Ritual: Your verse in the Bible, and mine
יְשֻׂשׂ֥וּם מִדְבָּ֖ר וְצִיָּ֑ה וְתָגֵ֧ל עֲרָבָ֛ה וְתִפְרַ֖ח כַּחֲבַצָּֽלֶת
The wilderness and the parched land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose.
Inspiration at a Thornbush
Moses’ first encounter with the Divine in the wilderness is at bush that burns but is not consumed. According to the Midrash, the choice of a “lowly thornbush” is God’s way of showing that the Shechinah, the Divine Presence can be found anywhere (Exodus Rabbah 2:5) I take this as a message to be more aware and attentive to the divine inspiration that can be found in “ordinary” and humble things, perhaps even in life’s thorns and thickets. These bare winter thornbushes I photographed (at Rockefeller State Park Preserve, except picture 5 and 14 in town, and 12 on a trip to Colorado), inspired me with their beauty and with the amazing connections and patterns that emerge amidst their brambles and tangles.
Learn about my mother’s spiritual journey, or return to the Gateway of Wilderness.
My Mother’s Spiritual Journey
My daughter Arielle once bought me a bookmark at a local store, embellished with a quotation from Henry David Thoreou, “In Wildness is the Preservation of the World.”I knew that saying from a poster that we had at our Ranch in Texas, that had accompanied a Sierra Club photo book by Eliot Porter. Arielle had not heard the story about it that my late mother, Betty Hilton, retold in a sermon she gave at her synagogue. (My mother became a hospital chaplain in her 70’s, and passed away at age 75.) The sermon was about her own time of “wandering in the wilderness” and not realizing that she was being led. In a sukkah (the symbol of wilderness sojourns), she got a new direction that changed her life.
Wind in the Trees and Ambiance at Tejon Ranch, California
Listen to the wind and the birds and insects in the trees, or if you are indoors enjoy this recording.
Featured Image: TejonWest by RangerX via Flickr
See the famous fruit trees of Israel, or return to the Gateway of Trees.
Gallery: Famous Fruit Trees of Israel
The five famous fruit trees of the Holy Land are noted along with two grains as the “Seven Species” (Shivat Haminim, (Deuteronomy 8:8). Embrace their bounty in artwork, Sukkah and home decorations, and foods for Jewish celebrations, especially Tu Bishvat (New Year of Trees). In California, my husband Avraham planted all five in our garden.
Proceed to Torah study about trees, or return to the Gateway of Trees.
Torah Study: The Tree in the Garden
At the heart of the Bible’s first story, humanity in the Garden of Eden, two trees play a central role, the Tree of Knowledge and the Tree of Life
The Tree of Life: Divine Wisdom
Are we really exiled from the Tree of Life? While the book of Genesis depicts the exile from the Garden of Eden and it’s Tree of Life, elsewhere Bible declares that the Tree of Life is available to us in another form.
She is a tree of life to those that hold on to her, and all who support her are happy.עֵץ־חַיִּ֣ים הִ֭יא לַמַּחֲזִיקִ֣ים בָּ֑הּ וְֽתֹמְכֶ֥יהָ מְאֻשָּֽׁר
Etz Khayim Hi – It is a Tree of Life, Rabbi David Shneyer, Psalm Songs from Rock Creek
Video: Ne’ot Kedumim, Israel’s Biblical Landscape
From our Sages: The Story of Honi
Honi (or Choni) ha-Ma’agel (the Circle Maker) was a second century tzadik (righteous person) who was kind of a cross between Johnny Appleseed (or Carob-Seed) and Rip Van Winkle. Honi was known for his ability to pray successfully for rain in times of drought, while standing in the middle of a circle he had drawn on the ground. One of the most famous stories about Honi is found in the Bablyonian Talmud:
Blessings for Fruits and Trees
Every time we eat a piece of fruit from a tree, we have an opportunity to pause and appreciate the divine force that flows through all creation and brings this delicious bounty to our lips. We can do this with a spiritual practice of saying a berachah, a blessing, before eating. (more…)
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