brachot 61

the two faces of the two yods of the creation of the first human
and
the fiery shema of R. Akiva's dying breath.

brachot 25

the things that come from our bodies that wrinkle our nose, and are unpleasant to the eye

so our mouths can't say the things from the heart.









(discussion about saying the shema, praying or talking torah in the presence of feces and urine, for rnglish translation of this talmud page see here)

brachot 24

finger...
hair...
leg...
voice...

but


who do we talk about when we talk about nudity?




(apologies for the picture quality. this drawing's photo was taken by my iphone from limmudfest)

for english translation of this talmud page see here

brachot 16

how many things can a man (and it is a man) balance in his mind at one time?
- in his own time?

(but did anyone ask the virgin bride what sinking thoughts were on her mind on her wedding night?)















(the talmud discusses about the concentration needed to say the shema. can it be said while working, up a tree, on a wall, on the way to his wedding night? for english translation of this talmud page see here)

brachot 15

(discussion about how audible and how clearly should the shema be said)


there should be gaps of silence so that the ear can hear
the beginnings and endings of words


and the beginnings and endings of life

the newborn's cry from the womb
& the mourners' cries at the graveside








(for an english translation of this talmud page see here)

brachot 14

waving or not waving?
stay away or say hello?

well..... how important are you?







(& my thoughts on the statement that those people who say shema without tefillin, are being false or incomplete. see this artwork called beged isha - a woman's garment)





(for english translation of this talmud page see here)

brachot 13

how long can the heart be bound up?
how long can the heart concentrate?
- a paragraph? 2 paragraphs? ...3?



or just a sentence?













(for english translation of this talmud page see here)

brachot 12

after the shema comes truth and redemption.

truth at the expense of the 10 commandments
redemption that is talked about day & night, til the end of days and beyond.





and the fringes' are the linking threads from the shema to redemption, harnessing hearts and eyes to stay true and focused.







(for english translation of this talmud page see here)

brachot 11

while walking on the way one can be too preoccupied to notice the formation of light

and the creation of darkness...



it can be dangerous saying the shema in the wrong position.











(for english translation of this talmud page see here)

brachot 9

when does the day begin?

when the eye can tell the difference
between colour
between animals

and between people

and then we can talk about the redemption.
(that happened at night)












(for english translation of this talmud page see here)

Breastfeeding and the Shema - Elie Jesner

This is the first of the chavrutah's (learning partner) It's from Elie Jesner, who is training as a psychoanalytic psychotherapist, and has spent many years studying judaism and philosophy.  He's also blogging about Daf Yomi; and finds returning to the medium of talmudic exposition to be a rewarding and pleasing homecoming. His blog is called thinkingdafyomi.

The Talmud is continuing its enquiry into the timing of the saying of the Shema.  With reference to the morning recital, it gives the following guidance:

When a woman talks with her husband and a baby nurses from its mother’s breast, let him rise and recite the Shema.

What a wonderful image and connection,  from the warmth of everyday domesticity, he may rise and recite the Shema. The suggestion is of a seamless integration between the homeliness of this scene, the nourishment of the feeding child and the engagement with the Shema. 

In the psychoanalytic worldview too, everything begins with the breast.  For Winnicott, the manner in which this meeting is conducted - the tenderness in the mother’s embrace, her calmly loving presence – are as critical to success as the milk itself.   We begin, for him, not as one, but as two, and the harmony and dedication in that coupling are what gives us the foundations to engage with society, to seek out and build the relationships which sustain us. 

The beauty of the moment is wonderfully portrayed by Sara Maitland, in ‘A Book of Silence’:

I remember it with an almost heartbreaking clarity.  Some of it is simply physical – a full and contented baby falling asleep at the empty and contented breast.  But even now I think that those sweet dawns, when it turned from dark to pale night, and we drifted back into our own separate selves without wrench or loss, were the starting point of my journey into silence. 

There is something about the dark itself, and the quiet of the world, even in cities, at that strange time before the dawn.

The dark, the ‘time out of time’ and the quiet of the night are fixed in my memory, along with the density of that particular silent joy.  (Page 12.)

Indeed, from this womblike darkness and silence we emerge into the world.

The Shema, our umbilical cord to the Divine, acts as the transitional object which makes the movement a stable and confident one. The Shema then contains something of the stabilising and rooting force of a functional spousal relationship and also something of the helpless dependence of the baby being fed.  We recite the Shema, more of a reading of memory - of constancy - than a prayer, and in a strange way that we don’t fully understand it affects us, centres us, prepares us for the day.

My friend William Kolbrener pointed out that in Homer, we see a markedly opposing image.  The hero returns from his warrior’s journey and disrupts the suckling child, he unsettles the gentle routines of the household.  In that culture, we might speculate, the understanding of a man’s role could not accommodate the memory of the intimacy and dependence of breastfeeding.  His violence and independence had to exist in denial of it, the two worlds could never be integrated.

The Shema tries to help us with this integration, to ensure that our religious projects do not proceed from a denial of our fragile humanity.  In the Shema we remember, and in that memory we find the compassion and concern which must fuel our engagement with the world.      

Elie Jesner

brachot 5

saying the shema at night is like a sword of protection


but not everything should be protected against.
Resh Lakish: suffering is a loving rebuke, some things can only be achieved by suffering.

but for R.Yochanan, who would carry his dead child's bone, not all suffering has meaning...


and Abba Binyamin would lie in bed at night, lie in the right direction and say shema.








(english translation for this talmud page see here)

brachot 4

the rabbis make hazardous fences and say that the shema can be said up til midnight.
but without a clock who knows when midnight is?

a pious king is woken at midnight by the wind-played instrument and sings alphabetical praises,

and the angels take flight.













(english translation of this page of talmud can be read here)

brachot 2

the talmud begins with a question.












when does the night begin?
well, it depends on whose sitting down for supper.
the priests? the poor? or the ordinary? who do we take notice of and are influenced by?

or do we choose instead to take our cues from the natural world and look to the stars?