Who spreads out the earth upon the waters

I saw the world and yesterday!

A flight of Angels tore

It's cover off and Heaven lay

Where Earth had been before.

I walked about the countryside

And saw a cricket pass.

Then, bending closer, I espied

An ecstasy of grass.

(Elizabeth B. Rooney; Eschaton)

Even when we do not have the Beit Hamikdash through which to view the Heavens, we can still bend down and find, "an ecstasy of grass," sparks of Heaven sprinkled throughout the world; sparks through which we can glimpse Heaven.

By: Rabbi Simcha Weinberg

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Creation

All was destroyed during the month of Av. Creation began on Elul, and, so it will again. We recite this prayer for the New Month focusing on Creation. “God created the world in order to do good to an other (Derech Hashem 1:2:1).” Creation was an expression of absolute love, the “other” had done nothing to earn it. This is why Elul, the month of Creation is also the month of intense love between God and Israel. I recite this prayer imaging myself participating in the final Heavenly planning meetings before Creation. I am not praying as one who has already existed and experienced success and failure, but as one who has the opportunity to see the world before Creation, and request in this moment of intense love all that I could possibly need and want. I use this prayer to prepare for all my Elul prayers until the 25th of the month when Creation began. For what shall I ask? What will I need to succeed? How will I define success? What do I hope to achieve? Rabbi Simcha Weinberg

Who clothes the naked

"Certainly those determining acts of her life were not ideally beautiful. They were the mixed result of a young and noble impulse struggling amidst the conditions of an imperfect social state, in which great feelings will often take the aspect of error, and great faith the aspect of illusion. For there is no creature whose inward being is so strong that it is not greatly determined by what lies outside it." "But we insignificant people with our daily words and acts are preparing the lives of many Dorotheas." "Her finely-touched spirit had still its fine issues, though they were not widely visible. Her full nature like that river of which Cyrus broke the strength, spent itself in channels which had no great name on the earth. But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to t...

SPECIAL THANKS

“I will sing to God while I live, I will sing praises to my Lord while I endure.” (Psalms 104:33) A Torah scholar who has a broad mind able to connect different parts of the Torah, one to the other, must add to the blessing recited by all who merit to study Torah each day: “Thank you for placing me among those who sit in the Beit Midrash,” with a special blessing for the gift of his mind and ability to discover new ideas. So too, a person who is blessed with a great awareness of God and can therefore attain a higher level of Awe of God, must express his gratitude each day for this gift. Application: “I will sing to God while I live,” refers to singing our gratitude for our spritual gifts, each person focusing on his special strengths. “I will sing praises to my Lord while I endure,” refers to singing our thanks for our physical gifts. (Rabbi Ephraim Yitzchak of Parmishlan – Mishna Rishona) By: Rabbi Simcha Weinberg, n''y

Partners In Prayer - Siddur

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