Judge Me!

I’ve often wondered why David says, “Judge me, O YHWH my God, according to Your righteousness, And do not let them rejoice over me.”  In Psalm 35:24

Those words “Judge me, O… God” just sounds terrifying! What imperfect human being could possibly imagine they’d survive such a request? Imagination conjures up pictures of Hell & damnation in the offing… OY, that’s frightening!

…or who could possibly think to name their child Daniel or Danielle– meaning, “God is my Judge”! What a frightening thought for that child… well, maybe… I’ve noticed that a lot of people named Daniel or Danielle tend to “just know” that nobody but God has the right to judge them LOL!

…but on closer inspection of the word, “judge,” in the Ancient Hebrew Pictographs: the language in which it was originally written, we find a very interesting original philosophy behind the “Judge.”

There are two words for judge that we’ll look at here:

One is the word from Psalm 35:24

Ancient Hebrew Pictograph Judge 1

Shin-Pey-Tet-Nun-Yud

Shin: Two front teeth: Defending, Cutting, Two

Pey: Open Mouth: Open, Break

Tet: Clay Basket: Surround

Nun: Sprouting Seed: Child, Generation, Continue

Yud: Arm: Administration, Authority

Cutting and Breaking Open those who Surround the Sprouting Seed, with Administrative Authority.

I see a picture of a gang surrounding a kid, and the Authority to Judge breaking through to defend that child.

alternatively,

Defending the Mouth and Surrounding the Sprouting Seed with Administrative Authority

This one gives me a picture of that Judge / Authority defending that child, and defending his source of nourishment.

Here, we do see consequences for the perpetrator of a crime, but we also see the defense of the “sprouting seed,” child, or next generation.

The second word for judge is the one used in naming Daniel or Danielle:

The “El” part of “Daniel” means “Powerful Shepherd,” or God. The first half of the word, “Dan” is the “Judge” part:

Ancient Hebrew Pictograph Judge 2

Dalet-Ayin-Nun

Dalet: Tent Door: Moving in & out; Back & forth

Ayin: Eye: Sensitivity, Vision, and Insight

Nun: Sprouting Seed: Child, Generation, Continue

The Door to Sensitivity, Vision, and Insight for the Child and continuing generations.

A “just judge” is one who opens the door to really “see” the long-term consequences of their judgments, not only for the immediate, but also for generations to come.

Long before there was ever a Hebrew people, and long before there was ever a Mt. Sainai, with all of its Teachings, there was a Noachide Covenant, in which we are all called to be just in our judgments, and to support a system of justice that defends more than just our own needs, but also the needs of the generations to come.

May we all find the Breath of Life in us that is capable of rendering good judgment, and open the door, with sensitivity, vision, and insight, for the generations to come.

For more info on the Ancient Hebrew Pictographs, please see

http://ancient-hebrew.org/

or

http://www.youtube.com/user/ancienthebreworg

Family Strength and Fortitude

I’m so thankful for the different strengths my husband and I enjoy… nothing alike, but somehow it just functions well… extraordinarily well. Here are the Ancient Hebrew Pictographs of the words for Mother and Father… fascinating to me how it all fits.

I am Strong Water, and so are you, Mamma! Maybe that means we deserve a drink now and again, I dunno, lol–  but I do think it means we’re something vital and foundational to life.
As mothers, we nurture, or “Water” our families, and “Glue” our homes together. We are the pictograph of Strong Water:

Read Right-to-Left: <——- “Mother” and “Glue”
Aleph-Mem:
Aleph is the Bull’s Head, meaning Strength, Authority, and First
Mem is the Moving Water: the Source of Life
Mothers are a Strong Authority and Source of Life to their families.
This is also the word for “glue.” The Bull’s hooves were boiled down in Water until they were a thick glue that helped to hold the tent together– just like we are “bull-headed” enough to “hold it together” every day for our families. We are strong, ladies!

 

The last one was for the ladies. This one’s to celebrate the Dads. If we’re Strong Water, and the Glue that holds it all together, then the fathers are the Strength and Support Structure of the House. Here’s the pictograph:

Aleph-Bet:
Aleph: “Bull’s Head”: Strength / First / Authority
Bet: Tent Floorplan:  Home/ Protection / Structure
Fathers are a Strong Authority that supports the house. It is the same as the word for Tent Pole. The father is the one who holds the house upright, and gives structure and support to everything that the mother holds together. Fathers give the vital Strength and Protective Structure for the mothers to make a house a home.
Again, I’m not the expert: for more info on the pictographs, see
ancient-hebrew.org/
or
www.youtube.com/user/ancienthebreworg

Envisioning Hope for Healing

We all walk learning… but not all of us walk healing.  Why is that? Do we maybe get trapped in despair, not hoping it could be possible? Even the modern medical community knows that if someone on the edge of death has hope, and chooses to live, they’ve got a good shot at it, and that if they don’t, they’re probably going to go soon. Maybe that dramatic, “I call heaven and earth to witness with you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving YHWH your God, by hearing and guarding His voice…”**  is applicable in more scenarios than we’ve given it credit for…

Seems like there’s a shortage of hope lately, but “having hope” may be a lot more  of a “just do it” thing than a “got it / don’t got it” thing…
Here’s the pictograph for one of the words translated *Hope* in Scripture:

Tav-Quph-Vav-Hey
Tav is the crossed sticks. It is the symbol for the far-off mark toward which a farmer tills so as to plow a straight line.
Quoph is the sun on the horizon, either rising or setting, signifying the passage of time, or continuing cycles.
Vav is the tent peg, nailing down or securing.
Hey is the man with his arms upraised in awe, saying “Wow, LOOK!”
The AHLB defines it as both “A cord used for binding” and “Held back, waiting for something.”
In the Vav you can see the securing, and the time waiting in the Quph, and the Hey showing the results. The Tav is the goal against which the restraint is directed.
All kinds of beautiful levels of meaning here– like the hope of a future with a spouse one day giving strength for the restraint to wait for the time when that hope becomes reality. (Old-fashioned notion, I know, but beautiful, nonetheless)
I also see a “visualize your hopes” picture. We envision the “mark” (Tav) toward which we “plow,” until the “time” (Quph) when it is “secured” (Vav) and we can “stand in awe” (Hey) of the realized hope.

Hope is a choice to keep our feet on the path toward the goal.
May Hope be secured as we plow toward it in the here-and-now.

*Strong’s # 8615 and AHLB# 1420-A-i. Taken from Job 17:15:

“Where then is my hope? as for my hope, who shall see it?”

**Deuteronomy 30:19-20a

Thank you

“If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, “thank you,” that would suffice.” ~Meister Eckhart*

I wasn’t sure I agreed with this quote when I first read it… had to think a bit. I’m thinkin’ maybe so… as long as the thanks were followed up by appropriate action. A prayer of thanks for a learning experience, for example, would be followed up by acting on that learning… Finding thankfulness for even the most difficult pieces of our history and experiences is vital to a healthy, functional, improving mental and physical healing path.

We’re decorating for Thanksgiving here– paper thankfulness chain festooning the window, and handprints all over the hanukkiah “tree” on the wall, each link, and each hand with something we’re thankful for written on it… and we have a LOT to be thankful for… not the least of which are a clean, healthy house, healing, and friends who are healing alongside, reaping the rewards sown in our own challenges… it’s beautiful to see them grow stronger and overcome their ailments. Reminds me that there’s a plan for everything, and the Designer is Good, above all.

To all of you who have shared your lives with me, and allowed me to watch your healing paths, Todah (Thanks).

Here’s the pictograph:

Tav: Crossed Sticks: the mark in the distance toward which a farmer would plow to make his rows come out straight

Vav: Tent Peg: Nailing Down, Securing

Dalet: Tent Door: Movement In & Out, Back & Forth

Hey: Man Standing in Awe: “WOW, LOOK!”

Giving thanks is more than lipservice. A thankful heart marks out the place where the door of our house has been secured, and where we’ve Stood in Awe of the gifting there. That “Mark in the Distance” is our goal: to Secure the Tent Door of another in such an Awe-inspiring way.

A lot of people have given our Tent Door some Awesome support and Security. We give Thanks by Securing the Doors of others when we are blessed with the opportunity. We’re honored to be receiving that blessing in abundance lately. Todah!

Standard Disclaimer:

I’m  no doc, and don’t pretend to be one. I am therefore not legally licensed to diagnose, cure, treat, prevent, or otherwise mitigate any disease, and neither is the stuff I generally choose for healing… but then, I’ve not been educated indoctrinated by boards with big pharma reps on them, either   so do your own research and find what works for you

*Special thanks to Icemanlover1 who inspired this post with this quote.

Live!

Fly through the pages of healing–
Torah sends the ancient call.
I’m helped by Wings of Mercy
Every morning I hear it fall,
Breaking dreams imag’ning a “hell’s mouth,”
Giving visions of Life through pain.

Life calls softly, pages rustling
Ancient wisdom springs up again:
Mikveh and taste the health it brings,
“A spring remains clean,” even now.

Nightmares abound in the unclean
Houses dying to be torn down.
Escaping the plagues is a journey
But the journey pervades us all.
Nature carves out the truth in my body,
Bending my mind to its will.

Teaching surrounds; Gentle Instruction,
Each word holds a life-line for me.
A human, with strength to endure it,
Using breath I’ve been giv’n to receive.

Life abounds in the Ruach around me.
Living Breath continues to fill.
Ruach bids me, “Live now.”
And I answer, “As You breathe, I will.”

Torah: “Teaching and Instruction,” AKA: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, & Deuteronomy
Mikveh: Ritual bathing– similar to baptism, only it happens more often, and throughout the life cycle.
Ruach: Breath / Wind / Spirit

My Dust Bath

We got baby chicks a couple of years back, and enjoyed it so much that we got another batch last spring. They LOVE the moment they’re big enough to be outside in the dust– their little wings become paddles, splashing their backs in the funniest little flurry, digging themselves into good, clean dirt. I watched  7- and 5-year old little girls imitating them this summer, and the smiles on their faces mirrored the birds’ obvious relish for their bathing ritual.

So I took a bath in dust & ashes the other day… only I added water to mine– no kiddin’ LOL! There are several types of clay that come in a powder form, or “dust.” Different clays have different healing properties, but the gist of it is that they pull out toxins through the skin when applied externally, whether in masque form, or in a bath. Some of them can be taken internally, too, and pull out toxins from the “inner skin”, or gut lining. Helps slow down loose bm’s, and a few types of clay help the body to assimilate nutrients better than consuming the food without it. I like Bentonite clay for baths & masks in external applications, and Zeolite clay for internal use. It’s kind of an “intuitive” dust– gives what the body wants, and takes what it doesn’t want. It’s often fed to livestock to improve their nutritional uptake and efficiency. It’s not the tastiest stuff in the world, but when ‘ya need it (digestion moving too fast, or not getting all the nutrients you need out of your food), it’s gold. In fact, there have been times in history when certain types of clay were considered to be of more value than gold… gold can have healing properties, too, but that’s another topic for another day.

Yom Kppur was the Day of Atonement– the day when the High Priest would go into the Holy of Holies, and the whole nation (except for sickly folks, children, and pregnant or nursing mothers) would fast and focus on turning away from the things they’d messed up on, asking YHWH to forgive them and make it right again. We celebrate this fast as best we can. There were a few years there when I wasn’t in any shape to do much more than give up honey (we already don’t use sugar & a myriad of other things). This year I did a modified fast with a bath in dust and ashes. The ashes piece is activated charcoal– also known to draw out toxins, both transdermally and internally. ** I realize that bathing is prohibited by some sects of Judaism on Yom Kippur, but, in the spirit of purification, humility, and turning away from the pollutants in my life, I went ahead and “repented in dust and ashes”, like Job said,

1Then Job answered the LORD and said,

2“I know that You can do all things,
And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.

3‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
“Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand,
Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”

4‘Hear, now, and I will speak;
I will ask You, and You instruct me.’

5“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear;
But now my eye sees You;

6Therefore I retract,
And I repent in dust and ashes.”

I kinda figure a guy who went through hell-on-earth and sores on his skin, and then said to the Almighty, “but now my eye sees You”, might have a clue on how to repent when you’re looking for healing. Understand, now, that this is not a “go thou and do likewise” post. It’s just a “this makes my skin ailments better” and “this is the direction I’m pointed” explanation of some Natural Miracles.**

A spot in Torah that points me in the same direction is the part where God forms man out of the dust of the ground. There seems to be something good and “grounding” about re-connecting with Earth. Everything from statistics on mental health rates of various professions finding that people who work closer to the earth (potters, gardeners, etc.) have a lower incidence of mental illness than other professions, to the general relaxed feeling we get from walking barefoot on dirt, sand, or even concrete or an earthen floor– it’s all Earth, and it’s all “grounding.” Anytime I feel like I’m just “buzzing” too much, it can do wonders to just find some good, clean dirt. I highly recommend it 🙂

Standard Disclaimer:

I’m  no doc, and don’t pretend to be one. I am therefore not legally licensed to diagnose, cure, treat, prevent, or otherwise mitigate any disease, and neither is the stuff I generally choose for healing… but then, I’ve not been educated indoctrinated by boards with big pharma reps on them, either   so do your own research and find what works for you

** I’m no rabbi either, so please don’t take my experiences and journey as your Rx for Kosher living 😉