Tag Archives: Pesach

Pesach 2020

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We are approaching Pesach, aka Passover, the holiday commemorating the ancient Israelites’ liberation from slavery in Egypt-know in Hebrew as Mitzraim, “the narrow place,” the place of stuck-ness and limitation. It is the holiday where we recall how our ancestors left this slavery, after the series of plagues God visited upon Egypt-blood, beasts, hail, locusts, frogs, lice, cattle blight, darkness-finally, the death of the first-born of Egypt, from the highest to the lowest. It’s like that; powerful people refuse to recognize a problem and any crisis, unless it affects them personally.

In this time, we have a “president” who, like Pharaoh, refuses to do anything for his people, acting on self-interest and impulse, ignoring how it would injure his people; and the current plague of Coronavirus is affecting every person in every sector of society. It is in this time that congregations had to innovate, hold their services online so that, despite social distancing, we remain connected. We need that so sustain and support each other, so let’s continue to do that, and we’ll get through this.

In the spirit of Pesach-traditionally, the new year of the Jewish people-I present my resolutions for Pesach 2020:

I will conduct myself with self-love, self-esteem, and self-respect, thinking positively about myself and my life.

I will continue to improve my financial situation.

I will continue my education, by every medium available.

I will continue to be faithful to Jewish religion, history, culture, etc.

I will continue such spiritual practices as meditation, Torah study, prayer, affirmation, etc.

I will continue my participation in social and political causes, and my civic engagement.

Let us enjoy our Pesach, and stay close to each other.

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

Prepping For Pesach

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we are approaching Pesach, AKA Passover, theholiday commemorating the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt-called in Hebrew “Mitzrayim,” the narrow place, the place of limitations and few options-through the red Sea, and on to the Promised Land, the place of fulfillment.

A ;pt pf this is metaphor, like all religious teachings;”Mitzrayim” is a terrible situation you can’t tolerate any longer, such as physical bondage, a terrible job with little pay and bad conditions, a school bully, or an abusive spouse or parent. The Red Sea stands for the act of leaving the abusive situation, the borderline between oppression and liberation.

For this, I continue my tradition of Pesach resolutions, like with New Year’s; Pesach is the New Year of the Jews:

I will continue to conduct myself with self-love, self esteem, and self-respect, carrying myself with dignity, paying attention to the positive parts of my life, not judging myself too critically but correcting any errors and moving on.

I will continue to be loyal to Jewish history, religion, Kaballah, Israel,etc., and stand up for my people if attacked.

I will continue my social and political activism,standing up for all put-upon and powerless people, helping them find their power, and help right what is wrong in the community.

I will continue the art and business of writing, attending classes, readings, seminars, etc.

I will continue all forms of educations, be it classroom, libraries, lectures, etc.

I wish everyone a happy Pesach, and may you all escape you own Mitzrayim and get to your Promised land.

The Mason Missile, March 31, 2019

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Greetings!

Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller has submitted his report into the meddling of Russian intelligence systems into the 2016 presidential election favoring trump-I’ll never show him respect!-to his superior, Attorney General William Barr, a longtime Republican asset. Barr released a four-page digest with his own idea of summarizing the report (of at least 300-plus pages)-I, and so many others, would prefer to see the actual report, just as, during the Watergate scandal of the ‘70s, we read the White House tapes. But, even Barr’s summary said that Mueler’s report “does not exonerate him (trump).”

I don’t want to dismiss Mueller, or hype him up; he has been a dedicated and honorable public servant, and I respect his work. It is fortunate that he had to work with a thoroughly corrupt regime. But fear not-there are the investigations of the Justice Department’s Southern New York, and the congressional committees at work, showing the trump doesn’t have the entire federal government under his control-yet; he still has his dictatorial dreams, wanting to be like Putin, Kim Jong Un, Bolsonaro in Brazil, and Viktor Orban in Hungary.

I am galled by the Republicans claiming, with Barr’s four-page summary of two years of investigation, that trump is fully exonerated, while he is not; the Republican base, and its media like Fox News, is talking to itself and listening to itself. I believe even they have a good understanding of how corrupt trump and his crew are, including Ivanka, Don Jr, Eric, and Kushner; but do they care about the future of this country and of the planet? The lessening of health care, education, and job opportunities in this country?  Are they also bullies who worship someone who pretends to be powerful, and so live vicariously through him?

Feeling their sense of entitlement to rule the government without thinking of anyone else’s opinion, the Republicans have demanded that Adam Schiff (D-CA) resign as Chair of the Judiciary Committee-but he’s stood fast against them. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) spoke against the “condescending” and “arrogant” tone of Barr’s letter, and she demanded the full report-as do we all.  (https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/29/politics/mueller-report-secrecy/index.html?utm_source=fbCNNp&utm_content=2019-03-29T12%3A32%3A07&utm_term=link&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR15IldRQdmU6-w_2IvfS1lKZCf7U85ZQ7__FL0rpZ1hCqTe8QdqS_zyZbA) (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/dems-demand-muellers-full-300-pages-mock-scaredy-cat-gop_n_5c9d447de4b0474c08cb2671)

Recently, I joined other Jews, like in my synagogue, Congregation Leyv Ha-Ir (http://www.leyvhair.org/) in celebrating Purim, the rocking, rolling, riotous holiday where we celebrate the downfall of the wicked Haman (Boo!), through the work of the beautiful Esther (Woo hoo!), honoring the downfall of puffed-up despots who want to be worshiped as the gods they’re not. (Like someone we heard of). In a few weeks we will celebrate Pesach, AKA Passover, where we celebrate the liberation of the Jews from slavery-an ongoing theme in history that constantly has to be celebrated in every nation, in every faith, in every era. Let us maintain the spirit of those two wonderful holidays as we fight to win back our country for the people.

Bye!  

Torah Portion Bo

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This weekend we have studied the Torah portion Bo, Exodus 10.1-13:16. In this portion, Moses and Aaron continue to approach Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave Egypt to worship their God; but each time, Pharaoh refuses to allow it, no matter how severe the plague is on his nation and his people. God, through His prophet Moses, inflicts further plagues on Egypt-Locusts and Darkness. Pharaoh’s own courtiers plead with the king to give in, or the nation would be destroyed. But Pharaoh, still believing himself to be a god-despots develop big egos-refuses to budge, and does not allow the Hebrews to leave Egypt.

Then finally, there is the final plague, the Death of the First-Born, from the children pf Pharaoh to the children of the slave girls. Pharaoh’s will is finally broken, and he begs Moses to take the Israelite out of Egypt. the great thing is, Moses, once a prince of Egypt, was still respected in the court, and the Egyptians looked favorably upon the Israelites. The Egyptians, like all lower-class people, suffer from the stupidity and egotism of their rulers. In the portion is the beginning of the holiday Peach, the commemoration of the liberation of the Hebrews from slavery, with the origins of the Seder; and of the redeeming of the first-born.

Pesach is on the way

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I will be celebrating theholiiday of Pesach, or Passover, with my congregation. Many of my other freidns will celebrate Easter. Whichever holiday you celebrate, may it be a happy one for you and your loved ones.

I have the custome of writing resolutions for not only New Year’s, but my birthday, Rosh haShona, and Pesach. Here are my resolutions for Pesach 2014:

I will continue to conduct myself with self-love, self esteem, and self-respect. I will not speak negatively about myself, and I will be careful about my thoughts, knowing they impact my outside world. I will overcome all needless fear, doubt, and hesitation.

 

I will continue to develop my art and business as a writer, attending writing and poetry events and classes, sending out poems and stories, updating my resume and web site, networking with other writers, etc.

 

I will continue to be loyal and dedicated to Jewish religion, history, culture, Kabala, Israel, Hebrew, etc.

 

I will continue to study foreign languages.

 

I will continue to utilize all types of self-education, like libraries, galleries, museums, lectures, readings, etc.

 

I will continue to know the love of women and the joy of sex.