LOG
Love and Giving, Presents and Presence
I learned recently that there is a difference between a gift and a present.
For a present, you have to be present, to PREsent it. And of course, presence---really being available and attending to someone--really hearing them-- is the best gift of all. In fact, I believe being present is an act of loving.
With Spring coming soon we humans are somehow designed to rise with a fullness in our hearts. Have you ever felt so overflowing that you wanted to exclaim that joy and love to the Universe? Perhaps this is behind one of our human needs to devise a concept of God---as a receiver of our joy, our gratitude, our anguish. Perhaps this is why we have created holidays of love in the Spring.
If you are finding your heart bursting forth about someone, and you would like to gift them with a present they will look at often, and remind them of you, here are two suggestions:
Consider sending a gift directly to someone whose home, office, or personal space would light up with new art! To send a gift, simply fill in the recipient's mailing address in your order form. Contact me with any questions.
May your springtime be filled with love and gratitude and joy and good friends.
Blessings,
Rabbi Me'irah
Tu BiShvat Seder--New & Improved!
I am excited to tell you that my Tu BiShvat seder is available this year in book form! You can find it here. If you give it a review, no matter what you say, and you let me know, I'll send you a little gift. Be sure to include your address when you contact me.
My goal for the Spring is to publish another book on my piece: The Journey of the Soul, the Journey of the Mourner: A Map. I'll have more to say about that when it becomes available in May, ready for the 2018 Chevra Kadisha conference in Maryland, where I will be a speaker.
This past year my artistic talent was devoted to a big project: developing eight new borders for the Reform Movement's life cycle certificates. You can see all eight of them, mixed in with some by other artists. Two sample details are displayed in this post.
My wish for you this secular New Year, is that you are as busy doing things that quicken your spirit and add your unique light to the world.
Many Blessings, Rabbi Me'irah
First of Video Offerings
We have added a new section to Verses Illuminated--Video Resources.
The first video offering, "Illustrated Jewish Values at End of Life," is available free for you to use as a teaching aid. The video is a great introduction to learning about the last phase of the life cycle. It employs a unique approach developed by educator Rabbi Joshua Elkin, PhD by presenting the topic from the aspect of Jewish values rather than simply telling what we "do" in chronological order. In this way the emphasis is on the meaning of what we do.
Have a look! It's 11 minutes long and is illustrated with my drawings executed on the iPad.
If you would like to receive (approximately monthly) announcements of what's new at Verses Illuminated, including my upcoming booklet, "Journey of the Mourner, Journey of the Soul: A Jewish Map," please sign up here.
Blessings,
Rabbi Me'irah
Recent Interview with Seven Ponds
Rabbi Me'irah was recently interviewed in two sessions by Seven Ponds, an organization to advance open discussions and options surrounding the end of life.
See the second interview here.
Earth Day!
I was surprised to find that I have four illuminations related to the Earth. But then, The Earth---it's our most foundational/grounded/tangible/concrete reality, isn't it? There are many aspects of the Earth represented here: How we cannot own it, how it is medium that makes us part of the life cycle, how it is alive, and sustains everything living, and how it needs our loving care, and a rest. Scroll down to see these these paintings, and learn the story behind each one.
The Earth is MINE!
This image portrays some humans somewhere engaged in a Talmudic argument from Pirke Avot 5:13, clarifying what is legitimately "mine," and "yours..." Meanwhile, Leviticus 25:23 responds in Eternal words reminding us that we are but "sojourners and settlers" on God's Earth. Click here for more.
Both birth and death are found in this page styled like a page of Talmud, with the central text in the center. Texts from both Torah, and a contemporary Catholic poet, Donna Henderson, round out the human relationship to the Earth. Read more about it here.
Earth Becoming Beet
How DOES a funny looking little seed become a juicy, beautifully colored, delectable vegetable? This illumination reminds us that everything is transforming all the time, quietly, magnificently, whether we notice it or not. Click here for more information.
A Sabbath of Sacred Rest for the Land
And finally, a wisdom known to all ancient traditions, that as a living entity, we must nurture not merely exploit the land. "But the seventh year shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath to the Lord; your field you shall not sow, and your vineyard you shall not prune." Leviticus 25:4 Click here for more.
The Heart of the Stranger
But Passover seder doesn't just leave us with the story. It also instructs us as to how we are to orient ourselves as a result: with identification with the oppressed.
The Heart of the Stranger
Long ago, the story of a slave rebellion and escape to freedom, a happening of epic proportions, got written down in a scroll. That story of oppression and trauma and miraculous redemption also got inscribed in the psyche of the Jewish people. The ritual of the commemoration of that event, the Pesach seder, has been an effective teaching tool throughout countless generations. But the Passover seder doesn't just leave us with a story. It also instructs us as to how we are to orient ourselves as a result of that ancient experience: we are to identify with the oppressed.
There are several ways that one might adjust to trauma: numbness, rage, retribution; but our Torah constantly reminds us to follow the way of empathy, compassion and advocacy for the most vulnerable. This new illumination, "The Heart of the Stranger," serves to remind us of this orientation. The quote comes from Exodus 23:9, and is but one of many admonitions to care for the stranger, the fatherless and the widow.
Click here to purchase a print. 30% of the profits will be donated to the ACLU.
I am embarking on a series of social justice illuminations. "The Heart of the Stranger" is the second, along with "Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof." I am soliciting verses for this series, so write to me with your suggestions. If I use yours, you will get a free 8.5" square print.
Blessings, Rabbi Me'irah
Passover Gifts
On the evening of April 10, all over the world, Jews will sit together, eat ritual foods, and retell our story of freedom and self determination. The Passover story, along with the receiving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai, is a foundational pillar of Judaism. We are enjoined to teach the story of the Exodus to our children, so I would like to celebrate with you with the following two gifts.
My first gift for you is this depiction of Miriam, Moses' older sister, watching him in his little ark that his mother Yocheved carefully made for him, on the Nile. Look at the picture for a few seconds, and see where your eye is drawn. What else matches that shape in the picture? How do we know that this is Miriam and not Pharaoh's daughter? Click here to download the PDF. Print it out and laminate it to make a Passover placemat.
This second image depicts the ritual foods that remind us of the story of Pesach. Color them in, and look in the Haggadah to find the symbolic meaning of each item. For those with Hebrew skills, match the Hebrew name with the item. Click here to download.
Celebrate Women's Day
To Celebrate Women's Day, on March 8 this year,
I am bringing two examples of the "feminine" for you from my art prints: Everywoman, and Sowing the Seeds of Creation. These visual reminders of the feminine spirit make great gifts for the women in your life, including yourself.
EVERYWOMAN
"Awake, Awake for your light has come! Rise up! Sing a song!
The glory of God upon you is revealed!"
EVERYWOMAN
I couldn't stop singing these words from Lecha Dodi, in the Shabbat evening service as I was working on this image. I had volunteered to paint a commemoration for a special "Women Rabbis of Northern California" Retreat. I decided to use a medieval device of superimposing the sephirot, the mystical emanantions of God, upon the human body. However this time, uniquely, these sephirot would not be upon the body of a man, but a woman! Rethinking the meanings of the qualities of the sephirot in this context was exhilarating. Click HERE to find out what I learned.
SOWING THE SEEDS OF CREATION
SOWING THE SEEDS OF CREATION
"The Great Light is sowing seeds for God's glory." Zohar
The feminine ability to carry life into a new generation is mysterious and wondrous and the way we come closest to experiencing the Master of Creativity, the Holy One. The lowest sephirah of the lower seven is titled Malchut, or Shechinah. This is the portal between Heaven and Earth. In this image, the seeds from the world above are being sown into our world, the only place where they have the possibility to come into bloom. Click here for more information.
