Tiferet b’Gevurah—Compassion within Discipline—asks us to locate appropriate warmth and kindness within a framework of boundaries. In the book of Isaiah, the prophet mourns our disconnection from God and from our home as a result of our own actions—injustice, selfishness, and hypocrisy. Later on in the book, though, that connection is refreshed as we learn that we will be returning home. Isaiah’s imaginings of God’s words to our people evokes deep compassion, held up alongside an acknowledgement of the boundaries and expectations that exist for our future behavior. Unconditional love and compassion can and must exist within a disciplined framework—in our relationship with God and with one another.
Gather You Together
English words & music by HannahHannah is the mother of the prophet Samuel, who, through her prayers, is rewarded a child. She herself is also considered a prophet. Hannah's intense devotional style of prayer becomes the model, in rabbinic Judaism, for prayer in general. Spiro
Hebrew words from Isaiah 54
Oh, afflicted one
All tossed around in the storm
Ah, I will gather you together
I will gather you together
I will gather you together now
Mountains, they might move
And the hills they may be shaken
My love will not move
We have an agreement
We have an agreement now
Oh, conflicted one
All messed around in return
Ah, I will put everything back together
I will gather us together
I will gather us together now
Ki yamin u’smol tifrotzi
V’arim n’shamot yoshivu
Al tiri ki lo teivoshi
If you need me, then I need you
Mountains, they might move
And the hills they may be shaken
My love will not move
We have an agreement
We have an agreement now
Ki yamin u’smol tifrotzi
V’arim n’shamot yoshivu
Al tiri ki lo teivoshi
If you need me, then I need you
Mountains, they might move
And the hills they may be shaken
My love will not move
We have an agreement
Image by D’vorah Horn from her set of Omer Practice Cards (2016).
