Hallel, Elul, Vision, Teshuvah
NOTE: THIS WAS WRITTEN YESTERDAY MORNING
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BS”D, Elul 5769
It's Elul, the month of Teshuvah; the month of returning to the light, to the source. And I can't help but think how appropriate it is that in this month my son gets his sight, or gets back literally what he lost metaphorically at birth. We say a baby learns the entire Torah in the womb/heaven with an angel before he is born, and forgets it upon entering the world. Life is then a process of remembering that which we already, on some level, know to be true. Hallel was born with severe cataracts, which blocked out all but the brightest flashes of light from his eyes. Two days ago he had surgery to remove one cataract, and yesterday we 'unveiled' the eye from it's bandages, letting undifferentiated light and color flood in for the first time in his life. Today we will go pick up his glasses, with a +20 prescription, and his world will become differentiated into distinct shapes and patterns. He will truly see his Abba (father) and Ima (mother) for the first time, the hairs of my beard, the texture of his mother's skin. It will be shocking and wonderful, but two dimensional. Next week he will, BE”H, have surgery on the other eye, and the next day be granted the gift of depth perception, a three dimensional world.
I can only hope that the process Hallel is going through reflects what I, and all Am Yisrael is going through on some level. May we all be blessed to have our eyes opened and enlightened, to have Truth made clear, real, seen. May we all be blessed to come back to the knowledge we had before we were created, when we sat with Truth and beauty with nothing hidden, and may we do so with the humility and joy of a child.
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Post Script: Last night we got his glasses. :)
This video is when he first opened his eyes after the surgery.
Baby with glasses!
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BS”D, Elul 5769
It's Elul, the month of Teshuvah; the month of returning to the light, to the source. And I can't help but think how appropriate it is that in this month my son gets his sight, or gets back literally what he lost metaphorically at birth. We say a baby learns the entire Torah in the womb/heaven with an angel before he is born, and forgets it upon entering the world. Life is then a process of remembering that which we already, on some level, know to be true. Hallel was born with severe cataracts, which blocked out all but the brightest flashes of light from his eyes. Two days ago he had surgery to remove one cataract, and yesterday we 'unveiled' the eye from it's bandages, letting undifferentiated light and color flood in for the first time in his life. Today we will go pick up his glasses, with a +20 prescription, and his world will become differentiated into distinct shapes and patterns. He will truly see his Abba (father) and Ima (mother) for the first time, the hairs of my beard, the texture of his mother's skin. It will be shocking and wonderful, but two dimensional. Next week he will, BE”H, have surgery on the other eye, and the next day be granted the gift of depth perception, a three dimensional world.
I can only hope that the process Hallel is going through reflects what I, and all Am Yisrael is going through on some level. May we all be blessed to have our eyes opened and enlightened, to have Truth made clear, real, seen. May we all be blessed to come back to the knowledge we had before we were created, when we sat with Truth and beauty with nothing hidden, and may we do so with the humility and joy of a child.
---------------
Post Script: Last night we got his glasses. :)
This video is when he first opened his eyes after the surgery.
Baby with glasses!