RIP Captain Sir Tom Moore

Sad news from the UK this afternoon as the death was announced of Captain Sir Tom Moore. Yet another victim of the dread coronavirus. If you don't know his story, please look it up - here is a link. In a few short months, during a dark time in the community, he lifted the hearts and spirits of so many people.

The obituary in the Times today concluded with these words:

"Moore, who could offer no recipe for his own longevity, declared simply that he lived believing "tomorrow is going to be better than today, even if today was a good day". As for the risk of catching coronavirus himself, he was pragmatic. "If I get it, I get it, I'm not worried at all," he said. "You have endless chances of dying, in the end everyone has a turn, it has to happen sometime."

Thank you for your service, Captain Sir Tom. Rest in peace.

 

Finding Focus

It's not the first time, and probably won't be the last, that I note that I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment. This is, of course, compounded by the fact that I think I share the feeling with almost everyone I know. While everything is relative, I think these are really tough times, and I'm definitely seeking direction.

The other day I came upon the note pictured above. If I remember correctly, it was from a WRN Biennial in 1997. I had just escaped from my first job in Toronto for a few days in the sun with  friends and colleagues,  and was really a bit low. There was a group exercise where we shared some thoughts and feelings, and afterwards wrote messages for each other. I have no memory if and what I wrote for someone else, but I kept the message I received:

God's lion

You are so strongly and beautifully

who you are

Shine

Roar

Love (not exactly legible but have always read it as this)

Heal

Heal others

May you be blessed

as you find the

Blessing in others.

It comforted me then. As I reread it today, it seems clear to me that I need to refocus. I am thinking so much about all the things that are making me feel bad - physical pain, how the coronavirus may and does affect my life, work problems, the deaths of old family friends (& famous people whose work I appreciate), people behaving badly, governments and their actions. This message reminds me not just to seek, but to FIND the blessing in others. It is certainly there.

Thank you to the author:  my colleague and teacher, Rabbi Karyn Kedar.

Shavuatov.

 

MMMMMmiaow

Here is Sara the Cat enjoying some attention from L this evening. I don't want to anthropomorphise our cat so I have to admit I have no idea how she feels about most things. The almost silent rumble deep in her throat however, according to experience, appears to suggest some pleasure on her part.

Sara spends the most time playing with things we would otherwise throw away - empty boxes, an old wickerwork basket, the insides of toilet rolls, bits of string or old ribbons, and scrunched-up paper on its way to the recycling bin. There's clearly some kind of lesson there, but just now I'd rather be playing with her.

The life of a house-cat is certainly appealing. Food that you like is available whenever you wish. Although you spend a lot of time caring for your personal hygiene, all else is the task of others, including the swift removal of your natural excretions and the equally speedy restocking of your litterbox. You may sleep as much as you wish, and with a couple of cute tricks can easily encourage your flat-mates to play with you. You sit at the window and look out at what is happening in the world. Finally, you are loved and caressed and feel safe in your home. 

Come to think of it, life under lockdown sometimes isn't that far away from what I've just described. Miaow!

Trending Today: Medieval Wine Windows

 

Lovely story making the rounds today about medieval wine windows (buchette del vino). Read in the Independent (full story here) that a number of establishments in Firenze are reviving a tradition that goes back to the 17th century when bubonic plague ravaged the city:

"During the plague, wine producers would pass the flask of wine through the window to customers in order to prevent contagion.

As for payment, they would pass a metal pallet to the customer, who would fill it with coins, and then the wine producer would disinfect them with vinegar before collecting them."

Not sure which was the original story, but there are now several versions online. I like this one. Don't like wine so much, though. Not at the moment - it's too darn hot. Just one sip of the lovely local Lambrusco and bubbles of my boiling blood burst through my skin. Or something like that. 

Who is a Mumpsimus?

We all know who they are. Now we have a name for them. Thank you, Susie! 

(NB for future reference, when the context may be too distant to remember, I suspect this might be connected to the current fuss about the PM's aide Dominic Cummings who helped to format the lockdown laws, but apparently believes they do not apply to his own behaviour)

Living under Lockdown Phase 2 Day 2: The Sounds of Spring

It's May in Modena, and the temperature is rising. People are starting to leave their windows open, and forget that everything that happens at home is now audible to all. We will get used to it again, but it will take a while. For now, well ...

Parshat Acharei Mot Kedoshim

Here are a few words I wrote for the Liberal Judaism website for their Thought for the Week page

Greetings from Modena!

Parshat Acharei Mot-Kedoshim

Thoughts of the world outside our current Lockdown bubbles turn first to those stricken by Covid-19 – may they be healed in body and spirit.  We also think of those who do their best in myriad ways throughout the system to care for the sick. There are no words to describe the magnitude of their service. We thank them with all our hearts. 

To protect ourselves, and each other, we have remained physically within our homes. Hopefully they are places of safety, even if we feel constrained. We reach out into the ether via unstable internet connections to continue work, if we still have a job; to contact loved ones far and near, and to occupy our minds and hearts. Much time has been spent in alien worlds, ranging from a Borg cube to the imagined centre of ultra-orthodox communities in Brooklyn & Bnei Brak. And people have come to synagogue! Zoom[1] has brought us together to pray, to celebrate our festivals, and to study Torah.

Acharei Mot-Kedoshim is one of the double Torah portions that can be split when there is a leap year in the Hebrew calendar and extra portions are needed for the extra leap month. 5780 may not be a leap year, but 2020 is. And in 2020, I see a split between the portions.

Acharei Mot is set in the period after the death of Nadav and Avihu, the sudden, inexplicable and devastating death of Aaron’s sons. In the wake of this shocking event, Moses is given instructions for Yom Kippur, followed by a list of sexual prohibitions that define the Biblical boundaries of family relationships. God says that following these mitzvot will protect the Israelites from spiritual corruption, and keep them safe in their land. While now we have a different interpretation of some of these ancient laws, we can certainly empathise with tough measures as an initial response to a severe threat to the entire community.

Kedoshim takes us into Phase 2. Having turned our faces from the yetser ra, our evil inclinations, God teaches us what we should be doing, pointing us towards the yetser tov. The topic sentence of the portion is:  “Be holy, because I, Adonai your God, am holy.”[2] But what does it mean to be holy? This is a question that we don’t often discuss. We might talk about being separate, but what does that mean? Different? Special? Each word leads to a further examination of its own meaning, and even further from the original question. What does it mean to be holy? Rabbi Joe Black reminds us that we are created b’tselem elohim, in the image of God, which means that we have holiness naturally within us.[3] We don’t have to define it. We just need to learn how to find it.

Could this be the purpose of the mitzvot? When we are in lockdown, there’s not much we can do but think about things, turning them this way and that. As the windows and doors open, and we are able to interact with each other again, what are we going to do? How shall we behave? Will we do anything differently? Kedoshim commands us to leave the corners of our fields and the gleanings for the poor and the stranger.[4] We must not deal deceitfully or falsely with one another.[5] We must not stand idly by while the blood of our neighbour is shed.[6] There are a lot of marvellous mitzvot in Kedoshim, but if I could choose one with which to start it is, “Love your neighbour as yourself.”[7] It all begins with compassion.

This week, I see my neighbours in the UK in Acharei Mot, in the valley of the shadow of death. Your phase of the journey still has some way to go. But it will end, hopefully very soon. Here in Italy, we are a couple of weeks ahead of you, and about to enter Phase 2, Kedoshim. Our nerves are terribly frayed, and it is so easy to take offence at words said or typed by others. As we move towards more social interaction, we should recognize how sensitive we are. We should begin with compassion, being kind to others, and gentle with ourselves. And, as we regain our strength, we can return to the holy work of reconnecting with our loved ones, and rebuilding our communities. We will be holy, because it is an essential part of our nature. Learn from what we do well, and from where we falter. Meanwhile, we look forward to the time when we can continue that work together with all of you.

Shabbat shalom.

---

[1] and, of course, other platforms, e.g., Google Hangouts, Skype & FaceBook. But mostly Zoom.

[2] Leviticus 19:2

[3] CCAR RavBlog 28.04.20

[4] Lev. 19:9

[5] Lev. 19:11

[6] Lev. 19:16

[7] Lev. 19:18

Living under Lockdown Day 40something: Saturday Afternoons

There are many of us who feel bereft on a Saturday afternoon (and, since the takeover by the TV companies; Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays and all the other days of the week as well as the nights) because the pandemic necessitated the closing down of our favourite sports. Although I'm now an Ex-Pat, I still follow my beloved R's religiously. Last weekend, however, I found myself strangely captivated by what RAI Sport had offered up to fill the aching hole in my supporting schedule. Instead of tracking the Luton v QPR match, I watched Italian billiards. Long enough to have to go and look up some rules. After I got over the fact that there were no pockets on the table, and that points seemed to be scored by knocking over some upended Q-Tips balancing precariously in the middle, I found the blue of the cloth quite calming, and soon managed to fall asleep. It was truly a Shabbat of Shalom.

Here today ...

Yesterday afternoon, the sun shone briefly through the living-room window (our street is narrow and the buildings are tall) and I took this picture of the cyclamen on the windowsill. This morning, the flower, and the plant were dead. It is a different experience from being together as two living things, yet something of this lovely flower continues to exist when I look at the picture, and it reminds me of the moment yesterday and how I felt.

Living under Lockdown Day 38: Farmacia

Had to go and refill my monthly prescriptions last week. The sky was blue, the sun was shining, and I was just a bit anxious to be anywhere near anyone at all. Par for the course, I suppose. And a great pity that I couldn't enjoy even that brief walk.

NB I'm saying, "I'm a little afraid to go outdoors". The pharmacist's reply is, "You're not the only one."

The Belper Moo

Of all the different ways so far that people have gathered together despite the lockdown in order to express their feelings and share a moment, my favourite has to be the story I just read on the BBC website about the Belper Moo!

This is a link for you to enjoy.

Living under Lockdown Day 32: A Thought About Bitter Herbs

I've come across various versions of this thought over the last couple of days as I've been working on our online Haggadah for tomorrow night. The first was this animated film by Hanan Harchol. It's one of those lessons about which we need a regular reminder. Bitterness itself is part of life, and things that taste bitter can still have value for us. That value is the sweetness that we taste when we eat the charoset with the maror on our Seder plate. The problem comes if we let ourselves be consumed by bitterness. So I had a go at a drawing!

In fact, I thought I'd add this drawing to our Haggadah for the Or 'Ammim Seder. Lior helped me with an appropriate Italian translation. Italian-speakers, che cosa ne pensate?

Living under Lockdown Day 23 - Bad Day

It is not humanly possible to be upbeat all the time. Humour is helpful and healing of course. And some days just suck. But they will end. So I'm feeling the feelings, and then it's time to channel Scarlett O'Hara. Nighty night.

Living under Lockdown Day 17 - Horseradish

Last year I discovered how hard it was to find raw horseradish in Modena. There was nothing in the supermarket, and even the famous Albinelli market gave me no joy. We had to rely on a friend in Bologna to bring something to the Seder. This year our Seder will be small (just L & me & Sara the Cat), but we shall be Zooming with our friends in Bologna and beyond. Thus, it was thrilling to go through the international section of Conad (La Rotunda) and spot this little jar on a shelf. Hurrah! We have our bitter herbs!!

Living under Lockdown Day 15 - Home School

I have learned to love including cardamom seeds in my apple compote, and today for lunch L put some in the delicious zucchini she made. It got me thinking - how many ways might there be to use cardamom. And this came to mind:  

Living under Lockdown Day 12 (extra) - the Indigo Girls

The power of two women, our dear Amy & Emily, giving a concert from home on FB tonight ... although reception drifted in and out, at one point I think there were 60k people tuning in. Sixty thousand people! Lovely to hear songs old and new, and to see how many of my FB friends from several different eras of my life and all across the world, how they were listening too, singing along ... what a wonderful hour together. Grazie mille Indigo Girls!

Living under Lockdown Day 7 - Toilet Paper

Saw a vid on FB the other day of two women in a Woolies in Oz fighting over loo rolls. Didn't know Woolies still existed!

Living under Lockdown: Day 5 - the Sneeze

Maybe this happened to someone I know