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September 25, 2008 Parshat Nitzavim: High Standings By Mendel Jacobson 1 Comments
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Stand But never Stand Under A falling dream (Or bridge). A bit standoffish is a Mexican standoff – Almost like a snob who cannot stand Anyone or anything without a nose job – So we only stand on, on what is right On what is true, and on what is pure. High standards and higher standings, A grandstand of standup comics, Standalone cynics and standstill Procrastinators (Also of the stand-ins and sit-outs Who make up the organism that is Humanity) Take a stand – Of course – but never Stand a take That is fake, false, fabricated: You see, the stands of time may trickle through The narrow center of the hourglass, but even a pun Could never throw cold water on that which is Timeless. You are standing this day All of you before G-d Bond… Eternal Bond: (What, you think Fleming made it up?) Coming into the land, It is time to renew our Bond, our connection Our unity and oneness, With G-d and each other. Coming into a new reality, A new place, a new year, it is time To stand up and stand together – This day and from this day To this year and form this Year to every year… Time to be standing All of us before G-d A Standing (and tall) Order: Standing before the divine comes in two forms – Both upright: 1: Standing together because we need each other. I am incomplete without you; you are incomplete without me: I need you; you need me – without each other I’d be a detail Stuck in my own ghettos with my own perspectives, as would you: We need each other to be whole, one, absolute; we need each other To do, to be what alone we never could, never would. 2: Standing together because we are each other. I don’t need you; you don’t need me – I am you, you are me. We aren’t separate details coming together for a common goal; We are a complete whole, a soul, perhaps at times residing in Different homes, different bodies (tell me, is a hand any less A body part than a foot, even though one wears a glove and The other a sock?) And we need to stand together in both of these forms: If we only had the first then we could remain details in Our own right without transcending the differences, for Only by essentially being one can we use each our unique Gifts to actually implement the unity; if we only had the Second, we would remain one, essentially, internally, but Our individual contributions would never be realized and Felt It takes a complete effort to reach a complete picture To reach the highest of all standings – Life! I have placed before you Life and death, blessing and curse And you shall choose life And Life it shall be. A happy and sweet new year! (How could it ever be otherwise when We are all standing this day before G-d?) Mendel Jacobson is a writer, poet and journalist living in Brooklyn. His weekly poetry can be seen at jakeyology.blogspot.com
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Awesome!You take the deepest concept of the Parsha and make it personal, relevant,timeless and timely. Bonnie Stone posted on 10/27 at 08:12 PM. |
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