MAKING ENDS MEET - WORLD HEART DAY- 613 Avenue Create Challenge

Good Morning, Crafty Peeples!

This week, I am breaking one of my cardinal rules: "Never write an Epistle on your blog." 

You don't have to read it,  please feel free to skip to the pictures.  

This week, in the Neighborhood, we are celebrating World Heart Day (September 29th).  This is your opportunity to create a project that promotes "Your Favorite Heart Thing."

~~~~~~

MY HEART THING - PAPER

When I first began in Judaism, I thought I would never figure it all out.  Perish the thought!  By the simple act of forgetting to turn on the hallway and bathroom lights before the Yom Tovim began Wednesday, I learned, over the ensuing Three Dark Nights, that I could grope, stumble and stub my toes with some of the best Jews in the world.  I've got this!

I love this time of year on the Jewish calendar.  Everything is so descriptive.  We are in what is called the "Days of Awe."  There are 10 Days of Awe that lead from Rosh HaShanah to Yom Kippur.  It is the best time to figure out what your Heart Thing might be.   One of my Heart Things is I LOVE PAPER and so, it is very appropriate that during these days of Awe, I am reminded that the *Sefer Torah will always be written onto parchment, with a quill pen dipped in ink.  Although we have electronic versions of our text, we cannot use electronics on Shabbos or during Yom Tovim.  You will never see an Orthodox Rabbi standing at the Bimah with an iPad. That's a iJid! (it Just isn't done!)

G-d commands that each King of Israel should write for himself a Torah.  That act of putting pen to paper requires concentration and connection.  The absence of a Delete/Backspace key tends to increase one's desire for accuracy.   The next time you have a chance to observe a child who is just learning to write, you should do so.  Watch the concentration, the determination, the humility, and the sheer exhilaration as each letter is successfully completed.   

The very first Torah Scroll I ever saw was over 100 years old and had been rescued from a village in Poland.  The entire village had been destroyed, it's inhabitants murdered or sent off to concentration camps.  The Torah had been hidden and, as was evident to the allied soldiers, several Jews had lost their lives rather than disclose it's hiding place.   Although the Torah was no longer "kosher" and could not be used for services, for us, it's mere existence was a moving testament. One of  our first acts as newly converted Jews was to purchase letters for a new Sefer Torah.  We were present when those precious letters were formed. We are connected to that Torah and to that Congregation forever. There is subtle power in the written word.  

Moses experienced great awe as he watched the Commandments being written by G-d's own hand. I imagine he experienced humility in equal measure when G-d made him hew the stone and prepare the second set of Commandments for himself after he [Moses] destroyed the first set in anger.

So, for my Heart Thing and this challenge, I created Bookends.  Bookends, because like Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, they hold between them, the Days of Awe, written by hand onto the parchment of our hearts, dipped in the ink of G-d's tender mercies and loving kindnesses... the map to help us journey from where we are to the destination we seek. 

L'Shanah Tovah,

Chana Malkah 

*A Sefer Torah (Hebrew: ספר תורה‎; plural: ספרי תורה Sifrei Torah ; "Book(s) of Torah" or "Torah scroll(s)") is a handwritten copy of the Torah, the holiest book within Judaism. It must meet extremely strict standards of production.

 This is a time of renewal, so I repurposed old Amazon boxes
reinforced by medium chipboard. 

 The bookends are designed to used together or separately!

 Back - Bookend #1 & #2

Front Bookend #2  

Functional with space for pretty! 

Thanks for stopping by!  

Challenges Entered:
Not Just Cards - Anything Goes
Scrappy Hands - #22 - Beginnings
Crafting At The Weekends - Anything Goes
Hiding In My Craft Room - Any Holiday (Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur)
Treasured Times - Anything Goes
Eclectic Ellapu -  Hearts:  Pink Team September Challenge