Contents:
Weekly roundup
Essay - "God has given you one face, and you make yourself another." Or, "Can you see the real me?"
The Weekly Parsha - Vayechi
Other announcements, Davening circle, blogs. "The Doctor is In," a new blog from Dr. Nicole Brackman!
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I hope you had a good week. Our week was a bit broken up, due to the extended holiday weekend, and the fast day. But it was great to get back to classes. Here in New England, we are having some cold 10 degree days. But last time at this year, we were inundated with snow. We are grateful for whatever we get.
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(To read the following essay in its entirety - and I hope you will! - follow the link below. I hope you will read it, and let me know your thoughts.)
Essay - "God has given you one face, and you make yourself another." Or, "Can you see the real me?" W. Shakespeare/P. Townsend
Did you ever wonder why “facebook” is called “facebook?” Have you ever “friended” anyone because they looked like a nice person, like the type of person you would probably be friends with if they were your neighbor? If so, were you correct? Do you consider yourself good at reading peoples’ facial expressions? Are you aware of your body language when you communicate? How does our body language relate to setting goals?
Here is a link to a fun and interesting test to see how well you can interpret facial expressions.
http://tinyurl.com/7a9he2t
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*The Weekly Parsha* - Vayechi
The Zohar teaches in reference to the verse in Psalms, "Serve G-d with joy; come into His presence with singing," that complete service of G-d means genuine joy in the performance of His commandments. The root of joy is the sefira of bina, which is connected to the heart as well as the mind. Joy starts as a mental frame of mind that influences the whole person and permeates him until he is unified in mind and body and can become a vehicle for the manifestation of a higher unity - the Divine Presence.
The Divine Presence dwells only in a place of happiness; therefore it didn't dwell upon Jacob for those years that he was sad due to his separation from Joseph. Serach, the daughter of Asher, broke the good news to Jacob by singing "Joseph is alive and living in Egypt" and Jacob merited to come back into the presence of G-d through singing.
From the teachings of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai; translation & commentary by Simcha-Shmuel Treister
www.kabbalaonline.org/
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Our Facebook page(s) turns out to be where we are posting a lot of info. and pictures, too. Please visit us there (and why not “friend us” while you’re at it?) -
Room613
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Room613/181973811814410
Mercaz Machshava Tova
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mercaz-Machshava-Tova/246783082038915
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Blogs Not to Miss!
Yael's Blogs
For my wife Yael's unique take on homeschooling and parenting, please visit her blogs:
Leia's Laboratory
http://tinyurl.com/7ucetz2
Morah Miriam
http://tinyurl.com/79fzklm
NEW BLOG! Dr. Nicole Brackman - "The Doctor is In"
http://tinyurl.com/72o8x69
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Davening Circle
Every morning we gather to daven together from 9:30 - 9:45 AM. This is a free, open group, to any type of member, and any age children. We would love for you to join us! See the homepage for more info.
