. they were felt sorry for them but life must go on.

and then it happened. all restraint was suddenly removed. those who been bearers of grace and truth were no longer here to hinder one's evil pleasures.

the plan for mankind will be an abrupt, short work indeed; one week of years to recompense for six thousand years of sin. but how many are looking for that time and even know it nears. "surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets." amos 3:7

"the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John." rev 1:1

as if reading from a book, i can almost see the opening sentence… "it began like any other say, and then suddenly every thing was forever changed. we had ridiculed and mocked against them but now it was evident what a restraining force they had been. with all that was good and decent (defenders of truth) being removed, all that remained was for every one to do what was right in their own eyes. and so they did."

the revelation then goes on to enumerate the judgments God has determined - one by one. the seals, trumpets and bowls are a three series of end-times judgments from God. The judgments get increasingly worse and more devastating as the end times progress. this on top of the evil man inflicts on themselves. the seven seals, trumpets, and bowls are connected to one another and with their completion the wrath of God is complete. all that remains is a righteous judgment of rewards and punishments for deeds in the body.

"but the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers." 12 pet 4:7

if perchance you are one of those remaining to see such times, know that it is not too late yet. you have a chance to become a "tribulation saint." the cost will be high, but the reward ill be great. it will cost you all. there can be no more hiding in secret but an open declaration of belief and faith in the blood Jesus Christ must be made. "and they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death." rev 12:11

"for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!'" matt 23:39 baruch haba b'shem Adonai!

[princeofgod-2021]

LIGHT OF LIFE 424

John 1:4

UNDERSTANDING PROPHETIC MANDATES 58: FULFILLMENT OF PROPHECY 16

Amo 3:7 CERTAINLY, THE ALMIGHTY LORD DOESN'T DO ANYTHING UNLESS HE FIRST REVEALS HIS SECRET TO HIS SERVANTS THE PROPHETS. GW

Lastly, on HASTE, I want us to look at Jeremiah again.

Do you remember when God gave a prophecy that lands will yet again be bought and owned by Israelis in Canaan?

Jer 32:6-8 The LORD told me that Hanamel, my uncle Shallum's son, would come to me with the request to buy his field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin, because I was his nearest relative and had the right to buy it for myself. THEN, JUST AS THE LORD HAD SAID, HANAMEL CAME TO ME there in the courtyard and asked me to buy the field. SO I KNEW THAT THE LORD HAD REALLY SPOKEN TO ME. GNB

This Prophecy was [too] sure because the Lord made Jeremiah do profound Documentation like Deed of Purchase and official Receipt.

No prophecy can be surer than that, beloved.

Jer 32:10 -12 I SIGNED THE DEED, SEALED IT, HAD PEOPLE WITNESS THE SIGNING OF THE DEED, and paid out the silver. Then I took the sealed copy of the deed, containing the terms and conditions, as well as an unsealed copy. I gave the copies of the deeds to Baruch, son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah. I did this IN THE PRESENCE OF MY COUSIN HANAMEL AND THE WITNESSES WHO HAD SIGNED THE DEED and IN THE PRESENCE OF ALL THE JEWS who were sitting in the courtyard of the prison. GNB

Nothing should be more encouraging and exciting as a full-proof confirmation today, of a prophecy set for the future.

We should know that it isn’t wrong to ask God for reassurances.

Gen 15:7-8 And he said to him, I am the Lord, who took you from Ur of the Chaldees, to give you this land for your heritage. AND HE SAID, O LORD GOD, HOW MAY I BE CERTAIN THAT IT WILL BE MINE? BBE

When you do ask God however, ensure that it is mainly because you are plainly interested and love to know, and not that you are doubtful.

There is a world of difference.

Jas 1:5-6 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. KJV

But if you’re Hasty, problem can come with the assurance God gives you.

Jeremiah was excited about seeing and claiming the lands he had paid for, back while he was in prison.

Jer 37:12-13 So Jeremiah wanted to leave Jerusalem and go to the territory of Benjamin TO TAKE POSSESSION OF HIS PROPERTY THERE AMONG THE PEOPLE. But when he came to Benjamin Gate, the captain of the guard there, whose name was Irijah, son of Shelemiah and grandson of Hananiah, arrested the prophet Jeremiah. He said, "You're deserting to the Babylonians!" GW

Don’t get me wrong beloved. Opposition could easily have risen against Jeremiah, even if he didn’t take that journey; He was a magnet for wahala.

But then, it’s always important that one doesn’t expose himself easily to persecution, where one is already hated.

Consider Jesus again.

Joh 7:1,6-7 After this Jesus traveled throughout Galilee. HE STAYED OUT OF JUDEA BECAUSE THE JEWISH LEADERS WANTED TO KILL HIM…So Jesus replied, “My time has not yet arrived, but you are ready at any opportunity! THE WORLD CANNOT HATE YOU, BUT IT HATES ME, because I am testifying about it that its deeds are evil. NET

A Yoruba adage says: “it is foolhardy to be rubbing yourself with Palm Oil when people are planning to roast you”.

What was Jeremiah thinking, going to claim Lands at a time he himself prophesied of total Captivity and movement of all Israel to Babylon?

Apart from direct Prophecies, we all should know that certain [common] events happen about the same time.

Ecc 3:5-6 There is a time to throw weapons down and a time to pick them up. There is a time to hug someone and a time to stop holding so tightly. THERE IS A TIME TO LOOK FOR SOMETHING AND A TIME TO CONSIDER IT LOST. There is a time to keep things and a time to throw things away. ERV

Jeremiah should simply have considered any idea about owning possessions LOST!

But it is evident that he [somehow] misunderstood the details of Prophecy and rather thought that it was going to happen in his lifetime.

Shall we check out that Prophecy again please?

Jer 32:14-15 "This is what the LORD All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: 'Take both copies of the deed—the sealed copy and the copy that was not sealed—and PUT THEM IN A CLAY JAR. DO THIS SO THAT THESE DEEDS WILL LAST A LONG TIME.' The LORD All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says, 'IN THE FUTURE my people will once again buy houses, fields, and vineyards in the land of Israel.'" ERV

Payments and signing of Deed of Purchase for the land by Jeremiah was simply symbolic and evidence for people around then.

He had nothing to do with possessing anything at that time.

One thing is to misunderstand Prophecy, another is to be hasty to do the forbidden.

Well, he never got to see that possession in his lifetime and till everything scattered, as prophesied.

May our decisions not get us into trouble with Prophetic Mandates and Times, IN JESUS NAME.

Come back on Monday, for more of this insightful and enlightening Sub-Subtopic.

Keep Shinning!

Brother Prince

Friday, October 27, 2023

08055125517; 08023904307

[600shekels]

2 Chronicles 2: 11-16. "Baruch Hashem, Because God."

11 Hiram king of Tyre replied by letter to Solomon:

“Because the Lord loves his people, he has made you their king.”

The Letter is Baruch Hashem, "Because God Sees."

What does it mean?

B”H (ב״ה) is an acronym for the Hebrew words baruch Hashem (“blessed is G‑d”) or b’ezrat Hashem (“with the help of G‑d”). Others opt for BS”D (בס״ד), which is an acronym for the Aramaic phrase b’syata d’shmaya (“with the help of heaven”).

(The quotation mark before the last letter is the Hebrew way of signalling that this is an acronym or an otherwise non-standard word.)

Ha= the substantive seer

Shem= all that can be consciously known in the creation

One also says in tandem, Baruch Adonai, "I kneel before the God of Israel, Pillar of the Sun Who advances time forever, illuminating the darkness with His Light."

Ad=avdances time

On= the pillar of the sun

Ai= to twist out iniquity

Together, Baruch Hashem, Baruch Adonai means "I kneel before the God of Israel, the Source of the sun who freed us from darkness, Who is the Knower of all and advances time forever."

12 And Hiram added:

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth! He has given King David a wise son, endowed with intelligence and discernment, who will build a temple for the Lord and a palace for himself.

13 “I am sending you Huram-Abi, a man of great skill, 14 whose mother was from Dan and whose father was from Tyre.

He is trained to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, and with purple and blue and crimson yarn and fine linen. He is experienced in all kinds of engraving and can execute any design given to him. He will work with your skilled workers and with those of my lord, David your father.

Harum Abi means "Father's Nobility" whose mother was Dan, "the ability to govern" from Tyre, "to incline towards confrontation."

The above is a kind of curriculum design which Solomon requested of Hiram of Tyre, who responded by sending a teacher.

First comes reading and writing of scripture. All gathering of intelligence and tuning of the mind comes from scripture. The multiplication table, the periodic table, alphabets, botany, astronomy, Bachian counterpoint, they create a means by which the undercurrent of the phenomenal universe can be made malleable by man.

Engraving, metal work, weaving, everything we do depend on the way the scriptures have extracted the knowledge from the immense and splendid mind of God and turned them into a methodological approach for mankind. We learn religion so we find their graces.

15 “Now let my lord send his servants the wheat and barley and the olive oil and wine he promised, 16 and we will cut all the logs from Lebanon "purity" that you need and will float them as rafts by sea down to Joppa "to be beautiful". You can then take them up to Jerusalem "to be peaceful.”

Hiram concludes his note back to Solomon saying, "use what I am willing to teach you for the making of great lasting beauty in your lives, because this is what God has commanded."

And it seems we must now take into consideration that Judaism as we are coming to understand it was really invented by a foreigner to Israel named Hiram, who was the King of Lebanon.

Without him, neither David nor Solomon would have gotten the regalia they needed to restart the Israelite Civilization ensuring the old and innovative traditions of the Jewish people to survived to this day.

[torahtantra]

The Four Elements, a Novel Concise Shabbat Service.

The Lord God said:

Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of your God יהוה: you shall not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, or your cattle, or the stranger who is within your settlements. For in six days יהוה made heaven and earth and sea—and all that is in them—and then rested on the seventh day; therefore יהוה blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it.

Invocation of the Fire, Baruch Atum Adonai.

Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech haolam Asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'zivanu l'hadlik ner shel Shabbat

Blessed are You, Eternal our God, Sovereign of time and space. You hallow us with Your mitzvot and command us to kindle the lights of Shabbat.

Then Begins Amidah, the Preparation.

Let us pray:

In the name of Almighty God, let us be protected, free of limiting deception, free of boundaries, let us connect with love, let us connect in utter holiness:

2.Tzet. The Emptying. Let us breathe in the Name of God and expel the other.

We invoke the healing name, and call to Israel, "Hold fast to YHVH who made the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them, who separated light from darkness;

Who made these signs and wonders on the earth, from the depths of the earth and from the earth to the sky.

YHVH, it is he who made these through his power, who summons all his angels and all the holy offspring to stand before him and all the heavens and all the earth and steadfast, protect us from the ones who committed sin against all humanity, and all evil against all people.

They know his authority but do not obey, do not desist out of fear of his name, or submit to all the great and mighty angels, his servants, who protect all the earth and the heavens.

Against you may YHVH send a powerful angel to carry out his entire command, who will show no mercy to you, may he smite you with a mighty blow in order to destroy you.

 May he in his fierce wrath send you down in to the great abyss and to deepest Sheol, and there you shall lie darkness forever and ever. 

May all afflicted by your darkness and those possessed by demons be healed by Raphael, the one who puts to flight a thousand.

Him we adjure.

Amein, Amein, Amein, Selah. 3. Tzimtzum. The Reduction.

Invocation of the Water:

Isaiah 43:7-44:5

7 Everyone who is called by my name,     whom I created for my glory,     whom I formed and made.”

 “But now listen, Jacob, my servant,     Israel, whom I have chosen. 2 This is what the Lord says—     he who made you, who formed you in the womb,     and who will help you: Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant,     Jeshurun,[a] whom I have chosen. 3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land,     and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring,     and my blessing on your descendants. 4 They will spring up like grass in a meadow,     like poplar trees by flowing streams. 5 Some will say, ‘I belong to the Lord’;     others will call themselves by the name of Jacob; still others will write on their hand, ‘The Lord’s,’     and will take the name Israel.

Invocation of the Rock:

6 “This is what the Lord says—     Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty: I am the first and I am the last;     apart from me there is no God. 7 Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it.     Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people,     and what is yet to come—     yes, let them foretell what will come. 8 Do not tremble, do not be afraid.     Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me?     No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”

Invocation of the Wind:

22 I have swept away your offenses like a cloud,     your sins like the morning mist. Return to me,     for I have redeemed you.

The serenity of peace which is equivalent to an infinite, unbroken and undisturbed existence, not tainted by punishment, something which is a feature of life in the world to come be with you.”

Invocation of the World:

23 Sing for joy, you heavens, for the Lord has done this;     shout aloud, you earth beneath. Burst into song, you mountains,     you forests and all your trees, for the Lord has redeemed Jacob,     he displays his glory in Israel.

“This is what the Lord says—     your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb:

I am the Lord,     the Maker of all things,     who stretches out the heavens,     who spreads out the earth by myself, 25 who foils the signs of false prophets     and makes fools of diviners, who overthrows the learning of the wise     and turns it into nonsense, 26 who carries out the words of his servants     and fulfills the predictions of his messengers,

who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be inhabited,’     of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,’     and of their ruins, ‘I will restore them,’ 27 who says to the watery deep, ‘Be dry,     and I will dry up your streams,’ 28 who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd     and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,”     and of the temple, “Let its foundations be laid.

5. Kaddish the Blessing Of Those Who Mourn.

Yitgadal v’yitkadash sh’mei raba b’alma di-v’ra chirutei, v’yamlich malchutei b’chayeichon uvyomeichon uvchayei d’chol beit yisrael, ba’agala uvizman kariv, v’im’ru: “amen.” Y’hei sh’mei raba m’varach l’alam ul’almei almaya. Yitbarach v’yishtabach, v’yitpa’ar v’yitromam v’yitnaseh, v’yithadar v’yit’aleh v’yit’halal sh’mei d’kud’sha, b’rich hu, l’eila min-kol-birchata v’shirata, tushb’chata v’nechemata da’amiran b’alma, v’im’ru: “amen.”

Y’hei shlama raba min-sh’maya v’chayim aleinu v’al-kol-yisrael, v’im’ru: “amen.”

Oseh shalom bimromav, hu ya’aseh shalom aleinu v’al kol-yisrael, v’imru: “amen.”

Magnified and sanctified be Your name, O God, throughout the world, which You have created according to Your will. May Your sovereignty be accepted in our own days, in our lives, and in the life of all the House of Israel, speedily and soon, and let us say, Amen. May Your great name be blessed for ever and ever. Exalted and honored, adored and acclaimed be Your name, O Holy One, blessed are You, whose glory transcends all praises, songs, and blessings voiced in the world, and let us say, Amen. Grant abundant peace and life to us and to all Israel, and let us say, Amen. May You who establish peace in the heavens, grant peace to us, to Israel, and to all the earth, and let us say, Amen. May God comfort you among the other mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.

6. The Blessing of the Wine and Challah.

The Amidah.

Thus shall you bless the people of Israel. Say to them: The LORD bless you and protect you!  The LORD deal kindly and graciously with you!-f  The LORD bestow His favor-g upon you and grant you peace! Thus they shall link My name with the people of Israel, and I will bless them.

Amein, Amein, Amein.

7. The Aleinu: Bow in Worship and Give Thanks.

It is our duty to praise God and give thanks! To Him, the Endless Light, we pay homage. In You, Adonai our God, we put our hope to see your power revealed in its beauty, erasing that which is wicked, that which is false. To restore Creation under Your nurturing rule. Amein, Amein, Amein, Selah!

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

7th October >> Mass Readings (Except USA)

Our Lady of the Rosary 

on

Saturday, Twenty Sixth Week in Ordinary Time.

Saturday, Twenty Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical Colour: White: A (1))

(Readings for the feria (Saturday))

(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)

First Reading Baruch 4:5-12,27-29 Take courage, my children, call on God.

Take courage, my people, constant reminder of Israel. You were sold to the nations, but not for extermination. You provoked God; and so were delivered to your enemies, since you had angered your creator by offering sacrifices to demons, not to God. You had forgotten the eternal God who reared you. You had also grieved Jerusalem who nursed you, for when she saw the anger fall on you from God, she said:

Listen, you neighbours of Zion: God has sent me great sorrow. I have seen my sons and daughters taken into captivity, to which they have been sentenced by the Eternal. I had reared them joyfully; in tears, in sorrow, I watched them go away. Do not, any of you, exult over me, a widow, deserted by so many; I suffer loneliness because of the sins of my own children, who turned away from the Law of God.

Take courage, my children, call on God: he who brought disaster on you will remember you. As by your will you first strayed away from God, so now turn back and search for him ten times as hard; for as he brought down those disasters on you, so will he rescue you and give you eternal joy.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 68(69):33-37

R/ The Lord listens to the needy.

The poor when they see it will be glad and God-seeking hearts will revive; for the Lord listens to the needy and does not spurn his servants in their chains. Let the heavens and the earth give him praise, the sea and all its living creatures.

R/ The Lord listens to the needy.

For God will bring help to Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah and men shall dwell there in possession. The sons of his servants shall inherit it; those who love his name shall dwell there.

R/ The Lord listens to the needy.

Gospel Acclamation Matthew 11:25

Alleluia, alleluia! Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom to mere children. Alleluia!

Gospel Luke 10:17-24 Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

The seventy-two came back rejoicing. ‘Lord,’ they said ‘even the devils submit to us when we use your name.’ He said to them, ‘I watched Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Yes, I have given you power to tread underfoot serpents and scorpions and the whole strength of the enemy; nothing shall ever hurt you. Yet do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you; rejoice rather that your names are written in heaven.’

It was then that, filled with joy by the Holy Spirit, he said: ‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’

Then turning to his disciples he spoke to them in private, ‘Happy the eyes that see what you see, for I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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

Our Lady of the Rosary 

(Liturgical Colour: White: A (1))

(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)

First Reading Acts of the Apostles 1:12-14 The apostles all joined in continuous prayer with Mary, the mother of Jesus.

After Jesus was taken up into heaven the apostles went back from the Mount of Olives, as it is called, to Jerusalem, a short distance away, no more than a sabbath walk; and when they reached the city they went to the upper room where they were staying; there were Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Jude son of James. All these joined in continuous prayer, together with several women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Luke 1:46-55

R/ The Almighty works marvels for me. Holy is his name! or R/ Blessed is the Virgin Mary, who bore the Son of the eternal Father.

My soul glorifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God, my Saviour.

R/ The Almighty works marvels for me. Holy is his name! or R/ Blessed is the Virgin Mary, who bore the Son of the eternal Father.

He looks on his servant in her nothingness; henceforth all ages will call me blessed. The Almighty works marvels for me. Holy his name!

R/ The Almighty works marvels for me. Holy is his name! or R/ Blessed is the Virgin Mary, who bore the Son of the eternal Father.

His mercy is from age to age, on those who fear him. He puts forth his arm in strength and scatters the proud-hearted.

R/ The Almighty works marvels for me. Holy is his name! or R/ Blessed is the Virgin Mary, who bore the Son of the eternal Father.

He casts the mighty from their thrones and raises the lowly. He fills the starving with good things, sends the rich away empty.

R/ The Almighty works marvels for me. Holy is his name! or R/ Blessed is the Virgin Mary, who bore the Son of the eternal Father.

He protects Israel, his servant, remembering his mercy, the mercy promised to our fathers, to Abraham and his sons for ever.

R/ The Almighty works marvels for me. Holy is his name! or R/ Blessed is the Virgin Mary, who bore the Son of the eternal Father.

Gospel Acclamation cf. Luke 1:28

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

Gospel Luke 1:26-38 'I am the handmaid of the Lord'.

The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. He went in and said to her, ‘Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is with you.’ She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?�� ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you’ the angel answered ‘and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.’ ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord,’ said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me.’ And the angel left her.

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[binkybun]

oh yeah the other day our partys sorceress (me!) and the rogue literally got thrown in jail for getting caught up in conspiracy theories and bothering an innocent carpenter and the city guards captain with nagging questions about a bunch of missing trees