Before I found my way into this covenant of service, I pondered if I was chosen for the task. I was deeply fearful of being rejected for the conscious connection I knew to be true with God. Covenants require a lot of development from within. God will require us to be unwaveringly true to ourselves. I took my time (also known as God Speed) reframing my inner dialogue. That dialogue became a love affair twenty seven years ago, August 25, 1992.
Twenty seven years ago, my husband, children and I were inside our home as Hurricane Andrew turned towards South Miami and we were in it’s path. We witnessed portions of our roof flying away and our inner walls collapsing as we ran from room to room. In the bathroom, we heard the loudness of our chandelier being ripped from the ceiling and the wall unit falling and breaking. As we held up the collapsed ceiling up over our kids, the sun was just rising. Soon after it was over and thankfully it happened fast.
At some point during the running from room to room we put our dog in an empty closet in our guest room. After the hurricane was over, we opened the door of the room and we saw her tail wagging when we called her name. She was covered in ceiling insulation and padding, but she was ok, thankfully.
When all was said and done, we went outside to survey the destruction. Every other house was missing all or part of the roof. I looked up in the sky and said quietly; “I know you did this for me”. At that moment I felt chosen. Our eldest child was about to enter kindergarten, and I was not happy with the local school choices. I was procrastinating because I didn’t want to drive far to send them to a good school.
Lo and behold, six weeks later we moved into a rental home in an orthodox jewish neighborhood with a school and a shul very close by. We practiced that way of life for 12 years, embracing of the tradition as authentic Jews and it was just the beginning of my covenant with God.
To achieve peace, compassion and understanding of the world, I have studied many different teachings. I believe that everything has been written for us by God and can be decoded for us if we investigate. One path that decodes our chosenness is numerology.
Donald Trump has a life path number of four. Maybe he will serve only 4 years, maybe not. Here’s a link to read his chart, if you’re curious.
Hurricane Dorian has a life path number of 3 and a destiny number of 7. I don’t know of any astrologer that would even try this, but I was curious and thought I’d share. As of yesterday, she was set to hit “somewhere in Florida” this Saturday night. It is projected as a 3 and/or 4. Perhaps it will be a three and a nuisance for 7 days???
This Saturday night begins the new moon of Elul. It is a potent month. It’s a month to reflect back, make amends and get ready for the new year. Kabbalah mentions a Totem for each month and this month the Totem of the Seashore. The tides come in, the tides go out.
Elul teaches us about life.
Dorian teaches us about life.
Donald teaches us about life.
From the Baal Shem Tov
Your fellow man is your mirror. If your own face is clean, the image you perceive will also be flawless. But should you look upon your fellow man and see a blemish, it is your own imperfection that you are encountering – you are being shown what it is that you must correct within yourself.
So, all in all…. I am guided to tell you to use your prayers, meditations and visualizations to envision safety and peace.
One last thing for the politically obsessive: If you’re looking for good reading material during the storm, read Donald Trump, The Art of the Deal AND Sun Zhu, The Art of War. It’s truly remarkable how similar they are.
Stay and Pray Safe, my friends
Rabbi Melinda “Bracha” Bernstein
(954) 901-1355
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