Aug 27, 2006
Posted on Aug 27, 2006 in Miscellaneous, Personal | 1 comment
Today should be a very happy day, but unfortunately it is filled with grief.
Yesterday was my youngest son’s second birthday. We drove back to NW AR this morning so that all of our family could get together to celebrate his birthday. Although it was still a day to bless him for the coming year, today was largely filled with sadness. Today my sister-in-law had a miscarriage. Not only did she have a miscarriage, but my sister had one less than two weeks ago. It seems out of sorts that they should happen back-to-back like this, and it saddens us to no end. My wife and I have wept many tears, and would ask that you remember our family in your prayers over the days and weeks ahead.
-darren
Jul 27, 2006
Posted on Jul 27, 2006 in Personal | 0 comments
Just wanted to ask for your prayers. We are dealing with a few things in which we need Hashem’s strength, wisdom and guidance. Many thanks in advance.
blessings,
-darren
Jul 11, 2006
Posted on Jul 11, 2006 in Judaism, Personal | 0 comments
My wife just sent me another article. This time from Chabad.org about a boy named Baruch. It is called “Baruch’s Bar Mitzvah“. It is a story about a special-needs child who turns thirteen. It’s especially touching because my wife has a Master’s degree in deaf-education, and we have a tender spot for the deaf. Grab a box of tissue and enjoy the article.
May 31, 2006
Posted on May 31, 2006 in Personal, Torah | 1 comment
Just a small note to everyone to have you share our joy. Our oldest son (five years old) has taken the initiative to wear the tzit-tzit! We’ve been talking about it for the last year or so, and for the last couple of weeks he’s been asking about it quite regularly, and said that he really would like to start wearing them. So… we sat down with him and explained some more about why we wear the tzit-tzit, what it means, how we are to benefit from it (by way of remembering to make right decisions), etc. This Sunday he & I took one of his Tshirts and attacked it with the sewing machine. By the time we were done we had made a decent-looking tallit katan (if I don’t say so myself).
I had already gotten my two oldest boys a “starter” set of tzit-tzit a year or more ago, so we took the task of attaching the tzit-tzit. I let him do this part all by himself, since he’s been helping me the last few times I’ve changed tallitot. From there, we taught him the blessings, and the proper respect for an object dedicated for holy purposes. We ended the day by having an informal ceremony and time of us blessing & commissioning him in his taking upon himself this mitzvah. I just wanted to share our joy with this post. I know that this is only an external practice, but as I’ve said many times — what we do in the physical is inseparably tied to the spiritual (like cutting my beard), if only an act of working towards a spiritual change. Please pray for our son this week as he begins to take his own steps in walking out his faith, and thank you for sharing our joy with us.
May 21, 2006
Posted on May 21, 2006 in FFOZ, Miscellaneous, Personal, Prayer | 0 comments
This weekend we have been privileged to have Boaz Michael and his family be with our community. We have really enjoyed being with them, and look forward to a great day today in the culmination of the FFOZ seminar Knocking on Heaven’s Gates tonight.
Having Boaz and his family has already been a tremendous blessing. Seeing the self-discipline of his family, however, has been both a huge inspiration as well as a little bit of a discouragement. The inspiration is obvious. Boaz and his family are an incredible encouragement in all that they are doing to live out their faith, and help those who are living a Torah-pursuant life.
The discouragement aspect is not the fault of Boaz and his family at all. It’s like running a 100 mile race, and reaching the first mile marker. The thrill of the race, and the excitement of the first milestone are motivating, but realizing that you’ve got 99 more of these to go is slightly disheartening. Seeing where Boaz and his family are and then looking back at where we are as a family and a community could easily open a floodgate of tears if I dwelt on this aspect alone. However, I know that I must not focus on the distance, but on the destination, and enjoy the journey in the process. Otherwise, the journey will be unbearable, and the destination unreachable.
Jason’s post, Inspiration that Creates Action, is a good summary of what I’m feeling. I (and also “we” as an infant Torah community) are making what feels like gigantic leaps on the one hand, but on the other hand they are merely baby-steps. I have an internal struggle that wants so badly to be in close proximity to those who are further along this road than I in order to excel in my learning and my application of Torah, but I know that Hashem is growing me at this pace for a purpose. Maybe I’m not as ready for something like this as I think I am. Maybe I’m not as malleable as I think I am, and would merely snap with all of the stretching that would be required in an environment like that. Maybe I just have a different calling and purpose. Whatever the case, I must keep in mind the words of Rav Sha’ul, which states:
But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Messiah Yeshua. (Philippians 3:13b,14)
