Truth and Death
Let’s go deep. This is how I stay sane and see the miracles unfold. My mother and I had a discussion about the phrase, life and death. She said that life is in between and instead the phrase should be, birth and death. I have had the privilege to support families as a Doula, and witness babies enter this world. Birth is a miracle and from a Yoga perspective, specifically focusing on breath, it is the portal into life through breath. When meditating, there are instructions to breathe in and then hold the breath. We sometimes hold our breath when something surprises us, or when we are scared or worried. The moment a mother pushes a baby into this world, her breath stops, she is connected and her vessel brings forth life. Then mama continues to breathe, and the baby is placed on her chest, heart to heart, to regulate baby’s first breaths.
So life is in between, and we just talked about birth, so now let’s talk about death. First there is the cycle of life, but this is not the death that I am talking about when I say truth and death. I was gifted a book by Chabad Israel Center, our community for over 30 years in Los Angeles. Torah Studies, A Parsha Anthology from the Teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, OBM. The word for truth in Hebrew is EMET, it is spelled with three Hebrew letters Alef, Mem and Tuv, אמת. There is only one truth. God runs the world. “There is no reality which does not emanate from Him, for when the Alef (the One) is removed from EMET, the word becomes MET, “death,” the absence of life.” A person could be living, but be dead inside. When we fulfill our life purpose and become a light on to everyone and everything around us, we are truly alive and aligned.
Right now we are holding our breath as the hostage deal has been signed by both sides. We are hoping and praying for the return of all of our hostages alive. It is excruciating, and we are dealing with pure evil. Many of the prisoners being released have murdered in cold blood, and will do it again. Either you are for truth or you are for death, there is no middle ground.