REJOICING IN THE LAND OF THE LIGHT OF MIRACLES

Being Batyah, who or what is Batyah? The Egyptian Princess who was the surrogate Mother of Moishe, Moses's Mother when she bent down into the rushing turbulence of the River Nile to scoop up the baby Moses into her loving arms when she saw him precariously floating in the deepness of dangerous waters. Becoming a Mother by choice, becoming the Mother of Moses by choice. A Princess of Egyptian lineage taking on the nurturing of a Hebrew baby, one she sees who is about to drown, helping the baby and taking him on as her own.

Bat meaning "Daughter of" and Yah meaning "G-d." The Yah being the feminine Hebrew word meaning G-d. A "Daughter of G-d" who saved Moses's life when he was a baby, to raise him in an Egyptian royal household to become the greatest of all Prophets who spoke directly word to word with The Almighty One G-d with the purpose of freeing the Jews from slavery, raising the Jews to their status from slaves to being The Chosen.

Hebrew slaves who knew the ugliness and persecution of being slaves, and becoming the one Chosen group of people to be the followers of the One True G-d. To be in the world to enlighten people who are living in darkness, to show people the difference between evil and good.

To awaken every morning with the Shema on one's lips, to see sunlight however scarce as it flows through your bedroom window and to be thankful and to praise G-d for even the smallest amount. To not be in a prison that has no windows, to see Light and to embrace it. To see this even smallest amount of Light as a miracle given to you directly from G-d. This Light being a gift to tell you straight from the lips of G-d Himself that you are embraced in goodness and that your path as an Israelite is one of righteousness.

To rejoice in the Light and to call it your own, to have ownership of Light, and therefore goodness, and to have it forever.

THE MIRACLE OF GENEROSITY AND GIVING

Generosity, having an ability to give, giving being an act of kindness, not to give expecting something in return, not to give to sway someone's opinion, giving when others need your gifts, giving even when others do not need them, giving to show love and caring, giving to make someone happy, giving so someone has additional material possessions, giving so someone feels that they have sufficient means, giving because you have too much, giving to raise someone's status from being needy to having enough.

People who discourage giving because they themselves want to be the only givers, not to allow others to have a satisfaction to give, keeping this kindness to oneself and not allowing another to feel the benefits of the acts of giving. People who withhold this kindness to themselves in selfishness, to selfishly not encourage others to give and instead to want to be the only giver, to want to be the only one to have the satisfaction of giving.

To not have a lot to give but what you do have to give therefore means so much more because what you have is less. A sacrifice from the poor which although does not amount to much actually being more appreciated than a gift from the rich who has so much. A half shekel donation from the poor having more value and meaning more than a gift from the rich.

Having G-d bestow upon you all that you need, so you have extra and can give to your favorite charity, a good feeling to give sustenance to others but to not cause you to not have enough. Giving appreciation to someone who has given to you, returning this favor so there is mutuality and a two way street.

Giving a kind word or a smile or laughter, not even something material, but giving to someone something that could help them and offering this act of giving without expecting reward. Giving to someone without him knowing the gift is from you, giving anonymously without wanting a return.

Being in a place where G-d rewards you and continually gives you what you need and more, as He continues to bring you enough so you can continue to give to those who are in need or to those you love and who you want to have more.

ABOUT SHAVUOT AND PERSONAL ENCOUNTERS WITH THE DIVINE

In a past life, deep inside one's being, a memory not forgotten, a memory of being in a past life after generations of reincarnations, a soul that comes alive again, a spark of magic, a flame of a memory of being on Mount Sinai, there together with Moses and the Israelites, on a crag on the Mount, up above the ground of valleys below, me and Moses, Moses and I, and exceptionally, being there with Moses and G-d.

Witnessing Moses getting the tablets of Commandments he received from G-d Himself! As a Burning Bush wildly burning, a high lighted white fire of purity and passion! Hotter than the holiest of Light!

Being there with Moses in this past life remembering the occasion, as a real life witness of this incredible holy happening.

All Jews being there too, real life witnesses of the passing of the Tablets from G-d to Moses.

All of us in our past lives, being there together on top of the Mount Sinai, digging deep into our memories, remembering being there, all of us, every Jew alive on Earth today, having had this mutual experience. All Jews being there together, to remember, to visualize, to recall the experience: a memory deeply etched into our brains like the Commandments were etched into stones.

Seeing Moses in a visualization, as big as life! A very tall and stately man! A Prophet: The Prophet of all Prophets! He had direct verbal back and forth conversations with G-d Himself.

G-d guiding Moses.

Seeing on Mount Sinai, Moses himself so strong with his mighty arms and forearm muscles rippling with blood vessels protruding, carrying heavy stones of holy but humbling Words.

He proudly, carefully, brought down the Tablets to show them to us, to show them to all Israelites, as we so dearly heartedly desired to read them.

Seeing small children there on Mount Sinai with Moses. Moses gently guiding children into the greatness of the Light of the Covenant, teaching them The Laws of the Land, The Holy Words of Good Ethics.

Hearing great clanging cymbals and trumpets! The sounds of thunder! Seeing brilliant white flashes of crimson fires in the sky's lightening as in a thunderstorm with spears of smattering fireworks in the silver linings of dark demonic clouds, all ignited as enormous energies high above our heads in heated halos.

Reading the Words on holy stone Tablets as they lighted up, flashes of Light deeply embedded into the darkness of the cloudy night. Words standing out in 3D like a present day movie theater, but actually happening thousands of years before.

Being given the religious rights to follow these Commandments, to be there to see them on Shavuot.

To honor Moses, to thank G-d, to keep thanking G-d!

To follow our Almighty G-d, to learn, to teach, to love and to obey.

To frightfully fear this awesome moment of Moses on Mount Sinai! To both Love AND Fear G-d.

Seeing Moses again and again in our mind's eye, year after year on Shavuot.

And again, from Shavuot to Shavuot, being ignited with the Truth. 

TO BE TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL

"Life is here and now, forever new. To be alive, this moment now must touch the essence of your soul. To be alive is to be forever newly born.
And so our sages said, “The Torah must be new to you every day.”
Because if it is not new, then it is not giving you life. And if it is not giving you life, then what is?"
[Chabad.org]

The newness of a budding leaf on a tree, a Gingko Tree with fan-shaped leaves that fan me with a cool sea breeze as I lay in sand on a lake shoreline.

To be alive and to feel this awesome rest but excitement as my hair blows around my head and forms a holy halo that lightens up glowingly reflecting the love of G-d above my head.

To be alive and to feel G-d, to feel HASHEM at every moment, in a sea breeze on a lake or inside a sheltered building with walls of yellow brick around me, yellow brick like the brick of the Kotel, The Wailing Wall, The Western Wall, protected each day by HASHEM Who gives strength and formidableness to these Great Yellow Brick Walls, impenetrable, immobile, firm and never giving up, never giving in.

Keeping always in The Jewish Faith and having the Home of these Yellow Brick Walls, firmer and stronger than the red brick walls, not a home to The Three Little Pigs.

Pork is nowhere to be found, never entering the Pearly Gates of these Walls. Not to be found in Heaven, a pork-free Heaven that is found here on Earth.

Touched by an Angel as I turned down a pork-filled piece of pizza, an Angel with such incredible holiness guiding my actions away from falling over a white picket fence into a pig pen where I would be stomped upon by a pig with cloven hooves but who does not chew his cud.

Touched by an Angel and warned as with the shrilling sound of The Shofar, to be freed from all that is deplorable and despicable, to have a clean plate with clean food with clean utensils.

To then touch others in return, to show them the love of this Angel whose message is for us to feel the love and fear of G-d in all places, to be thankful for these religious experiences and to share them with others.

Hoping to ignite a Divine spark where there was none, no passion, no fire, to keep trying to save the world.

Never to give up.

CLEAN AIR, CLEAN BREATHING, AND CLEAN THOUGHTS

Deeply taking lung filling breaths of clean air and circulating potent oxygen chemicals into your bloodstream, air that slides off the lake waters and in gusts breezing on in to fill your body with gasps of strong potent purity.

Deep breathing exercises, sucking in air deeply from the bottom of your stomach and like balloons enlarging your lungs without a dirty cigarette, green plants and tree leaves exuding oxygen and breathing in carbon dioxide, dancing in a meadow where greenness is everywhere and clean air comes from the beauty of flowers, blossoming flowers where bees get their honey, air becoming a life source that will never disappear, air everywhere, clean air without industry, eye opening miracles coming in with the silver linings of the clouds that are in the air, never to lose our abilities to breathe, air being free for the taking and always in abundance.

Lungs feeling healthy, red blood cells nurtured, blood flowing evenly throughout all our muscles and body organs, having energy as we breathe and move our bodies, air as energy, clean air as a clean energy source, not breathing in car exhaust, having lungs that are clean and thoughts that are clean, actions of cleanness and words that are clean.

Having love that is clean, a love of G-d that is clean. Feeling G-d in the purity of cleanness and in the cleanness of the study of Torah, a  holy Book that is clean.

Enjoying clean air and clean study and clean books that we can read and enjoy the purity of G-d as we practice clean actions, have clean words and clean thoughts.