T'Shuvah: Repentance, Return, and Response

T'Shuvah, according to our mystical tradition was put into the world before the world was created. I understand this teaching as God knew we were imperfect and wanted us to have a way back when we erred. TShuvah is translated as Repentance, Return, and Response. This is the "work" of the month of Elul. It is our statement of our own imperfection and our desire of wanting to repair damaged relationships and return to a state of connection. TShuvah is also a concept that says CHANGE IS MANDATORY! There is a saying that goes "a leopard doesn't change it's spots". TShuvah says that humans do and must change. The world thinks that once you say something, if you change your mind because of new data, you are 'flip-flopping.' In the real world, if you don't change your mind when new data is presented, you are stuck and stale. The month of Elul is our opportunity to get unstuck and freshen up our lives.

Another aspect of T'Shuvah is HOPE. Because we are able to repair old damages and see the good we have done/created in the past year(s), we can live Hope. Hope is a state of being, not a feeling. It is a state of being because we KNOW that things will change, we are the agents of change and "be the change we want to see". Each day we wake up to a new day and new possibilities. T'Shuvah helps us live Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel's teaching: "No two moments are alike." Living in the state of being of Hope allows us to appreciate each moment and, like Rabbi Heschel, be surprised all the time.  Tomorrow I will start different ways to be in the process of Tshuvah.

Daily Prayer 39

"God approaches all who call God, all who call God in Truth." (Ashrei Prayer)

Here it is, the formula for a good life and I keep forgetting it. I have called to God at many and all times in my life. I am not sure that prior to Recovery, I called to God in Truth. Even now, when I call out to God to help me out of a jam, I am not sure that this is what King David had in mind. I believe that King David was/ is talking about the call to God from my soul, my deepest depths of being. This is different than calling from my fears/neediness of mind and emotions. I am really overwhelmed by how I can call out to God from a "lower truth" place. This is the place of true to my feelings and/or thoughts yet not true to my Soul/Spirit.

I have to approach God. Even though God is searching for me and calling to me, I still have to turn and approach. I have to do this from my Soul and allow my mind and emotions mature enough to be in sync with my Spirit. It is my obligation and the gift God has given to me/us.

1)    How am I going to approach God in/with Truth of my Soul?

2)    How do I discern between my mind and emotions (lower truth) and soul (higher truth)?

3)    What keeps me oblivious to God's call? 

Daily Prayer 38

"You open Your hand and fulfill all needs of the living." (Ashrei Prayer)

This verse kind of says it all and we keep forgetting this Truth. I forget that God's "hand" is always open and I lack nothing. What is especially poignant to me is that I can't "depend" on a Supernal force to do for me what I can do for myself nor can I let someone else's authentic needs not be fulfilled by me when and where I can. Since we are Partners with God in making the earth a little better each day, we/I are/am obligated to open my hands to all who cross my path and, I would add, to look for those outside of my area that I can assist.

This is not asking for and giving a "hand out"! It is me fulfilling my obligation to help others. It is my obligation to ask for help from others. It is also my obligation to forgoe my inauthentic needs in order to meet and fulfill my authentic needs and yours. This verse is a reminder to me that I am not a "victim", yes stuff has happened to me and I don't have to be defined by that stuff. Rather, I can and must define myself by the good that has happened.

1)    How do I forget the Truth that I lack nothing?

2)    What are the ways that I am being a Divine Partner and fulfilling the authentic needs of others?

3)    What inauthentic needs am I letting go of this day/week/year? 

Daily Prayer 36

"Adonai is Gracious and Compassionate, slow to anger and great in kindness." (Ashrei Prayer)

This Psalm is all about the different attributes of God. I read with my eyes, declare with my lips and hear these with my ears, thereby engaging three of my senses so I truly take these attributes and words into my beingness. This is the great challenge. Prayer is an action! We are having a conversation with The Ineffable One and with the Ineffable part of ourselves. This verse is calling me to understand and imbue the attributes that it takes to dwell in God's House so we, too, can be happy. God's Grace is all around us and we ignore it so often. God's Compassion envelops us and we complain about almost everything.

These attributes are ones that we need to practice daily and really make them part of way of living. It is so hard at times, which is why, I believe, King David wrote these words. He knew how difficult it is to live these attributes and, when he didn't, he would call out for God to help him live them. These words/attributes are put into the world for us to experience them and live them with others. As we repeat them each day, may we all live them one grain of sand more each day also.

1)    How am I imbuing my being with God's attributes?

2)    What are the ways I practice compassion and grace?

3)    When am I living with great kindness and when am I too sensitive/quick to anger?

Daily Prayer 35

"Great are the vast praises of/to God and the greatness of God is beyond searching." (Ashrei Prayer)

In this verse, we are again committing to praise God- aware that we can only scratch the surface. This, again, is where I experience Rabbi Heschel's words that "Prayer may make us worthy of being saved". I experiencethe greatness of God in my life daily. I am alive and well. I get to live my life's script in an amazing family, community, world. I no longer almost and feel abandoned. I am connected to the Universe, to individuals, to love, to Truth, to justice, to compassion, to empathy, etc. There is just no amount of words that I have to express all of this. So, my words and actions have to intimate and suggest to others how I praise God.

Many people ask "where is/was God in all of the tragedies that have/will happen". I believe King David, who experienced many tragedies, is telling us that when we ask this question, we are asking the wrong question. I believe that this question is the impetus for the "Footprints" poem. King David's response to tragedy and joy is to not search for God, rather be Godlike. This is an entirely different question. I don't have to wonder what would God want me to do in ______ situation, the right question (in my opinion) is how do I live Godlike in the face of _____.

1)    What is my need to put words to indescribable experiences?

2)    How do I experience the greatness of God each day?

3)    When am I going to give up old ways of avoiding being responsible for my life and the lives of others?

Daily Prayer 34

"The strength of Your Awe we will speak of andwe will tell stories of Your greatness." (Ashrei Prayer)

I struggled for a long time with this verse. I wrongly interpreted this verse. I got afraid of the way it is translated, 'awesome power' - and I had an aversion to the word power, especially coupled with awesome. I now realize that from being in a state of Awe strengthens my connection to God and that in turn strengthens my soul/spirit. This State of Awe then both shows me ways to exalt and bless God and to exalt and bless other humans. I bless and exalt other humans when I see their Divinity. I bless and exalt other humans when I honor their dignity. When I speak about the strength that Awe of God gives me and you, when I live in the State of Awe and speak from this state of being, others will hear and join, I believe the Psalmist is teaching us.

Telling stories is the best way to communicate ideas that are beyond reason. I believe that is why we have fables, homilies, drashes, etc. In this verse, I am committing to communicate that which is beyond the mystery of living, beyond our ability to comprehend and give others the opportunity to apprehend. In the State of Awe, there are no words that can describe what we are experiencing. Stories can intuit and intimate to others the experience and we have to know that this is good enough!

1)    When are you living in a State of Awe?

2)    How does God's Awesomeness strengthen you?

3)    What are the ways you intuit to others the experience of Awe?

Daily Prayer 33

"I will exalt you, my Sovereign, and I will bless Your name forever." (Ashrei Prayer)

After proclaiming our joy and blissful state from being in God's House(this world), we declare another way to stay in the awareness of where we live. We exalt God through our works. We exalt God through our prayers and words. We exalt God through the ways we embrace all of God's Creations. It is so hard to be in this state 24/7. We are, after all, fallible humans. The verbs used in this Psalm are in the future tense. As I have said many times, future tense in Biblical Hebrew denotes something that we have started and haven't yet completed. Whew, I realize that my life with God and others is a work in progress

Exalting and Blessing are ways of being in the world that honors our soul, the soul of another, and the Will of The Infinite One. King David, who the Psalms are attributed to, was an imperfect person who continually made progress in his own humanity and how he treated others- one grain of sand at a time. This Psalm reflects his and our yearning and commitment to God and to honoring, exalting and Blessing God, Creation, humanity and ourselves. To do this, we have to "surrender" our false self to God. We have to allow ourselves to be confronted and defeated by a Higher and Truer Being (Higher Truth), to paraphrase Rav Soleivetchik. This, I believe is the path to Blessing God's Name forever, our continued growth and continued "surrender".

1)    What are the actions I take that exalt God?

2)    How am I acknowledging my yearning and commitment to God and God's Will?

3)    When am I aware of my surrender to God and when I am still fighting God? 

Daily Prayer 32

"Happy is the person who dwells in Your House, we praise You always." (Ashrei Prayer)

This opening verse of the Ashrei Prayer says it all to me. Ashrei can also be translated as 'testify', 'praise' 'bliss', 'acknowledge', etc. I realize that we all dwell in God's House because all the earth is the Lord's ( a title of one of Rabbi Heschel's books). I would like to retranslated this prayer to "Blissful is the person who dwells in Your House, we acknowledge You always." We have the opportunity to be in a state of Bliss because we live in God's world. This means that instead of serving ourselves, we need to be more aware of how we serve God. When the interests of others become our concerns, we serve God. When we live our unique passion and purpose, we serve God. When we stop comparing and competing, we serve God. When we live from our Divine Image/Soul we serve God.

The key for me is to acknowledge this Truth. I find myself forgetting to acknowledge the Blissful state I am in when I remember who's world this is. Acknowledging begets awareness on a deep level in my being. When I acknowledge I am dwelling in God's House, I am immersed in my life, your life and God's life.

1)    What are the ways I acknowledge that I live in God's House?

2)    How do serve God in my everyday living?

3)    What does it take for me to acknowledge the Blissfulness of my life? 

Daily Prayer 31

''God's Glory is forever, God rejoices in God's creations...many are the thoughts of humans and God's guidance prevails...God doesn't/will not cast off God's people nor forsake God's inheritors. God of Mercy forgives errors...God answers us on the day we call" (Morning Songs)

This prayer/song is one of the many 'songs of our souls'. It is not a petition to God, as sometimes thought, I believe it is a declaration of what we all know to be true.  It is so amazing that God rejoices in and with us. Living this truth happens when we realize and make a decision to live in "radical amazement" (Rabbi Heschel's philosophy). Living in the experience of Radical Amazement gives us the vision to see Truth in all of our affairs. Knowing that God rejoices in us, and all of creation, also obligates us to care for ourselves and all of God's creations, including other human beings.

Living this 'song of our soul' imbues us with the courage to use God's guidance in all of our affairs. Living this 'song of our soul' gives us the courage to change our ways and recover our authentic self through T'Shuvah, Tzedakah, and T'Fillah knowing we are not cast off and obligates us to not cast off others when they err. We are the heirs of God and we have to forgive, call to God and answer the calls of others.

1)    What are the times and ways I rejoice with God?

2)    How am I living in Radical Amazement and following the guidance of God?

3)    How am I being true to the obligations of being an heir of God?

Daily Prayer 30

"A song of thanksgiving... Serve God with joy...Adonai is good, Adonai's kindness endures forever and God's faithfulness is for all time." (Psalm 100)

This Psalm is such a comfort to immerse ourselves in. It is so important to not just say this prayer, we have to be this prayer (and every prayer). The Truths contained in this prayer epitomize Rabbi Heschel's teaching that prayer can make us worthy of being saved to me. We are taught to experience serving God with joy. How do we serve God? By serving others, by living our authentic life script/calling. We can serve with joy whether we are appreciated or scorned. This is definitely a work in progress for me!

The ending of this Psalm teaches us, reminds us that God's Kindness endures forever. This is a Truth that I/we tend to forget easily. Nothing in this prayer says life is going to be smooth or easy, rather these words remind me how I experience life Is my choice. As I write this, I am overwhelmed by Rabbi Heschel's optimism in the face of pessimism. He truly lived this concept and appreciated God's Kindness even when humans weren't kind! The call of this Psalm to/for me is to be faithful from one experience to the next, no matter what the experience is, "good or bad".

1)    What are the ways I serve God/humans/entire world with Joy?

2)    How am I staying faithful to God/my authentic self?

Daily Prayer 29

"Cause your people to be saved, Bless us, your inheritors and tend to us, lift us up forever." (Morning Prayers)

As I read this prayer, I am in Radical Amazement as I experience all that God gives us! This prayer teaches me that when I listen and follow the call of my soul/God's Ayecha, I am saved from my own inauthentic needs. I am able to realize how Blessed I am, even when feeling it not. I/we have all been saved because of God's Wisdom that is placed within us and it happens whenever and wherever we 'let God in' as the Kotzker Rebbe teaches us.

The second half of this sentence reminds me that I am one of God's people and I am never alone. As the 23rd Psalm says, "God is my Shepherd and I lack no thing". Immersing myself in this prayer and these words brings me to a state of being grateful, a state of no unhealthy fears, and a state of awareness of Grace that God grants me today and every day. I am lifted up from my sadness/despair forever, unless I choose to stay there! This prayer tells me I am never alone unless I choose to isolate and hide from God.

1)    What are the inauthentic needs you are being saved from?

2)    How are you hiding from God and your soul?

3)    When and how do you experience God's Blessings and God's Grace?

Daily Prayer 28

"You have compassion and atonement for error and You do not destroy... You, God, never withdraw mercy from us..."( from Morning Song prayers)

I love these ideas. We have a tendency to blame God or ask God 'where were you when ___ (something bad) happened to us?' Yet, this prayer, we say it each morning, tells us that God has compassion and grants us atonement for our error and doesn't destroy us! How do we reconcile this? Many people say "it is God's Will" and I disagree with this statement. God's Will, as this prayer teaches us is: Compassion, Atonement, and Mercy as well as other things. This is not to say bad things don't happen (I have much experience in bad things happening), it is saying that a lot of bad things that happen to us happen because of other humans, not God! In fact, sometimes, if we do a root cause analysis, we find that we are the cause of bad things happening.

I am not saying that we are responsible for all tragedies- I am saying that many of the evils perpetrated upon us are caused by other humans, not God- as I understand this prayer. I also am saying: just as God shows us compassion and atonement, so too do we have to do the same to ourselves and others. This is not "airy-fairy" whitewashing of errors/wrongdoing- rather I believe it is still seeing the humanity of the perpetrator of evil/bad. To me, this means that I have to have compassion for those who harm me, while still protecting myself from further harm. I have to ask for Atonement from and give compassion to the people I have harmed. This is how I act as a Divine Need and Reminder. It is how I live up to the best of my Divine Image. It is not easy and each of us is capable of doing this.

1)    How am I shirking my responsibility and the responsibility of others by saying "It is God's Will"?

2)    When am I the root cause of error in my life and the lives of others?

3)    What are the ways I live Compassion, Atonement and Mercy in my daily living? 

Daily Prayer 27

"Give thanks to God, declare God's Name, sing to God, make music to God,.... Be joyful of heart, all who seek God." (Morning songs)

This prayer reminds us to be grateful and do something. 'Give' is an action verb. It is not enough to just say words of gratitude, according to this prayer, we have to do something. As with many of our Prayers and in our Holy Torah, the actions are outlined for us. Here, we are told to declare/call out God's name. I understand this action to be one of surrender. I have to call out/declare God's name so that I remember who is in charge, and it is not me.

Then we are called upon to sing, make music to God, and be joyful of heart. This action is for us to sing the song of our souls, our unique melody. As I was told by Rabbi Harold Schulweis, Rabbi Heschel used to ask his students:"What is the Niggun (melody) of your soul?". We are praying and looking inside of ourselves to find our music, sing our song and then be joyful that we have a song to sing and we are making music for God and other people around us. What an important message/reminder for us as we begin a new day of living.

1)    What are my actions of gratitude today and each day?

2)    How am I surrendering each day?

3)    What is the melody of my soul that I sing each day and how do I live with a joyful heart?

Daily Prayer 24

"You give us, today and everyday, Grace, Kindness, Compassion in Your eyes and in the eyes of all who see us." (Last part of prayer)

This phrase, near the end of the prayer, encapsulate my/our relationship with God. It is a relationship based on God's love, compassion, kindness and grace. This phrase is for us to remember this at the beginning of our day and throughout the day so that we don't lose our way and never feel abandoned. This phrase, for me, is a reminder to Revere God, to be in Awe of God, to not lose my connection to God and know that God is always connected to, calling to me.

It is such a beautiful way of reminding us that God loves and never leaves us. God is giving us Grace, Kindness and Compassion everyday. This gift then allows us to see and give the same to everyone we meet. It also allows us to take in this gift when others give it to us. This removes the suspicion and the 'less than' feeling when someone is kind, compassionate and loving to us in times of need. As I end my week of looking into this prayer, I am struck by how much I live it and when I don't!

1)    What will keep you aware of God's Grace, Kindness, and Compassion, today and everyday?

2)    How do your Revere and be in Awe of God each day?

3)    When do you return the gift of Grace, Kindness and Compassion to others? 

Daily Prayer 22

"And we will have Union with our Good Inclination and making much good" (Continuation of Prayer)

These words speak to, in my opinion, the essence of what Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel means when he says, "Prayer may not save us. Prayer may make us worthy of being saved". Many translations of Jewish Prayer make it petitionary. As I understand Rabbi Heschel's words,  we are making the commitment, in this sentence of this prayer, to have Devekut (union as in marriage) with our Good Inclinations and doing much good.

This is so exciting to me! Here we are, Divine Needs and Reminders, making the commitment, early in the morning to reCovenant ourselves to our basic goodness and living this goodness in all of our daily affairs! Actualizing this part of this prayer (actually the entire prayer) will make us worthy of being saved and cause us to help save others. This is part of the essence of Recovery for me: Allowing others to help me save myself, Using the Wisdom, Creative Energy, Love, etc. of God to help me save myself, and then doing the same for others.

1)    How am I using this prayer and every prayer to help me be worthy of being saved?

2)    What are the actions I take to reCovenant with my basic goodness and living this goodness?

3)    List the ways I help others to save themselves and be of service to self, God and others daily.

Daily Prayer 21

"Help us keep far from an evil (negative) person and an evil (negative) friend." (Continuation of prayer)

The reason I am reading this prayer in pieces is because it is so rich in Spirit and meaning. This part of this prayer has always intrigued me. I understand this sentence as a reminder to myself. There is a tremendous pull towards negativity. I suffer from it, almost everyone does.

I know a negative person for me is different than a negative person for you. This is not a one-size fits all (while there are 'just evil' people in the world, I am speaking of everyday life). For some of us, if someone is agreeing with us, adoring us, etc. it is hard to resist. Yet, we have to watch their actions to determine if they are a 'negative person' to/for us. I have been a negative person for others when I keep trying to move them to who/what I see they can be and not allow them to be who they are. I am changing this as I write. I have seen people who do the same to me and others. An evil/negative friend is even more subtle. I have been the one who gets convinced to do wrong things and I have been the convincer with friends, good people. Yet, when we get together and have the same hurt feelings, we are capable of convincing each other to 'get even' and do wrong.

Yet, in the earliest part of our Prayer Service, we are saying that we are not bound by negativity. We can master it, as God tells Cain in Chapter 4 of Genesis. We are affirming that we need help to be able to discern who is a negative person and who isn't. We are calling on ourselves and God/other people to help us define what is an evil/negative friend as well. We are making ourselves aware of the danger and the solution.

1)    When does the 'pull of negativity' strike me?

2)    How have I been a negative/evil person/friend to others?

3)    What is my plan to overcome the pull of negative friends/people and the pull to be a negative friend/person.

"Help us keep far from an evil (negative) person and an evil (negative) friend." (Continuation of prayer)

The reason I am reading this prayer in pieces is because it is so rich in Spirit and meaning. This part of this prayer has always intrigued me. I understand this sentence as a reminder to myself. There is a tremendous pull towards negativity. I suffer from it, almost everyone does.

I know a negative person for me is different than a negative person for you. This is not a one-size fits all (while there are 'just evil' people in the world, I am speaking of everyday life). For some of us, if someone is agreeing with us, adoring us, etc. it is hard to resist. Yet, we have to watch their actions to determine if they are a 'negative person' to/for us. I have been a negative person for others when I keep trying to move them to who/what I see they can be and not allow them to be who they are. I am changing this as I write. I have seen people who do the same to me and others. An evil/negative friend is even more subtle. I have been the one who gets convinced to do wrong things and I have been the convincer with friends, good people. Yet, when we get together and have the same hurt feelings, we are capable of convincing each other to 'get even' and do wrong.

Yet, in the earliest part of our Prayer Service, we are saying that we are not bound by negativity. We can master it, as God tells Cain in Chapter 4 of Genesis. We are affirming that we need help to be able to discern who is a negative person and who isn't. We are calling on ourselves and God/other people to help us define what is an evil/negative friend as well. We are making ourselves aware of the danger and the solution.

1)    When does the 'pull of negativity' strike me?

2)    How have I been a negative/evil person/friend to others?

3)    What is my plan to overcome the pull of negative friends/people and the pull to be a negative friend/person.

Daily Prayer 19

"You don't bring us into the hands of sin (of any kind)." (Continuation of 1st prayer after Morning Blessings).

I love this prayer because, when I immerse myself in it, I can set my entire day on the correct path. This part of the prayer teaches me that I always have choice as to my actions. It also reminds me that, even though I will make mistakes, I don't have to fall into the power of these mistakes. I do not have to be my mistakes. Food is a great example of this. I struggle with weight issues and have all my life. When I have a bad meal, this prayer teaches that I don't have to have a bad eating day! Also, this teaches me that God never wants me to fall into the power of error/sin/etc.

Some people ask me if my journey was God's Will, meaning that my actions were, somehow, part of God's plan. I believe this prayer is saying NO! This is an important issue for many people. We like to blame God when things go "wrong" for us. I understand this part of the prayer to be reminding us it is our choice to go further down the path of negativity, not God's plan! God is not 'controlling' us as if we are puppets, rather, God gives us the Mitzvot and The Torah(as said earlier in the prayer) as the roadmap and antidote to our straying from a life of decency and wholeness.

1)    What makes me 'give up' once I have made a mistake and ruin my entire day, week?

2)    When do I fall into the power of the negativity around me.

3)    How can I use prayer, Mitzvot, Torah (a program of recovery) to "do the next right action" even while in the midst of negativity?

Daily Prayer 18

"May it be Your Will, Adonai, our God, to make us accustom to Your Torah and have union with Your Mitzvot..." (Continuation of prayer following Morning Blessings)

I love this prayer. I have a different translation, It is my will, before You, Adonai our God to cause us to stand in Your Torah and have union with Your Mitzvot.  It doesn't make sense that we are calling upon God to use God's Will to have us be standing in Torah all the time, of course God wants us to live Torah, hence we will receive it, again, on Shavuot.

For me, the depth of this prayer is that I have got to make sure that my eyes are open and I am committing to a life rooted in Torah. Even when I err, I am still rooted in Torah because I do T'Shuvah and the only reason I know that I err is because I follow the Code of Torah.

This prayer, for me, is a daily reminder of the Revelation that happened at Mt. Sinai and my (our) response to it. Each day, I get to remember the moment of my accepting Torah as my way of living and stay loyal to this response. It means that I have to connect each day with my Soul and ensure that I am connecting with God and community. I have to remember that Living Torah and Revelation is a personal experience that can only happen in community! I get the opportunity to manifest the Love that God, significant other, family, friends and strangers have so freely given to me and use this Love to help move the world forward, one grain of sand at a time. I do this by living the Principles of justice, love, truth, kindness, righteousness and compassion for and with myself and everyone else.

1)    How am I standing in and guided by Torah in my daily affairs

2)    What are the ways I am deepening my connection to the Mitzvot/principles of Torah, i.e. Justice, love, truth, etc.?

3)    How do I stay loyal to the experience of Revelation from God? 

Daily Prayer 17

Blessed are You, Adonai, who removes sleep from eyes and slumber from my eyelids." (Prayer immediately following the morning Blessings)

This prayer makes no sense coming at this point in the Siddur (prayer book)! We have already been up for a while, we have wrapped ourselves in Talis and Tefillin, said a lot of prayers already, so it makes no logical sense to say this!! Yet, as I realized a long time ago, this prayer is so important. It makes me realize that there is a higher logic and higher truth. While my eyes are open, sometimes I sleep walk through the day. Sometimes my eyelids are so heavy with what I want that I fail to see what is. This is a "wake up" call to my Soul, to remind me that I have to stay alert to the Call of God and the call of my spirit. I acknowledge that without God's help, I will fall asleep during the day and become "Indifferent to the Sublime Wonder of living" as Rabbi Heschel teaches.

1)    What are the ways I go to sleep' during the day?

2)    How am I letting my eyelids get too heavy with my own desires/inauthentic needs?

3)    Where do I go to 'wake up' my soul/spirit? 

Daily Prayer 15

"Blessed are You, Adonai, who crowns Israel with beauty." (Morning Blessings)

Some translations speak of Israel's glory, I prefer to translate it as beauty. Why? Because I know that I can get caught up in false pride of "glory" and beauty is something that I admire and have to enhance/add to. Each morning, I am reminded that beauty is within me and within you. I am obligated to let more of my beauty shine in the world, rather than keep a hard shell that seems impenetrable. I also state my plan/resolve to add to my own inner beauty, your inner beauty and the beauty of the world by taking proper actions during the day and continuing to repair actions that were not proper. Again, being Israel means living in a state that has strength and beauty to fulfill my unique purpose and help you fulfill your unique purpose in our own individual and unique ways.

1)    How am I caught up in False Pride

2)    What am I doing to add to my inner beauty and yours?

3)    When am I living as Israel as a unique individual and adding to the world according to my unique purpose and passion?