Rededication at a time of Epic Gaslighting
Finding the miracles and keeping faith alive
This Hanukkah, I rededicate myself to my Jewish ancestral heritage and to continue to be all that I am with my light radiating within with pride.
The theme of “both and” continues to play out as I burn away old paradigms. I think the Collective is burning away old paradigms as well, even if in my reality many are off course.
I am both Jewish and someone who practices vipassana meditation, a mindfulness practice derived from the Buddha. Does that make me a Buddhist? Maybe. And I’m also someone who chants Hindu spiritual practices calling the names of the Divine. Does this make me a Hindu? Not really.
I am both a woman and a wife. I am a wife and a firey goddess named Durga by my spiritual teacher. I am a Sagittarius and a 4 on the Enneagram. Both and all of these things. Nothing and no one is ever what they seem to be.
America is a country filled with assimilation. We are a beautiful melting pot of all types of people. Perhaps as a Jewish-born person I have assimilated too much. But not because I wasn’t proud but I was taught to fear being “too Jewish” unless I was around my peers. Did I hid my Jewishness around new people? Not really, it’s simply not what I identified with as a top 3. I didn’t tell people unless I was comfortable and I felt it would be met with acceptance. And it’s not all of who I am because I am proud to be from a heritage that embraces Peoplehood.
While I’ve been lucky enough not to have too many instances of antisemetic slurs or behaviors thrown at me, I know many who have, and that was enough to make me stay quiet. After all, as a blonde haired and blue eyed white woman, “I don’t look Jewish.” What does a Jewish person even look like? I wonder if people have finally caught up to the fact that Jews live in a diaspora and come in all ethnicities? And I’ve definitely been able to “code switch” keeping it on the down low passing as an average white woman whether it’s good or bad, it was simply a deeply ingrained message to keep my Jewishness amongst safe friends.
Humans are complex. We are only different because of the stories we tell ourselves, experiences we live, and our heritage passed down to us. Sometimes this separates us and sometimes it brings us together. At the crux of it we are spiritual beings having a human experience, should we choose to. Choosing to dive into the spiritual light within is no easy path yet it’s necessary for true understanding of life itself.
Right now I am angry and grateful. I am sad and hopeful. I continue to shed old layers and move into new fresh layers. These new layers are raw, soft, weepy at times. The continued confusion of the far left “liberals” continue to shock and alienate me from anything I recognize.
Gaslighting being used to extinguish our light
Jews around the world are being gaslit by the United Nations (a.k.a. Useless Nations), feminist organizations, and elite American Universities as they dispute the truth of women who were savagely assaulted and students who call for genocide by any means necessary on campuses while Jewish student congregate. Suddenly hate speech is labeled as free speech and the administration decides they need to look at the “context” of these protests.
This “cease fire” narrative without the pressure on Hamas to do so or putting any pressure on the terrorists to release of hostages is severely dangerous, hypocritical, and antisemetic, full stop.
I’m quite infuriated on these issues that are simply moralistically evil. Not acknowledging rape simply because many of them are dead and can’t testify and yet a very short while ago feminists called “believe all women” during the Brett Kavanaugh trial. Oh, ok, but just not Jewish women who have survived and the videos to prove it. And women leaders from Harvard, Penn, and MIT etc, denying Jewish students a safe place to study. They are so deep in the Arab funding they must be fearing for their lives.
The venom boils up in me and my compassion for anyone who does not see these intertwined I have decided they are morally and spiritually corrupt. These are not feminists, they are sellouts to evil and add to the corruption of the American University system itself.
Hanukkah Heroes
My Heroes right now are Eve Barlow, rape survivors Amit Soussana and Mia Schem, Hilary Clinton, Sheryl Sandberg, and Representative Elise Stefanik who questioned the Universities about their policies of “free speech, harassment and the safety of Jewish students.”
This year, the story of Hanukkah takes on a new meaning. This holiday, which is not even in the Torah is not simply about the miracle of the oil lasting for eight days.
The real story of Hanukkah begins with a revolt, for reasons that would resonate to this day – gross inequality and religious coercion. Rather less well-known is that the holiday originally had nothing to do with a miraculous oil supply but rather involved ousting foreign rule and slaughtering Hellenized Jews.
You can read more about it here.
Rededication of the Light Within
This time of year we light the Hanukkah menorah as the “Festival of Lights.” In so many traditions and cultures around the world, light is a symbol of happiness and life making it a central theme to a variety of cultural practices. (Kwanzaa, Diwali)
We light the candle on the menorah for eight nights using the helper candle called the shamash. The shamash is elevated above the other candles. We burn these candles as a symbol of light over darkness or good vs evil and to remind us that miracles can happen.
I love the idea that a single candle can light many other candles without diminishing its own light. And in the same way this shamash helps others, it can be a symbol for us to burn our own light within for joy, hope, love, generosity, which allows others to do so as well.
We add a candle each night as a continued growing dedication, a sharing of our light with the world by our interactions and placing the menorah in the window to share with others. While the ritual doesn’t take much time to experience, I’ve included a thoughtful meditation to listen to as you light each candle. I invite you to consider listening to it before you light a candle this evening and perhaps every evening.
Choosing high vibration of you light with anyone who also chooses to come along because we are in this together. May we all be grounded in our compassion and love with gratitude and hope.
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When we can envision our own light within, perhaps maybe we can ignite the light of others too for the path of peace and hope.
May you be well in body and mind throughout the twists and turns of the journey called life. Know that I am on the journey with you.
Shalom and Namaste -
Shelley