With Ahava (love): לך־לך Go Forth 5779

ויאמר יהוה אל־אברם לך־לך מארצך וממולדתך ומבית אביך אל־הארץ אשר אראך

The LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.

ואעשך לגוי גדול ואברכך ואגדלה שמך והיה ברכה

I will make of you a great nation, And I will bless you; I will make your name great, And you shall be a blessing.

ואברכה מברכיך ומקללך אאר ונברכו בך כל משפחת האדמה

I will bless those who bless you And curse him that curses you; And all the families of the earth Shall bless themselves by you.” *

October 19, 2018

Dear one,

Many people have suggested that this parsha (chapter) sums up my life lately. Go forth from your home… And you shall be a blessing…

So I took the time this week to read it, really read it and see what it says. As I read, I realized this part of leaving and becoming a blessing is only one piece of the story. On my count, there are at least 10 plus stories going on in this weeks reading.

Now that in its self sums up my life. Not only am I on a journey, not only do I feel blessed, but I have at least 10 stories happening at the same time to share with you all since my last blog post in September. I can’t believe it’s been that long since I last wrote. WHAT?!

Here are a couple themes, from my last month in Jerusalem. So much more to say on each one of these bullet points.

· The High Holiday Services spanned the gambit from: amazing, interesting, mind-blowing, spiritual to lonely, a bit boring, what am I doing here and even the mundane. One of my goals for this year is to be as open to new possibilities and new experiences as I can. So I am trying many different types of services. Learning from all. Very interesting.

· So many people have open hearts and tables to me. Welcomed me into their homes and families. Fed me, and introduced me to their families and friends. WOW! Just wow! Thank you all, it really means so much to me.

· Starting with Rosh Hashanna (in September) until Simchat Torah (ending Oct 2^nd) I’ve has so many breaks from school. Each time we would start, there would be yet another holiday. Sukkot break meant having almost two weeks off of classes. Just as I was starting to get the hang of Hebrew and the stamina for a whole day of learning, we would have another break. I’m happy to say, this week we had our first whole week back at school and I made it though :-)

I‘m even happier to say I had some really amazing, insights this week as I studied texts.

· I figured out how to add tabs on my blog. If you look at the top, you will now see home, learning and art. I would love to share what I am studying with those of you who want to study along with me. My plan is to add to this tab weekly. I'll include what I am studying and a bit of insights. For today, I added a link to Pardes and listed the classes I am taking. You can read more about the classes and teachers on the Pardes website.

I'll keep adding more art to the art link too.

· Friends, did I mention, I’ve met so many people! It’s been surreal. For a while it seemed like I was literally meeting at least one new person a day, most days even more than one. I even thought about writing down a list of all the people I’ve met, I’m sure close to 500 people.

I did come up with criteria about what it means to know someone, if they shared at least three things about themselves and so did I. You would be surprised how many times people would share information (very personal) about themselves and walk away never knowing anything about me.

With that being said, it will come as no surprise, I’ve been thinking a lot about relationships. I’ll share more in future blog posts.

· My last blog post was about words for 5779. If you missed it, click here for the link. I loved your words for 5779. In my head, I wrote a beautiful post with all of your words. They were each lovely and unique, as well as universal. I'll try to put that blog in writing very soon.

This post is getting longer and longer. It’s going to be Shabbat here in the next couple of hours (minutes). I really just wanted to let you all know I am alive and well. Very well, indeed. Very HAPPY! Still missing you all, and the homesickness has subsided for the most part.

Blessing you with listening to your calling(s), even when they may seem difficult.

With so much love/אהבתי,
Tamy

*Did you notice, the word blessing appears 5 times in this short paragraph?