SHABBAT SHALOM -- HAYEI SARAH -- DELIVERING OUR MESSAGE How do we choose to share information? Do we sit on discrete knowledge, a trusted sharing of information -- treating it as a secret locked in an impenetrable vault, or do we pull at it in public, or in our everyday conversations, until it breaks? More than this, how do we choose to dispense information -- what details do we highlight, what do we gloss over and what do we ignore, when we tell our stories, and when we speak? Our sages teach that soon after Avrahams binding of his son Isaac, Sarah received this information from an unnamed messenger, and hearing that her only son was almost killed by her husband, she cried out and died. The messenger was imparting the good news of Isaacs miraculous survival, however the events described were presented in a linear form, and not with the end result first. If Isaacs survival had been presented first, our tradition teaches, perhaps Sarah would not have died then, from heartbreak. Because of this, this emissary is considered not to be a bearer of good tidings to the mother -- rather he is considered as an agent of death. How do we present the world around us? How careful (or careless) are we in our daily interactions? Do we ever speak, specifically to wound someone -- intentionally pushing their buttons, or contributing to an increase in their anxiety? The Book of Proverbs teaches: a healing tongue is a tree of life. May each of us, even as we convey ordinary detail, be intentional about how we speak, what we describe, what we leave out, and when we choose to be silent -- using our opportunity to speak, as an occasion to heal, and to provide gentle composure, regardless of what we feel compelled to share. As we consider how we speak and communicate, please enjoy this sweet version of Speak Low, written by Kurt Weill, performed by Sammy Davis Jr. (1966) -- as we anticipate and long for Shabbat -- https://youtube/watch?v=MYvxnosKKck Shabbat Shalom.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 15:09:36 +0000
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