Friday, May 27, 2011

Different Dreams

I used to dream of adventure and daily drama.

Today I dream of cloudless skies and dinner with friends.

I used to dream of fireworks and folly.

Today I dream of laughing with my grandchildren and yoplait yogurts.

I used to desire diamonds and emeralds.

Today I desire only to love and be loved in return.

Today is full of the beautiful pleasures of life itself.

I live inside the dream of daily grace and grandeur.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Brief Encounters

Brief encounters of the God-like kind rarely succumb to banalities.

When time is of the essence, conversations find depth-defined indulgences.

Secrets evaporate and truths cascade like waterfalls.

Suddenly a mystical doorway opens wide the soul of another.

Thank God for these brief encounters that shift our senses out of third gear into high drive.

Friday, May 13, 2011

The Source

The flow of being is desperately in need of repair.

How can we restore the God-field and open up the channels to compassionate living?

How can I be the water source?

Friday, May 6, 2011

Kaddish by Heart

The eldest son was chosen by his father to say the Mourner’s Kaddish.* Standing at the gravesite of both his mother and father, the son gathered his large black and white bar mitzvah tallit (prayer shawl) and draped himself like a flag. Enveloped in white, he illuminated the cemetery’s grey exterior.

“Two years ago my father told me that I would be expected to say Kaddish for him when he died. The Kaddish was a familiar prayer to me, but could I chant it by myself, by heart? So soon after I came home from my visit with my dad, I went on the Internet to get acquainted with this venerable prayer. I wanted to be ready when the time came. Today, two years later, I am prepared to say the Kaddish for my father.”

He then proceeded to enunciate every vowel and syllable in this transcendent prayer. His voice, confident and grounded, remained steady throughout the upside down mantra-like sounds. No hesitations. No pauses. No mistakes. A solid-gold performance sincere and sacred.

A Kaddish recited by heart from the heart.

*Kaddish is the ancient memorial prayer written in Aramaic and recited by those who are mourning a loved one. In traditional Judaism, it was the eldest son who was obligated to say this prayer three times a day for eleven months to honor his parent and to raise the soul of the lost one to a higher realm. Today, in most denominations, women and men, the eldest and the youngest, chant this prayer in a communal setting. It serves as a therapeutic ritual for the grief work necessary to heal from our losses.

P.S. I welcome your referrals for weddings, baby namings, funerals, and special events! Contact me through my
website: www.RabbiTamaraMiller.com