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Share(כו) רְאֵ֗ה אָנֹכִ֛י נֹתֵ֥ן לִפְנֵיכֶ֖ם הַיּ֑וֹם בְּרָכָ֖ה וּקְלָלָֽה׃
(26) See, this day I set before you blessing and curse:
Jane Kenyon
on two strong legs.
It might have been
otherwise. I ate
cereal, sweet
milk, ripe, flawless
peach. It might
have been otherwise.
I took the dog uphill
to the birch wood.
All morning I did
the work I love.
with my mate. It might
have been otherwise.
We ate dinner together
at a table with silver
candlesticks. It might
have been otherwise.
I slept in a bed
in a room with paintings
on the walls, and
planned another day
just like this day.
But one day, I know,
it will be otherwise.
(א) ראה אנכי נותן לפניכם היום ברכה (דברים יא, כו). לכאורה תיבת היום, אינו מובן. אך דידוע שהקדוש ברוך הוא מחדש בטובו בכל יום תמיד מעשה בראשית, דהוא יתברך נותן בכל יום בהירות חדש ומשפיע חסדים חדשים ואדם העובד שמו יתברך מקבל עליו בכל יום בהירות ושכל חדש מה שלא היה יודע אתמול. וזהו שכתוב ראה אנכי נותן לפניכם היום, על דרך שאמרו חכמינו ז"ל היום, בכל יום יהיו בעיניך כחדשים, רצה לומר בכל יום תקבל ברכה וחסד חדש:
(1)Deuteronomy 11,26. “See that I place before you this day blessing;” at first glance there seems no need for the word: היום, “this day,” as we know that G’d renews His blessings every day, just as He renews the act of creation of the universe by providing bright light to His universe as this is part of His goodness. People who serve Him are aware that they receive new insights daily and learn things they had not known on the previous day. We may therefore understand the word: היום, as “every day,” as our sages said: בכל יום יהיו בעיניך כחדשים, “G’d’s largesse shall be in your eyes as if something brand new each day.”
David Whyte
don't take the second step
or the third,
start with the first
thing
close in,
the step
you don't want to take.
the ground
you know,
the pale ground
beneath your feet,
your own
way to begin
the conversation.
question,
give up on other
people's questions,
don't let them
smother something
simple.
another's voice,
follow
your own voice,
wait until
that voice
becomes an
intimate
private ear
that can
really listen
to another.
take a small step
you can call your own
don't follow
someone else's
heroics, be humble
and focused,
start close in,
don't mistake
that other
for your own.
don't take
the second step
or the third,
start with the first
thing
close in,
the step
you don't want to take.
