Shabbat Shalom!

 

Shabbat Shalom!

🙏🌈🌞❤💐😀

 

Principles of Participles

 

Principles of Participles (Randyjw; March 31, 2017)

 

History is the past

telling a particular story

depending on perspective

it’s wars or guts or glory

In the words of a skillful tale-bearer

the story holds suspense over time

by the ink in the mind of a poet

condensing large parts to few lines

painting what they make out to be seen

though circumstances and situations don’t change

contrasting shadows highlight the scene

it’s just how they’re artfully arranged

 

Friends In Absentia

 

Friends In Absentia (Randyjw; March 31, 2017)

 

Imaginary friends?

That’s for the young

Never had the need

to imagine one

 

 

Salt Entreaty

 

Salt Entreaty (Randyjw; March 31, 2017)

 

If the sea goes out on my side,

does it go to yours?

Does it reach people

on the beaches of distant shores?

Like tears on a journey

traversing my face

they travel and touch

and return back in place

 

Shhhh… Shhhh…

 

Shhhh… Shhhh… (Randyjw; March 31, 2017)

 

The best part is knowing that

when the tide goes out

and departs from the sand

the beach then has something

to look forward to again

 

 

Day

 

Day (Randyjw; March 30, 2017)

 

Forgetting to breathe

Only just beginning to see

listening to the music

of the discoveries

that would have never ceased

to amaze me

had I only let them be

the perfect tunes

and the perfect mood

and the perfect words

to fit the perfect moon

Don’t know what I’m doing

if I’m making any sense

I’m just gonna lie here

in my self-made predicaments

Heart is torn asunder

rent by lightning and by thunder

is it ever any wonder

no, no, no there isn’t one

 

Waves Goodbye

 

Waves Goodbye (Randyjw; March 30, 2017)

 

Why must we always eat

our dinner before our desserts?

And why does it always seem

we’ve shared our last kiss before the first?

Why must I ask these questions,

and why is my everything not right?

And why must I even make mention,

when we’ve never even shared our first fight?

Could I be any more real in my revelation,

or anything less in my feeling of devastation?

Both should be “no,” but they seem to be “yes”;

Why any such answers, excepting the best?

I suppose we get what we give and learn how to forgive

but my efforts half-strength are no fair way to live

My feelings are really still the same

I can’t say that they’ve changed

but, again, I’m the one to give cause for the blame

They were what they were, they are what they’re for

but your full opportunities still wait at your door

to be free to love with no-holds barred would fit you very well

and on that beach, within your reach, lie precious, pretty shells

On the tide, I subside —

goodbye, my good friend, goodbye

 

❤🌚

 

Sinking In

 

Sinking In (Randyjw; March 30, 2017)

 

It’s easy to sink in

to the warm waters of the island we’re inhabiting

never to worry about the waves I didn’t see coming

buffeted from storms that might have been brewing on the horizon

It was easy to find my way

when I followed the gentle sway

of the tidal pull you exerted in the ebb and flow of my day

 

(https://youtu.be/GP16ohxdOBo)

 

Rolling Waves

Rolling Waves (Rachelgv; March 30, 2017)

 

Put your ear where you can hear

the gently rolling tide

rolling tide

in and out

in and out

side by side

side by side

You’ll hear it when its calling

from that shell

from inside

from the swell

that arises

when the tide blinds my eyes

Listen to the sound

of rocking hands as they sway

to and fro

to and fro

as they go

as they go

Look upon the ground

see on the sand

on the sand

what the sea

left on land

lovely shells

for your hand

many beautiful choices

will awash on the beach

swept to shore

at your feet

and one more

also sweet

Grab it while the crest

will bring it close

to your reach

for someone else

to select

from the heap

of the rest

when no more

the sound you hear

comes from the whelk

to your ear

and driftwood rides

out to sea

on the tides

that were me

 

Enhanced

 

Enhanced (Randyjw; March 29, 2017)

 

See me as I once was

and not as I’ve become

if my memory fades

when I’m old and grey

I’ll want you to remember my love

 

I fell in love with you every day

it was never out it was always in

and the best part about it

it didn’t need to be found

it was always there within

 

Some days just felt different

a breathless heart attack

became more static

and during those times

when I could catch my breath

I realized I could also call you

my best friend

 

When I can walk on air

I’m buoyed to have you there

and even as my mind creates you

in my dreams in these scenes

you are perfect

you can never let me down

 

You made my heart break

in so many good ways

You made my soul ache

for future memories that might never take hold

with every word which you said and wrote

while I grew old and faded away

 

Endless Sky

 

Endless Sky (Randyjw; March 29, 2017)

 

Nobody’s Perfect

 

Nobody’s Perfect (Randyjw; March 29, 2017)

What Hasn’t Changed

 

What Hasn’t Changed (Randyjw; March 29, 2017)

 

I’m sorry if I ever made you feel

unwanted or unloved in any way

my prayers were answered

and were made to be real

when you became what I’d wanted to know

and walked in that very day

 

Trees, Please

 

Trees, Please (Randyjw; March 28, 2017)

 

Can we imagine if we were to have guardian trees?

What would yours, and what would mine, be?

From here, or even from wherever I may be (hee-hee), what I can perfectly see

is that yours would show that the weight of the world, which you have borne almost singly,

will have turned to say thank you, for being the crux of its essential being

and while it may have bent forward under the gravity of its unreleasing

foothold in its grounded reality

its life-giving leaves have branched out in complete degrees of a total 360°

chlorophyll free-forming while birds lay there sleeping

In the midst of this graceful entity

you would encounter its heart on its sleeve

enlarged for all its giving and bearing and beating

And through that, would be embodied

if trees had sleeves and bodies

a laserlike focus made up of moonbeams and sunbeams

shot straight through the heart and enlightening

its burning rays in the perfect spot of healing.

And given to thinking, now what would mine be?

Well, the Koran has already named it as the gharkad tree

It’s a form of hedgerow that’s supposed to protect us

to keep us in hiding when others won’t let us

I can already say that that’s worked for me once

but, I have no preference, be it grand or a stump

They’re all beautiful living things made by G-d,

the prettiest fruit tree, the shade-giving log

But, I think that ALL trees are put here on earth

to show us G-d’s love and to show us His worth.

 

Disaster Delayed

 

Disaster Delayed (Randyjw; March 28, 2017)

 

Luckily, my newest landlord is a pretty decent guy. He and his partner just decided to allow me to use my original full rent deposit to cover my April rent (but I need to pay a bit extra). Yay! The looming disaster and histrionics has been averted ’til next month — Thank you for your prayers, Dolly and JD, and everybody who helped… They did help! Are they permanent? Well… cuz now I need a good job! Hope my helpful prayer warriors can assist… Wooh-wooh! Thank you, and B”❤H (it came out that way when I typed it; I don’t think it was an accident).

 

Please know that I’m reading and appreciate your comments, but I’m still too apprehensive, right now, to go back to full commentary, due to possible hacking I may have experienced. I just got a new cable for my phone charger, after buying chargers, like, every couple of months because of cables going bad. I was like, wait… Can’t we just buy a cable? Yes, turns out you can… Don’t think they’re just gonna tell you that, though… So, now it doesn’t take longer than a day to replenish the battery charge, but there’s still some lingering virus or app or something which is draining the battery, in no time flat.

 

How dependent technology makes us when it fails us at critical moments is absolutely despairing. I couldn’t know if I’d been contacted about possible employment; I couldn’t know what my landlord’s response would be; so much was in the balance. Thankfully, my housing is good for a couple more weeks. I’ve got blood all over my hand from my tumor, though, and I’m just bursting into tears. I’m such a wreck. I don’t even know whether they’re happy or sad tears, from the release of anxiety, or the fact that I’m not interested in dying right now. Let’s postpone that disaster, too. (I hope it’s not too much to ask, L-rd… Please……..).

 

Thank you for your prayers and I’m happy you read my posts. I’m sorry I’m morose and maudlin, at times, but maybe reading this will give you a smattering of insight into my “why”.

 

What About It

 

What About It (Randyjw; March 27, 2017)

 

Shall we live with passion

following all interests in matters of the heart

or shall we live by pure dictates

societies’ roles for our part

What inspires your compassion

when you never step up to the plate

accusing the downtrodden of blindness

after it’s already sealed their fate

What blessings have they missed counting

by your perfect ten fingers and toes

and why must you gauge their suffering

by standards that are purely your own

Would you trade your crocodile tear loafers

for the bare feet of the soles left unshod

Would you accept pennies for your wingtips and thoughts

In their afflictions no you cannot

These things are glaringly apparent

for you’ve never made reply

to things abhorrently transparent

in the person’s wretchedness before your eyes

I once felt that words spoke more truly than deed

to discover after all was lost

that action most truthfully serves the needs

when lives and truth are at cost

Shall we live in our memories

which may last for a lifetime

or shall we live a life lasting

for memories of all time

The simple issue will never be solved

by writing in riddles, in parable and rhyme

 

Re-View

 

Re-View (Randyjw; March 27, 2017)

 

It was a dark and stormy day

the sky opened up and the howling winds came

the rain splayed against the cornices and eves

buffeting the branches amongst the great elm’s leaves

the house, itself, stood lone and stark

a fortress looming tall as a beacon in the dark

the squirrels nesting by the song of the lark

somewhere in their little cavern in the hollows of the bark

Inside, the cold chambers were being slowly brought back to life

the previous years of dereliction had ignobly exacted their strife

when, first, the mistress had gone

and the master had endured what he could

and the ensuing eras bore upon them and forsooth the gates of wood

The new occupant swept the corners and replaced the shattered panes

what pains had been before were gone, no residue remained

yet, lighted wicks and lamps could not dispel the gloom within

a sadness overtook them in the glades set thick with fern

the darkness enveloped them wholly

the moon gave off its light

the cattails of the marsh glinted solely

upon the waters that reflected the night

a presence emerged in passing

sidling up the weed-stricken path

where used to tend the garden bloomed

but now resembled doom

and from the pocket an object palmed

its metallic edges now rusted

the sharpened blade shone in the light

amidst the stale and musted

approaching the window and blending together

the dark shadows dancing to inclement weather

the face cast in shadows of flickering flame

the arm and blade raised to bear down on the same

the stroke moving deftly against cold, hard glass

restoring the view from old paint on the sash

 

A Nowruz Poem

Happy Nowruz!

Har ruzetan Nowruz

Sad saal be in Saal-ha

Nowruzetan piruz!

Happy New Year!

 

<3__/\__<3

 

Walk

Walk (Low Color) (Randyjw; March 24, 2017)

Walk (High Color) (Randyjw; March 24, 2017)

In Color

In Color (Rachelgv; March 23, 2017)

 

Suspected Terrorizer of Jewish Institutions is Jewish, Himself

 

Suspected Terrorizer of Jewish Institutions is Jewish, Himself (Randyjw; March 23, 2017)

 

 

A nineteen-year old Jewish resident of Ashkelon, located on the seacoast six miles from Gaza, has been apprehended and held in custody in Israel for his alleged role as the perpetrator of the epidemic of bomb threats in recent months to Jewish institutions worldwide. Contributory efforts from international police and other agencies, notably aided by assistive Israeli technology within Israel itself, were able to eventually pinpoint the home from where the robotic and voice-altered calls originated.

 

There, in the homeschooled young man’s bedroom, they found computer and technological equipment, such as an antenna and voice-altering aids, designed to mask the origination of the communications by utilizing the wifi networks of others, obscuring and making difficult detection of his identity.

 

He is being questioned and presently held for further detention. It has also been suggested in other reporting that his father has been questioned of any knowledge he might have related to this investigation, and that the son might also hold dual U.S. citizenship. The father is also in custody.

 

It’s disheartening to see a Jewish man, if it is indeed him, be involved in further instilling fear to an already harrassed and terrorized population, to which he belongs. It also takes considerable work and effort to maintain such a database of accurate phone numbers for all these Jewish institutions. I did this type of work as part of my employment responsibilities once, and found it a daunting, full-time task to keep up with the changes in staff and numbers. It, therefore, leaves a disturbing impression as to the extent of the pre-planning involved to carry out such an extended attack upon the more than 150 Jewish targets of his threats.

 

It also leaves one to think about the philosophies behind the mental decisions being made by this man, and the motivations for their occurences. I was trying to think of any groups that tend to harbor self-loathing adherents among them, and could think of no others, except those of the Jewish faith. There tends to be an inward sublimation, amongst some population of the Jewish people, to incorporate the hatred expressed through anti-Semitism of those who dislike the Jews, into the projection of the same by themselves upon others. In self-denial, the sufferer who feels guilty by embodying the group with supposed traits that the anti-Semite hates, then envisions this does not apply individually to themselves, and so must take up the same hatred against his own group to prove how he doesn’t belong. It is really a matter of self-loathing, for not having pride stemming from the ancestry from which one comes.

 

Such attitudes seem to appear in practice in the more liberal, left-leaning strains of Jewish beliefs, perhaps because of the throwing off of ritual practice that the movement tends to personify as an impediment to assimilation within a broader non-Jewish culture. The more Orthodoxy adherents have, previously, felt that such things should be of lesser concern — but, this has evolved to include a more comprehensive dual-existence with a secular world as time has gone on into the modern world.

 

What could have transpired to have allowed someone to think that this would be a good idea? Did they want to make more even-handed the score tallies between the numbers of given terrorists toward each movement — Muslim versus Jewish? Did they have a Rightist attitude that didn’t like the Leftist ones espoused within the embodiment of the institutions they attacked, which are mostly ascribed to the Leftist ones? Did they want blame to be ascribed to other groups (it doesn’t seem that any false attributions were ever claimed, so I don’t suspect this will be the case)? Is he identifying with the bad-behavior model to bully others for further concessions, which seems to work in procuring American aid dollars for various causes — the same strategy used by today’s Middle Eastern terrorists to achieve their own aims? It does work, but it shouldn’t make one a hero. In response, Senators have stepped up efforts to assist Jewish communities in security issues propelled by anti-Semitism. Hunh! Well, it won’t help on the conspiracy end of things we’ll be needing to tackle as part of anti-Semitism, now, with this new issue.

 

I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what transpires in days upcoming for our answers, if they ever arrive…

 

Oster, Marcy / JTA News Brief. “Israeli-American teen arrested in Israel for over 100 JCC bomb threats”. Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA.org); March 23, 2017:

(http://www.jta.org/2017/03/23/news-opinion/united-states/teen-with-dual-israeli-american-citizenship-arrested-in-israel-for-jcc-bomb-threats)

 

 

Continuing Bomb Threats Against Jewish People and Their Places of Congregation

 

Continuing Bomb Threats Against Jewish People and Their Places of Congregation (Randyjw; March 22, 2017)

 

In yet further major threats against the Jewish people and their places of congregation, another wave of phoned-in bomb threats to a Jewish synagogue and a Jewish preschool in Livingston, New Jersey, was received yesterday, on March 21, 2017 in the morning hours when Jewish life was humming inside, and its occupants then evacuated.

 

The number given for these attacks vary, but the yearly tally of this type of threat, so far, seems to be hovering around the 166-count mark, based on numbers I’ve seen via various internet reports, with some weeks experiencing 20 or so such threats or attacks.

 

Like the respondent in the quoted article, Rabbi Geoffrey Spector, of the Conservative temple which recently experienced the latest attack, relays, many reports are calling these attacks a “hoax”, making it seem as if these waves of attacks are nothing more than some childish prank, without serious consequences or repercussions; but, they are not. They represent a physical attack against the Jewish people as real as any other terror attack. Just because a terror attack was thwarted, or the missile missed its mark, doesn’t make it any less serious for the event which occurred, and might have turned out differently.

 

The same can be said for another word I’ve seen being used in some of these reports, calling the bomb threats “unfounded”. The word, in some of its looked-up descriptions, conceivably imparts the supposed intent of an item, generally intended to be meant as an allegation or a claim, to be considered invalid (i.e., not truthful) and not based in any actual facts, which could be possibly ascribed as meaning to apply to the victims upon whom such attacks are being made! Whether or not any actual bombs were found does not make these attacks being used to threaten the lives (whether carried through, or not) of the Jewish people any less relevant. A person robbed with a realistic water pistol still feels threatened, even though they might have been unable to discern the toy nature of the “weapon”. Calling these vicious attacks against the Jews “unfounded”, muddies the waters. Yes, they are unfounded, in being undeserved. Yes, they are unfounded, in that no real bombs have materialized with which to ACTUALLY kill us. But, a threat against our lives, they certainly are.

 

Why is it that the IRS can target Conservative groups and pro-Israel or Jewish groups; the Department of Justice can make an industry example of Jewish companies; various state agencies, or their employees can seem to be targetting Jewish individuals; and, yet, they can’t seem to create a proper algorithm to detect the keywords, or to design the computer programs or telephone tracers which will alert the chatter-masters to uncover the perpetrators of these supposed “hoaxes”?

 

What kind of “hoax” is actually being perpetrated, and by whom?

 

Ginsburg, Johanna. “Bomb Threat at Temple Beth Shalom in Livingston”; New Jersey Jewish News.com; March 21, 2017:
(http://njjewishnews.com/article/33441/bomb-threat-at-temple-beth-shalom-in-livingston/)

 

BDS Protest: March 29, 2017 at UN General Assembly Hall

 

BDS Protest: March 29, 2017 at UN General Assembly Hall (Randyjw; March 22, 2017)

 

Who: World Jewish Congress; and Israel’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations

What: Ambassadors Against BDS

When: March 29, 2017 / 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM EDT

Where: United Nations Headquarters General Assembly Hall / 46th Street and First Avenue / New York, New York 10017

How: Pre-Registration Required / Eventbrite:

(http://www.fight-bds.com/Events/Ambassadors-Against-BDS/)

 

Press Release/News. “WJC and Israel’s Mission to UN to co-host annual ‘Ambassadors Against BDS’ summit at UN headquarters in New York”. World Jewish Congress.org; March 20, 2017:

(http://www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/news/wjc-and-israels-mission-to-un-to-co-host-annual-ambassadors-against-bds-summit-at-un-headquarters-in-new-york-3-2-2017)

 

Remembering Anniversaries

 

Remembering Anniversaries (Randyjw; March 22, 2017)

 

Under the right circumstances, we’d be more than stoked if friends, partners, employers, spouses could only remember anniversaries that have meaning… such as birthdays, marriage anniversaries, employee sign-on dates, and others. A little celebration might not be of too terrible taste, either, would it?

 

Well, it would if you’re a terrorist, because terrorists are like elephants with long memories, which never forget. Never mind that the celebration is in the eye of the beholder and that the pinata is a metal-filled nail bomb filled with ball bearings, metal shards, and poisoned nail tips to create the most bang-for-the-buck carnage, for the money.

 

Yes, anniversaries are quite significant to terrorists, and it matters not if they’re a day late and a dollar short. Terror alerts may be based on these dates and the uptick in chatter “heard” in communications coming from various sources, like the internet and other places where rumors, gossip, and socializing occur, or from more studied analyses based on past occurences, etc. No matter where it originates, it’s a trend based on proven statistics of past terrorist incidents, and it does happen.

 

This time, unfortunately, was no false flag. On the day of the anniversary of the triple-bomb attack last year in the Brussels, Belgium airport and the Maalbeek metro Belgian station, which took the lives of 35 (including three of the five known perpetrators), London today has seen another terrorist attack, with the present number of dead remaining at four, inclusive of the terrorist, two civilians, and one police officer, and a report of twenty others being injured in vehicular run-downs, such as that reminiscent of the one in Nice, France, being perpetrated on civilians in two separate locations.

 

One of the locations occurred around the grounds outside of London’s Parliamentary buildings, eerily mimicking the recent infiltration of the White House grounds, in recent days; the other was close by, and occurred along Westminster Bridge. In the incident by the governing offices, the lone-wolf terrorist followed his car-ramming attack with a knife attack, stabbing three police officers, after which time he was shot.

 

Such mode of attack has become the latest de jeure method as seen in the terrorist attacks recently occuring in Jerusalem and in other locations throughout Israel. Such attacks in Israel are often unreported by the world’s media, although they receive press in Israeli and Jewish-focused media worldwide.

 

Our hearts go out to the victims of this merciless murderer, and our prayers are with the victims’ families, as well as in grief for them and the other victims throughout the world.

 

 

Julian, Hana Levi. “Police Officer, Terrorist, 2 Others Dead in London Attack”. JewishPress.com; March 22, 2017:

(http://www.jewishpress.com/news/global/europe/uk/coordinated-attack-at-londons-house-of-parliament/2017/03/22/)

 

Wikipedia.org; “2016 Brussels Bombings”:

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Brussels_bombings)

 

Updates / Additional Reading:

Beck, Noah. “Islamist Attacks on Holidays”. Special to IPT News/The Investigative Project on Terrorism.org; April 20, 2017:

https://www.investigativeproject.org/6022/islamist-attacks-on-holidays

 

Drawn In Song

 

Drawn In Song (Randyjw; March 22, 2017)

 

Heart-shaped is the way

hands draw slowly falling tears

dried upon the face

 

Arrange

 

Arrange (Randyjw; March 22, 2017)

 

The bluff face is eroded over time

its mountainous stature of sandstone and lime

greeted each day by the wisps of the breeze

making its meal of small pieces with ease

Each grain of its being a beautiful beach

was borne on the wind and poured out at your feet

 

Standing On Ceremony

 

Standing On Ceremony (Randyjw; March 22, 2017)

 

The flower tossed and flung

with straight arm

crossed behind the crowd

and was lost as it hung

back behind the line

and was caught by

another

unprepared

for the bouquet

to be shared

with some other

The tulip kissed

as it flew by air

and crushed by foot

as it fell to sole

the rose compared

by another name

a ruse is a ruse

by any other game

 

Comfort In Colors

 

Comfort In Colors (Randyjw; March 21, 2017)

 

“O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will set thy stones in fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.” Isaiah 54:11 (The Israel Bible™)

 

It is at times when the universe tries to tell us the same message in many different ways, that we must listen. It is in these days, when times are tough and life is difficult, that we can abstract the meaning from the simple thought that we are never alone, and that G-d is with us, and walks withs us, and wants to be with us, if we will only be with Him.

 

These soft coincidences can be brought closer through greater attenuation to appreciate their occurences and to concentrate on seeking them out. They are not so much hidden, as they are a background presence hovering in shyness for recognition. Seek them out and they will appear with greater frequency and strength, to comfort and gird you, as well.

 

This translation of the Prophet Isaiah verse, featured above, is found in The Israel Bible™, a compendium of commentary upon, and the inclusion of a new translation of, the 1917 Jewish Publication Society translation of the Tanach, the Jewish Bible comprised of the Torah (the Five books of Moses), as well as the books of Nevi’im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings).

 

Presented initially as a monthly offering, the full set, compiled, edited and published by non-profit, Teach for Israel, was completed in October of 2015 and is offered through the website of its founder, Rabbi Tuly Weisz, where he serves as director at Israel365, and publisher of Breaking Israel News.

 

Rabbi Weisz received ordination via a rabbinic seminary of the Orthodox Yeshiva University and moved to Israel from the United States. Many people are not aware of the greater role which Rabbis fill, in addition to their congregational teachings within the synagogue. Besides being a spiritual leader and guider of their specific congregants, they also tend to take on greater roles wthin the community. They officiate at weddings, and gather the people and ensure a proper observance for the departure of one who has laid their body down in final rest. They counsel in matters of family and faith. They coordinate holiday observances and individual, and communal, rites of the same. They are often found engaging in philanthropic humanitarian work to uplift their fellow human being in physical body, or in promoting the fulfillment of the soul through spiritual enlightenment via oral debate or written expression in treatises and books.

 

Rabbi Weisz is a hardworking person who has managed to do all of the above. Through his assorted websites, his work to help others is occasionally shared, and it is then when we realize to what great extent an all-encompassing scope of accomplishment an individual can achieve in their singular determination to enrich and bless others.

 

There is so much within the Tanach that serves as inspiration, lesson and guide. It contains studies in history, architecture, archaeology, geography, sociology, poetry, family matters and more. It speaks of the nature of G-d, as well as the nature of humankind. It is used as a guidebook and reference for tourism within Israel, and it was, indeed, a purchase I needed to make in my parallel quest of the same.

 

It was there in a small, individualistic bookshop in Jerusalem, one day, where my own personal comfort was found. The man tending the customers was a great help: proferring through suggestion appropriate volumes for the need, and retreating to let the individual explore at his own initiative and pace, as desired. It is often that a reader can become enmeshed in and lost within such an environment. And it was in that private space where I escaped into great literature.

 

The published works of Israel’s top archaeologists could be found amongst its shelves. I found exactly what I needed for my project there. I spent a great deal of luxurious time selecting different tomes to browse, while the man engaged with his own work — it seemed he was enjoying his own pursuits, in his own space, of the same.

 

When it came time to proffer a selection of easily transported Bibles for my choice, his initial offering was a larger version of the JPS Bible, such as the one used by many Jewish people and the same by which The Israel Bible™ is based. It was still a bit more wieldy than I had had in mind, and I am not a particularly ardent fan of the English translation by which JPS has published, as matter of personal taste. I did, though, then come to love his second choice for me: the Koren Publishers (Jerusalem) version of the Tanach, which I’ve written lovingly about before, and will probably do so again. It contains a straightforward translation, with correct nameplaces and proper names, as well as a linear alignment of the script to compare with, and to be able to learn from, the Hebrew to the English, and vice-versa. It really gave me a greater comprehension of the language and the text, in this format.

 

So, it was there, in this one place, that I found my escapists’ paradise, and the many colors which would form, and inform, my life. And it was the happiest moment of my life when I walked down the dappled street beneath the canopy of shady tree leaves when my most blissful moment occured — and it was as I walked to Temple. There are other moments of exceptional color that have appeared like a rainbow from the mist; you might know just what I mean…

 

(Compilation from multiple online sources derived mostly from the source and concurrent connections.)

 

Two Tears

 

Two Tears (Randyjw; March 19, 2017)

 

When you are sad and feeling bereft

and a tear slips its edge over the rim of each eye

whether coursing from the right or beginning on the left

it matters not, as it comes from the One Most High

He built you with a portable faucet for water

in His perfect thoughtfulness and never-ending grace

whether man or woman or son or daughter

with one tear, for each hand, you can wash your face

 

My Mother’s Rainbow Blanket

 

My Mother’s Rainbow Blanket (Randyjw; March 15, 2017)

 

Skeins of yarn drape the arms

of my mother’s sofa and crepey palms

a final mission of a love-filled vision

to leave a lasting legacy of a mother’s balm

 

When she can no longer comfort me

can’t be beside me

to soothe all my tears and assuage my qualms

my rainbow blanket

will embrace me as snugly

as my mother had

to keep me warm and calm

———————————————————————-

A mother-daughter collaboration. My mother knitted the panels of my rainbow blanket, and I made the tassels and chose the order in which the panels would be constructed.

 

Thank you, Mom.

I love you.

❤

---

 

Organ-ized

 

Organ-ized (Randyjw; March 15, 2017)

 

I suffer a bit from the feeling of being overwhelmed when my environment has too many objects (or ideas or problems, etc.) crowding into my space. I seem to require a feeling of elbow room in order to function freely, and this may extend to relational interactions with people in my life, as well, while simultaneously desirous of an also “Klingon” relationship, of stuck-to-the-side inseparableness involving constant togetherness. Is that even healthy? I think not. At the moment, though, even the thought of it is making me go, “Aack”!

 

Some people feel comfortable hiding among the piles of clutter that they build up around themselves. I’d even started to appreciate, after a while, this style of junkyard charm which developed around my landlord’s self-sufficient style of cheap fixes for more significant problems. It resonated with the bit of kitsch in me that underlies a more refined style, but speaks to that appeal, just the same. I sometimes ask people to inform me if I start veering off toward sequin-glitter and Americana-inspired lawn ornaments or wind mobiles; but, you know what? That’s cool. I can equally talk a conversation about the monochromatically shaded designs of an Architectural Digest entry or a Donna Karan fashion wardrobe, as easily as the delight I express at the wonderful deals found at the discount store and in a better brand of generic medicine than I’ve found over any name brand kind.

 

I always wished that the beauty of this Balkanized landscape of intertwined vines and thorny fern, supportive of the bees and the butterflies which drank from the flowering nectar, would be manicured and pruned and cut back from its overbearing nature. I spent lazy minutes in the chair under the shade of an enormous tree, bleeding its excesses all over the front lawn and into the house, in quiet moments of communion with nature and nothingness — just escape into the present, free from worries of the future, or problems of the past.

 

And then, the cover was removed. I felt, suddenly, vulnerable and unprotected. The overgrowth that I’d melted slowly with as a metaphoric haven hiding my physical presence was torn away, by the second-flipped succession of owners to have since taken over the property. At the moment, I still find that the transmogrative changes taking place exemplify a metamorphical transformation of visual personification: the barren front yard, hinting at the wisp of the beauty it once was; tarps installed as privacy barriers from close-set eyes of prying neighbors only feet away now removed to bare it all; random doors torn from unknown homes, with no potential present purpose other than to block the path of egress, or some forlorn regret.

 

When all the world is a stage that lies at your very door, take cognizance of what that really represents and how it is presented to the world.

 

My laugh is, sometimes, bittersweet.

 

 

Honor Diaries Side-Event, at the UN Commission on the Status of Women (New York), March 21st

 

Who: Honor Diaries

What: Side-Event, held ongoing to the UN Commission on the Status of Women

When: March 21st, 2017 at 12:30 p.m.

Where: UN Commission on the Status of Women / Church Center for the United Nations, 2nd Floor; 777 United Nations Plaza; New York, New York 10017

 

Pre-Registration Required /

Click Here:  Eventbrite

Eventbrite Description: “NGO CSW 61 Forum:

“NGO CSW/NY  –  The NGO Committee on the Status of Women, NY (NGO CSW/NY) organized an NGO CSW Forum. We are requiring that everyone attending the forum registers. Register for the NGO Forum to receive advance updates and schedules.

NGO CSW Forum Dates: 13-24 March 2017”

 

 

Honor Diaries: Screen It (Randyjw; March 14, 2017)

 

From the makers of the hit 2005 documentary, Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West, comes The Clarion Project’s newest multi-award winning film, Honor Diaries. Based on the real-life stories of women whose voices, lives and freedoms are often subjugated behind the demands placed on them by a domineering patriarchal society where men rule their every move and action, Honor Diaries seeks to unite free minds in taking up the plight to erase the stigmas of these taboo subjects and to change perceptions, which will enable women to be placed on an equal par with that of men.

 

Winner of The Free Speech Award (2105); Interfaith Awards Best Documentary, St. Louis International Film Festival (2013); and 1st Place Winner: Sunset Film Festival, Los Angeles (2014), among others, The Clarion Project takes us behind the scenes and into the lives of those oppressed and hoping to find their own worth, through their own experiences and words.

 

No stranger to oppression under Islamic rule in Somalia, Aayan Hirsi Ali escaped to the Netherlands to live a free, democratic life in the West; other women are not so fortunate. She has utilized her background well to help other women in no less-tragic situations. In addition to authoring two very well-received books on her experiences and serving in Parliament, she is also the creator with Theo van Gogh of the movie, Submission, for which Mr. van Gogh was murdered by Islamic extremists.

 

At the time of this writing (March 14, 2017), screenings for college viewings of Honor Diaries are being underwritten via a generous donor to the program, and are free. Potential speakers may be available to speak at these venues; please see the host-screening page and information there under the College Screenings selection for further details.

 

High schools, Libraries, and Community Center-type gatherings will be charged a fairly minimal licensing fee — whether for a one-time viewing or for yearly use; please refer to Clarion Project’s screening page at their website for prevailing information, rates, and details.

 

Another exciting idea is to screen it yourself at a local theater or similar venue for your friends and colleagues. Screen this, or other available movies, by creating an event at Tugg.com. Create the event date and publicize it to your friends. Pre-sell tickets to the event, and the venue will be booked, based on enough tickets being reserved for sale in advance. If the minimum amount of tickets sold is unmet, then nobody will be charged, and the event will be cancelled.

 

Be a movie promoter! Have fun as a mover and shaker, and, at the same time, help a good cause!

 

All copyrights, trademarks, patents and intellectual property rights, etc., reserved to their respective owners.

 

The Nautilus

Nautilus And Heart (Randyjw; March 13, 2017)

 

 

The Nautilus (Randyjw; March 13, 2017)

 

The nautilus resembles the human heart

comprised of chambers in its connecting parts

developing the shell to protect its inner motion

swimming in the depths of vast and deeply salted oceans

 

Vault

 

Vault (Randyjw; March 13, 2017)

 

What does it take to reach a soul;

to share the words only two can know?

And drawers of love letters penned before —

To whom, exactly, were they for?

A heart reaching out, with blind, bare boldness

should never know the sorrow of another’s coldness

bitten with frost in a state of hypothermia

smitten on a skewer and roasted by fire

Such parries in the dark might make a course

of cold storage kebab derived from a corpse

though crystalline ice might enhance the luster

encasing yet another unpermafreezed monster

 

Purim 5777

 

Purim 5777 (Rachelgv; March 11, 2017)

 

It is the Jewish festival of Purim. The background to this story is that the Jews had lost their First Temple in Jerusalem in the Babylonian conquest of King Nebuchadnezzar, during which many of Judah’s educated and talented Jews were made captive and exiled to Babylon. This is where the famous Psalm (“By the rivers of Babylon”…) has its origins, which you can read, here:

 

Biblehub.com; Psalm 137. JPS, 1917:

(http://biblehub.com/jps/psalms/137.htm)

 

Here’s a wiki from Wikipedia.org about the period of Babylonian Captivity:

 

Wikipedia.org; “Babylonian Captivity”:

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylonian_captivity)

 

Babylon was then overrun by the Persians, under King Cyrus, who allowed some of the Jews to return to Judah to rebuild the Temple.

 

Eventually, King Achashveros came to power. He was married to Queen Vashti, who, through her disobeyance to the King, earned her despatch goodbye, and a new search was enacted to replace the Queen.

 

In a procession of sorts, eligible matches were brought before the King, until his interest was piqued by the Jewish woman, Hadassah, who adopted the name of Esther to hide her Jewish identity.

 

Esther’s Uncle, Mordechai, had overhead a conspiratorial plot being hatched among the King’s disloyal entourage and had given warning to the palace, thus saving the King’s life. His deed was recorded in the records and archived for later readings.

 

Esther made the King extremely happy. One day, though, the King’s men had sown discord against the Jews by reporting false rumors that they were going against the King’s rulings. Incensed, the King declared that the Jews should be killed for their treachery.

 

Still unaware that Hadassah was Jewish, it became an urgent matter that she should intervene to try to plead for the life of her people. Her Uncle Mordechai girded her confidence, and she did so.

 

The King learned that his life had been spared through the deeds of Esther’s Uncle, Mordechai, and that the real traitors within his entourage were the man Haman, and his scheming ten sons.

 

While it was the rule that the previous edict could not be annulled, it could still be amended — and that is what the King did. While the attack upon the Jews was still, therefore, imminent, they were allowed to defend themselves, and won… thereby sparing their lives.

 

This victory of our miraculous saving is celebrated in commemoration of this event. It is a time meant to be celebrated in utmost joy and revelry, with the drinking of wine and the donning of costumes and masks. Gift baskets of food are exchanged with friends and neighbors and are provided, along with charity, to the poor.

 

I saw the movie, “One Night With The King” in the theater, when it came out in 2006. I enjoyed it immensely, even though, as usual, none of the actors actually seem, and probably weren’t, Jewish. This YouTube link seems to offer a full-length version of the movie. I recall it being advertised on TBN, a Christian broadcasting network, and I believe it was made by Matt Crouch, one of the family founders of the station. I hope that, because of this, this is why it is being offered in the public forum, as such, and I hope it is okay to air. Anyways, here it is:

 

(https://youtu.be/r4saPofrlbA)

 

Chag Purim Sameach (Happy Purim Holiday)!

 

Happiness

 

Happiness (Randyjw; March 11, 2017)

 

I see ahead to a happiness instead

you’ll eventually share with another

and though it’s difficult now

to ignore what we had

the reward will be so much greater

 

You have to hold on and I know that you’re strong

and take in mind what I have to say

the reasons are long and your heart deserves song

Not a life with but strife and decay

 

We did grab what we got at it’s perfect and right spot

and never could it have ever been better

when my TV plays “Ghost”

I’ll still have loved you the most

though I leave you with solely my letters

 

When my days finally come

at the setting of sun

and the curtains go finally dark

I want you to know

that we both should let go

and let happiness heal your sweet heart

 

Guilty As Charged

Guilty As Charged (Randyjw; March 11, 2017)

 

We always judge,

though we think we’re not

and can never truly know

the depths of another’s heart

 

Weighted on the scales

we can be found to be short

but it isn’t love that fails

to stand accused in court

 

It is meanings and perceptions

the way it comes presented

sometimes it seems deception

and for this can be resented

 

It’s acceptable to reach the decision

when total commitment is withheld

expectations unmet in its faulty transmission

two hearts, once fused, to unmeld

 

It’s understandable to place a simple demand

that presence for each should be there

a one-sided body and argument stands

the invisible — only through air

 

But, sometimes the reasons require more trust

the pre-judged can simply not give

because sometimes simply the essence of love

means releasing the other to live

 

Because sometimes one puts the other above

the interests of self-serving deeds

when really best interests are served with the love

that would sacrifice the whole of its needs

 

And love can yet withstand mighty forces

the winds which change with time

but one thing I’m not sure that love can do

is to ever be changed of it’s mind

 

My Words Are These

 

I recorded various tracks at different locations, and can’t figure out how to get them mixed. I’ve downloaded and deleted so many sound recording apps that haven’t yet worked out. I suspect that soundcloud won’t allow me to redownload my own material, anyways. I’ve set them to private and can’t even seem to change that setting; I think I might need a real computer for that. Meanwhile, I was never sure I wanted to make it public, but keep it just close to my heart. My words say something to that effect. The Hebrew is not from a native-speaker; just a Jewish girl without a real home. They’re also in the wrong tense, coming as if the words were being spoken by a man to a woman. No translation; hearts need none.

 

Tamid Va’ed (Dates approximated: February 26th, 2017: Sound Effects = Train (Not sure if I was going to use it or not; mostly trying to hide my poor voice); March 1st, 2017 = Instrumentals (synthesized: sitar, guitar, flute); March 1st, 2017 = Poetry (Lyrics); March 4th, 2017: Photography (Poetry/Lyrics))

 

Ani ohev

Tamid Va’ed

Yachad yoshev

Pituach balev

———————–

Ani yoshev

Yachad balev

Anachnu echad

Tamid Va’ed

 

Unreined

 

Unreined (Randyjw; March 9, 2017)

 

I’ve died several ignominious paper deaths

at the hands of haste and fire

steel tempered til the blue edges burn white

with desire

 

that which instead forged in backbreaking ire

of the deep black heart desiring to be caught

behind all, which was naught

and tightened in the bodily bridge of a vise which grips

before whatever real time

expires, then slips

 

Though fire breathes with air

the ash will be swept again

and cleared from there

and new fresh scents of spring

will arrive on the dew

in the way that is forward and right for you

 

Earth will be your grounding source

the balm you need to soothe that beast

chomping at the bit,

a bridle not to ensnare that wild

pawing, passionate heat

Calmed at the last through the love of another

 

One Day

One Day (Rachelgv; March 8, 2017)

In Their Voice

 

In Their Voice (Rachelgv; March 8, 2017)

 

Soul sisters in sorrow

your beautiful poetry will not see tomorrow

your expressive voice hidden behind the veil

that only you will know how to wear so well

the silken hair captive to fabrics woven

and the yearning for freedoms still going unspoken

I will be your voice and speak for those

who would choose whether they even wish to speak at all

the hidden women, whose talents languish in shuttered homes

the desert women, whose sullen shadows sit atop shapeless bones

the kitchen women, unworthy to eat before the males are done

Yet I speak for you, all alone

 

 

 

You Don’t Say…

 

You Don’t Say… (Randyjw; March 7, 2017)

 

I have yet to see a Yeti

But, I bet your sights are set

on seeing this Bigfooted creature yet

However, I’ll raise you one of those

pointy-nosed map fish of days of old

with its five-foot long brown body

and a rectangular protuberance like some diminished mast sail on its crown

forget about “X”-ing the spot to track it down

we’ve all seen E.T. and know how that’ll end

But, people I know

snapped a photo of the hyperloop

Or so I’m told

Saw the pic with my own eyes

never thinking to realize

they could’ve downloaded and photoshopped

the thing, like a blue arcing angel on wing

And as for the conspiracy theories

which I was introduced to by my ex numero uno

whose explanations indubitably made sense

except that it was never by the Jews, but against

and so why was it that both two and one had to point out hidden bases in the middle of forests dense

as we picnicked beneath the radiation of metal telephone poles

and those UFO’s

three of ’em, by George, but I always forget one

must have been the abduction (just kidding — and having a little fun)!

One a giant black mass

gliding to the right of the police station,

or was it a fire station,

with a circle of circular lights in its bottom porthole

the other a triangular prism of lights

4-3-2-1, ascending and falling in a vertical line

the cop couldn’t see it through the slit of the turret window

for the tops of the trees blocked the view

but it was reported and, thus, everybody knew

So, Sasquatch and Loch Ness may yet find their fifteen minutes

if these mythical creatures would just cooperate fully with us!

 

Post-Humorous (v.2)

 

Post-Humorous (v.2)

 

When truth related

brings us laughter belated:

“Post-Humorously”

 

Post-Humorous

 

Post-Humorous (Randyjw; March 7, 2017)

 

When the truth after

its posting brings us laughter:

“Post-Humorously”

 

Carousel

 

Carousel (Randyjw; March 7, 2017)

 

The gilded white mare

ascends the painted vertical

to take you on your journey

and seat you in her saddle

 

with flowers in her hair

through galaxies inimical

around and round you’re turning

enchanting wonders magical

 

galloping through air

chasing lions invincible

black stallion astride her flying

wings spread like glorious lightning

 

Life Star

 

Life Star (Randyjw; March 7, 2017)

 

Come in with a bang

Circulate through time and space

and leave just the same

 

Crosstalk

 

Crosstalk (Randyjw; March 6, 2017)

 

I can cross my t’s and dot my i’s

read between the many lines

but, some things simple

I’ll never realize

being an unorthodox paradox

 

I can discourse on mideast policy

be questioned on attendance to conferences on security

converse with those given to nuclear strategy

but on social aptitude be a magnanimous failure of rectitude

 

I can cross my eyes and step over lines

give you advice, but I can’t follow mine

deflect the rumors, yet add to the clamor

and be one whose crazy heart still pitter-patters

 

Nightlight On

 

Nightlight On (Randyjw; March 3, 2017)

 

In the last days

alone at night

lying awake

and staring up

shadows dark

and frightening

flit the ceiling

taking flight

Tonight

as I drifted off

to la-la-land

my phone in hand

I saw a light

it’s color white

and sighed relief

I’d found my peace

And, wouldn’t you know…

All it seems

is that it’s the ambient beam

emitted by the glow

of the telephone screen!

 

Muslim Brotherhood

 

Muslim Brotherhood (Randyjw; March 2, 2017)

 

This article, written by John Rossomando and posted in the algemeiner.com online newspaper edition today, is a must-read regarding the documents on-file referencing Muslim Brotherhood participation within the fabric of U.S. life:

 

Rossomando, John. “Muslim Brotherhood’s Supporters Ignore Proof of Its Nefarious Aims”. The Algemeiner.com; March 2, 2017:

(https://www.algemeiner.com/2017/03/02/muslim-brotherhoods-supporters-ignore-proof-of-its-nefarious-aims/)

 

Torment Tearing My Heart Out

 

Torment Tearing My Heart Out (Rachelgv; March 2, 2017)

 

Aaaahhh!!! I hear you, too

as you scream across the shore

in my mind, for sure

 

I’m here, and I hear

you, echo of my soul, for

do I not know you?

 

Sides

 

Sides (Randyjw; March 2, 2017)

 

Left or Right: both rile;

insults and accusations

across both aisles

Little Squirrel

 

Little Squirrel (Randyjw; March 2, 2017)

 

I’ll play with you, if

you’ll play with me — chasing each

other up the tree

 

Sea Spray

 

Sea Spray (Randyjw; March 2, 2017)

 

On the dock

enjoying the light breeze

and the kiss of the sun on our sleeves

of bare arms

entangled in the misty sprays

as the rocks meet the waves

and we walk

as the sunset breaks to dawn

and the birds begin their play

 

Towers

 

Towers (Randyjw; March 2, 2017)

 

You! In the towers:

Do you lower yourself down

to smell the flowers?

 

Flare

 

Flare (Randyjw; March 2, 2017)

 

In the heat of

the mid-day sun

two, murmuring

became one

O Scary

 

O Scary (Randyjw; March 2, 2017)

 

Oscar Night fashion

There’s no accounting for taste

It’s all opinion