Quotable Quotes

“Don’t allow folks to know where your ‘Achilles Heel’ is!”

CW author and founder of Black Women Deserve Better book and blog

(it's from elsewhere but I personally heard it from her)

BHM 2010 - Keeping the good Memories

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Okay, so we have all these lingos out, but how to remember them?

Can anyone come up with some great verses for them?

like maybe...

Afra Dominance on the brain
Keep your cool, don't go insane!

or...

Walking on the sojourner's track
Aim forwards, don't look back!

or...

Divest, divest! throw out the old baggage
The strong black woman's no longer the package.

What? lol!

or...

Today's affirmation: Black women deserve better
To add validation: become a go-getter!

Don't go messing with damaged beyond repair
Look for good guys that hold up their share!

hah. Okay. I had some fun today.

BHM 2010 - Wiping the Slate Clean

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In honor of BHM!

With all the Black women empowerment blogs out there doing heavy and intense work, its refreshing to see BW on the move.

All the push to try something different, something new. All the encouragements to fulfill one's dreams, etc. Its all beautiful. All sorts of new lingos are coming out: sojourner....special interest solidarity...afra dominance...DBR...others.

Each one has its special tone. Sternness. wistfulness. matter of factness. Whatever you are looking for, in whatever tone you need it said, its there these days.

So explore away into the black blogosphere and find your good news!

InnerSpace: What's Going on at Home

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Hi Everyone! Shalom! Things are getting more and more busy these days. they'll only get busier and peak around Passover time. So just a quick run...

Upcoming Holidays...

Next week will be Purim! This is the holiday that we dress up -like in Halloween- we read the story of Esther, eat, and basically get crazy drunk.



There is so much to say about Purim, I am not sure where to begin. First of all, its the only book where God is not mentioned at all. Things are hidden. The truth is He is mentioned but its in a hidden way: where ever it says "the King" its possibly God, and where it says "king Xerxes" (Ahashverosh) its the Persian king. Hey, this reminds me of the current Persian (Iranian) "king" Achmadinajad and his enrichment of uranium. its also fuzzy (to western media) as to what he will use it for --hidden!

Then there is Esther who some say had olive skin, some say was dark. Either way, she could pass for whatever. Everyone thought she was one of their kin, black, white, whatever. And she kept her Jewishness a secret -more hiding!

PURim means draw of a lottery. It is also connected to Yom kiPUR. (Yom = day; ki = like, as; Yom ki Pur = Day Like Purim)

Hopefully, I'll write a post on the story and on the day. When we hear the story, whenever the name of Haman is mentioned, everyone makes loads of noise with rattles, groggers, keys, whatever. That's fun.

Another part of Purim is giving baskets of food away



Some lucky family is going to receive a nice packed basket of yummy apples, candy, and whatever else I have the strength to pack. lol.

Homeschooling...

We are tackling math at the moment. The kids are doing pretty well with it. As long as the numbers don't go beyond 10 we are cool. Slowly, they are tackling numbers that go beyond their teensy tiny fingers. They're only five so its no big rush.

This Shabbat, at the Shabbat dinner table, in front of all the guests, little Avi says, "Mama...one and two makes twelve!" LOL! I wanted to jump into the salad bowl! But hopefully, I didn't make him feel bad, I just laughed and said "Hmmmm!"

Cravings...

Little Naphtali (I still haven't figured out how to spell it in English) is nursing less and less which is making me crazy. I've got cravings again. I miss this wonderful dish from Le Peep, a Jordanian restaurant in the suburbs of Chicago (Evanston, IL) and so I try to re-create it everyday. (This was back when I wasn't keeping kosher.hehe) Bunches of vegetables; potatoes, sweet potatoes, peppers. Eggs. And cheese on top of all that! What? I sound pregnant? lol. Its just the hormones from the lack of nursing.

Surveys...

I have an urge to run a survey or conduct a study. Hospitals where the staff is mostly AA or other BP, is the healing there faster, slower, or even pace where there are no AA or other Black persons on staff?

If a BP had his hand chopped off and a Scandinavian had his hand chopped off, would they both lose certain memories? The same amount of memory?

They say memory is stored all over the body. It is also said that melatonin effect memory function. So....just wondering. I hope a caring scientist works on this before the propaganda machines churn the information to show only what they want.

Parnossa...

Parnossa means income. Income doesn't necessarily have to come from hard work or being somebody's employee. Well, so I've got a few ideas given to me from On High. I am going to try them. Hope its good.

End of Winter...

The winter is ending! That means I've got to figure out what I want to do with the yard. Extra work. We moved to Tsfat in order to have a less expensive life, but I know I don't want to be the lonely one stuck taking care of this big huge house and yard. Mr. BFWF and I are both not outdoorsy type nor fixers, but the house demands care.



Can somebody help me clean my house??!!

The problem with me is that I see the cleaning help as people. Then I feel hardpressed to ask them to do the really hard work. **sigh** One lady advised me to leave a list and not be there, that way I won't let my misplaced compassion stop me from letting the cleaning help do more.

Conclusion...

Well that's what's been keeping me away from the computer. That, plus my getting back to studying my Likutey Moharan, my Rebbe Nachman's teachings, and in general refocusing on Torah.

Quotable Quotes

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"When we arrived in Ethiopia, the civil war raging around us simply stopped in its tracks for a few hours while these big planes from Israel landed and we took the Jews… When these Jews got on the plane, they didn’t understand a word we uttered, nor did we understand them - until suddenly we said, ‘We’re on the way to Yerushalayim.’ They responded “Yeruzalem!” – and then you realize that there was just one word that remained among Jews to connect between thousands of years, between Africa and Moscow – and that’s Jerusalem.”

Natan Sharansky (re: Ethiopian Jews)

Parashat Terumah/ Exodus 25

"And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. "

This weekly portion is all about the building of the tabernacle in all its glory. But does God need a dwelling place? Isn't He everywhere?

Setting a fixed place to pray every day is beneficial. Think of it as a physical mantra instead of a verbal mantra. By entering this place, one is automatically set in a prayerful mood because that is what that place is known for. There, the divide between the physical and the spiritual becomes more translucent. Even ideas come quicker there! (but don't lose focus!) To give prayer strength, it helps to give charity first. It also helps to read His Holy Words so that one's prayers will have grace and eloquence. Prayers shouldn't be thought out, its better if said out loud because speech is..a pot! Its a container. Within speech comes answers, solutions, sustenance, etc. If we can express in words what a problem is, we are half way towards fixing it.

Nowadays, we don't have the tabernacle, and we don't have the Holy Temple; but we still have our hearts. There God can also dwell. So why not use "good material" to maintain our hearts just as the very best- gold- was used in so many items in the building of the Tabernacle.

instead of gold....

fruits!!


...and vegetables!!






A refreshing drink?


...and lots of deep healthy breathing!


Throw in some grains in there somewhere, and there you have it, your very own, high quality material, "Tabernacle" LOL!

There is a sage in the 18th century, who was said to be a genius, Rabbi Eliyahu Kramer (a.k.a. the Vilna Gaon or shortened: The Gra) predicted that the third and final Holy Temple would be rebuilt on March 16. 2010. I don't know how people can boldly make predictions like that but.... Well, there's a few weeks left so he's gotta figure something out.

Israel :Moshiach ben Yoseph and Moshiach ben David Conclusion

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This is a continuation of a series.

Here is where we stand. We've got three main groups: An old spirit from olden days of European greats (Hareidi), a new body with all the lusts of a body (Zionists of old), and an infused soul for that new body (Dati Leumi). We are still missing a spirit to put on top of the soul, and a neshama to put on top of the spirit. (from part 3)

What the world is not understanding today is that the children of those former zionists of old, are actually no longer "zionists" in that sense of the word. Those children who are fighting to remain as the elite, the ruling class, are actually wanting to give the land up -that's not a sign of a zionist according to the definition the world has.

Now the battle is more the religious zionists who insist that we should keep the land that was gained during war, as well as all the land that is under Israel rule. Giving up land is wrong because (1) the PA leaders don't really want peace, just to win by concession after concession until they "push the Jews into the sea." and (2) once holy land has been acquired its tantamount to blaspheme to just give it away -as if it has no value to us.

Now a new battle is brewing: Israelis vs Jews. Who knows maybe in the end there'll be a four state solution out. Sad. PA, Hamas, Israeli (non religious), and Jews (religious). Oy vey.

And so we wait for a leader. Someone who can fix this mess. There are two Messiahs that we, Jewish people await. The Moshiach son of Joseph, and the Moshiach son of David.

Moshiach son of Joseph is the one who is supposed to bring all the Jewish people back. The gathering of the exiles. Some say it won't be a person, but technology. Others say its suppose to be a person. Once he's done, the next Moshiach is suppose to come. This is Moshiach son of David. It is taught that he will be a regular guy -i.e. not a god- and rule the world. As people get more and more dissatisfied with their governments, I can almost see how this will happen. It seems as if the leaders are all out with their own agenda and the people are scrambling to figure out what is the real truth behind the propaganda news, what is the real truth behind the various hurtful surveys and studies, what is the real truth in life -some way to make the resources work and get everyone to a point of contentedness.

But there is a catch. The Talmud teaches that there are three things that come by surprise: a lost object, a scorpion, and Moshiach. Meaning that when we least expect it, then he will come. Meaning, don't just sit around passively thinking the Messiah will come and fix everything. We have to do -as if- we are ready and willing to right the world, then surprise! the help will come.

And so, we toil...

We Are The World

Ain't No Sunshine...

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My kids caught me watching this video. Interesting reactions. Most of them were bored and wanted me to put on a cartoon. One daughter, though, the very spiritually intune- I suspect, like it. This is the little girl who drew a picture of someone and drew colors around them saying that was the color around him (aura). I tried not to freak out. But she keeps surprising me like that.

Well, she likes blues. Wanted to hear more from Freddie King. Freddie King?! I don't think this song is particularly "spiritual"...unless I imagine he's talking about the Shechina in Exile/ God seemingly not participating in world events.



Really, I'm not a music expert. Is blues spiritual?

Quotable Quotes

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"The Iranian nation, with its unity and the grace of Allah, will punch the arrogance [Western powers] on the 22nd of Bahman [Thursday, February 11] in a way that will leave them stunned," (yahoo news)

Ayatollah Komeini

Oh boy! I'm sure he's going to really light up some building with tons, I mean TONS of light bulbs! What?

BHM 2010 - Message of the Week

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This week is the reading of the portion/parashat Mishpatim which is Exodus 21, 1-24. Mishpatim is plural for mishpat which means sentences. These are a series of dinim or rules for various situation.

For example, if one is a slave or acquires a Jewish slave then here are the rules of dealing with him. Basically, after seven years the slave has the option to walk away. If he is crazy enough to stay being a slave, then the master nails his ear to the door for the whole world to see what a crazy fool this guy is, then then the slave remains a slave forever!

At the end is the part where the famous saying goes...

22 And if men strive together, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart, and yet no harm follow, he shall be surely fined, according as the woman's husband shall lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.

23 But if any harm follow, then thou shalt give life for life,

24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

25 burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. {S} (Exodus 21)

I guess this week is a week of exacting retribution. Probably now would be a good time to request reparations, to cry out about a wrong, to fix, etc. Its in the air.. these rules are awake and shining this week.

May this learning be in the merit that Haiti should recover completely and deal well with the UN, America and any other opportunists out to steal their children, their goods, their dignity. Amen v'Amen.

Is it Good for Haiti? Gold and Oil

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Turns out I should have wondered why there were so many UN officials in Haiti at the time of the earthquake. As it turns out much Haiti since 1994 has become basically a fort for the UN. I don't know how long they've known this, but gold and oil have been discovered in Haiti. In fact, the oil reserve seems greater than Venezuela's-- so much larger its not even worth comparing! Ah. No wonder all the aids are not reaching the people. Story.

Nations want the Haitian people dead. And gone. (or just amputated at best).

Praise God, the country to took the title of the "poorest country in....wherever" is not really. Hmmm..sorry the stigma didn't stick. Not.

I must make a special trip to the Wailing Wall on this one. Surely in the merit that Haiti was among the first countries to recognize Israel, as they say those who bless it shall be blessed, hopefully they will be blessed in return.

For a more comprehensive outline see Israel Truth Times blog.

To Haitians: Prie' po pays ou. Bon Dieu ap tande'!!

BHM 2010- Parashat Yitro

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I think its quite interesting to start February 2010, Black History Month, with the whole Jewish community reading the Torah portion called Yitro -a.k.a. Jethro, father of Tzipporah. Poetic justice? God's hand to get people to think about BHM?

We all know the wonderful legend of how the story of Moses and Tzipporah got turned into: "Why you gotta be with that black woman?!" When in actuality, the story was that Miriam and Aaron couldn't believe that Moses would abstain from Tzipporah because she was so gorgeous. Story has it, he did the same to an Ethiopian bride that he had prior to Tzipporah. This, to me, is why Miriam said Cushite (African/ or Ethiopian) twice in the verse.

But what's so special about Yitro himself?

"1 Now Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel His people, how that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt. " (Exodus 18;1)

According to Oral tradition and various teachings I've heard, I've gathered that:

Jethro was not so impressed with the splitting sea and the rescuing of a people from within another nation alone. Everyone in those times who heard the story was impressed. Many may have wanted to do some repentance and changing their lives around for the better to be more in tune to God's will. But what Yitro heard that others may have missed was that there is an Amalek -and God helped Israel against them too.

The Amalekites were descendents of Esau. Their main goal was the destruction of the Jewish people. (Hitler, Germany was said to be one of their descendents)So much so were they bent on this mission, that even after all the miracles that had occurred, they were unfazed and were willing to be the first to try to attack them as they exited out of Egypt.

So, too, today, many of us have these dogs that bark "you ain't s****!!!" whenever we try to better ourselves. Amalek.

Many people will try to better themselves, but what Yitro did was (1) try to better himself as a result of the miracles that he heard but also (2) attached himself to the group that he knew would one day fight Amalek so he wouldn't have to face them alone should he progress in his service to God.

BHM -A Short Story

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There was once a dark alien that landed on earth (Song of Songs). She had coils and coils of iron antennas atop her head. With those iron antennas she would access information from a satellite above and would open her mouth and disburse wisdom. (Rebbe Nachman, Likutei Moharan, Lessom 31)

The nations saw her and became afraid. They tried to devise ways to stop her. They were afraid she would get at the truth. And so they tried various ways to destroy her. Because it is written that "Adam knew his wife" or "Yitzchok knew Rifka" (Chumash, Bible)etc. It was known that there was a connection between knowledge and sexuality. So the nations tried to pervert her by accusing her of being hyper sexual. She was unfazed.

They came up with another tactic. Instead of pulling, they decided to push. They accused her of being asexual! Again, she remained unfazed.

Finally, they united and came up with a brilliant plan. Together they came with a gigantic magnet (foreign ideologies). This magnet was attractive to the space girl. She turned towards it. It seem to possess the same attractive powers of her satellite, but it wasn't the same. Also, because it was angled from people on the ground, her antennas began to be pulled in a different direction. Her coils became more loose. Some antennas -especially the new growth- remained standing upwards and some went towards the magnetic pull of the magnet. Soon, it was an entangled matted mess!

The girl began to receive mixed signals. She would still open her mouth, but instead of wisdom, foolishness would spew out!

The nations began to laugh at her. They scorned and mocked her. The girl tried to keep her royal status by giving birth, but every time a birth occurred it was painful and she cried out: "O.O.W.!!!" "O.O.W.!!!"

Finally, in great despair, she shut her eyes. She realized the magnetic pull is what was keeping her in this state and she had to get out by any means necessary.

So she closed her eyes and sang out the holy word which is G-d's name.

Over and over she sang out His Name. Sometimes she moaned it, sometimes she shouted it. Over and over and over and over.

Slowly, with the Name reverberating in her head causing her to shudder in awe, she was able to turn away from the magnet. She didn't dare trust herself to look at the magnet again for fear of its magnetic pull on her eyes. She only used her mouth and her womb for expression, and her ears to hear the holy words she was saying.

At last her coils straightened upwards again. Her antennas were back to functional and she was again able to give forth knowledge and Truth and thus bring about peace.

The End.

Black History Month

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Its that time again. Black History month. I don't have any real plans, but hope to post some inspiring flashback posts and new posts for BW.