RUTH WRITES: READ WHAT GIL SPOKE YESTERDAY AT THE BRIT ( CIRCUMSCISION) OF HIS NEW BORN SON, ACHIYAH YONA- EXPRESSES A HEART SO FULL OF GRATITUDE! Tamuz 19th, 17-07-2014 Dear friends, Shalom! I am sorry I did not write anytime sooner. As you may have read here, we were blessed with a new baby boy a week ago so the past week was all about taking care of the little one, making sure Leah is better after the labor, and preparing the big feast of the Brit (circumcision). The Brit was today, Thursday. It is now 2 minutes before midnight and we came back home around 3 hours ago. It was a beautiful ceremony, very moving, very heartfelt. I was so touched and excited by the privilege of bringing my little baby boy before HaShem. To be part of the long chain of generations keeping the most important command of all: Brit Milah (circumcision). I knew I wanted to give a short talk after the ceremony. My heart knew perfectly well what needed to be included in that talk, but I found it very hard to articulate it. It was as though I had to break some sort of a barrier in order to get it all be out there. I would like to share this talk with you, which I gave in front of all of our guests (approx. 110 people) who came from different backgrounds: religious, secular, young and older, Israelis and non-Israelis. Master of the universe, King of all kings, God, HaShem, Father - there are so many variations of your Name in our lives. From each angle you are different but still the same. From each point you shine on us in a new light: truth VS grace, mercy VS justice, love with admonishment, sometimes even suffering . However, always full of Fatherly feelings and care. The coming together of these contrasts are only made possible by You. By Your infinity! By You being endless! It is only in your unperceivable eternity that these contrasts create a perfect picture; shining, warming, giving wisdom, eye opening and enlightening, all at once. I am not worthy of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which Thou hast shown unto Thy servant! This is not just a quote (Genesis 32,11). These are my covert feelings in this event. Our covert feelings; as a couple, as parents, together and separately. Your giving and care for us is endless, sometimes even deterring as we do not feel worthy of it. You have introduced us (my wife and I), You gave us the privilege of having children, You have built us a house! You provided us with good childhoods, warring and loving parents up until today, brothers, sisters, brothers in law, and sisters in law. You have wrapped us with good friends who are like angels in the shape of human beings and who are people we can grow with! Always willing to help, never hesitating to be a shoulder to lean on, and to be there. But what could we give You in return? How could we pay You back? What could a small man like me give to a Living God like You?! And I so want to give You something! We have nothing to give You, and You have no desire other than one thing: our hearts! Our love, our faith in You, us feeling secure in You, us clinging on to Your Torah, the education we give our children; to know You, To believe in You, to recognize You, and above all to love You. That is all we could give You and apparently its like that only because You do not wish for anything else. Dear Father, Give us strength! Give us strength to rise, to shake off the dust, to be released from the chains of the earthy world, to lift our eyes and to put our trust only in You! Give us strength to fight against the doubt, against the distractions, against the ongoing information which flows at us from every direction, against the confusion, against the darkness. Bless us, Father! Bless us with faith! With peace. With grace. With mercy. With profusion. With learning. With a pure heart! Receive our shame, receive our tears. Receive the cry of the woman in labour and the cry of the women who wish to give birth. Receive the prayers of Your people from all over the diaspora. Save us and we will be saved! With every newborn baby, I find apprehension striking me harder. From my flesh I will see God (Job 19,26). This verse has extra meaning for me, as five times now I could actually see that during labor. However, each time it is stronger, sharper, clearer. Neither we nor the whole world has anyone but You. Only You know how to grow life from wallowing in the blood! And that is our story as a nation too. All the downfalls, the disasters, the persecutions, the exiles. All the alarms we are experiencing these days. It is all meant to wake us up! To help be born anew each time. Stronger, bigger, more believing. Help us maintain all that. Help us increase the flame and to infect the whole world with it. Help us sanctify Your name in the world. We are here and we are ready. Father, we named our son ACHIYA YONA. We wanted a name to express the unbelievable fellowship and brotherhood we are experiencing these days; within the Jewish people, between Jews and Gentiles, between Yourself and us! We see, feel, and believe that You are coming closer and closer every day. That is why we see evil things happening and it looks like impurity increases. However it is only because the good is increasing! Otherwise why would Satan bother so much? Your coming closer is a fact. You are literally standing in the gate. We want to open the gate but where have we left the key? In the exile in Spain? England? Iraq? Hungary? You have sent Your arm all across the globe to bring us back here, to the land of Israel. To bring us together again! Top prepare the world for salvation! For Mashiach! Thank you Father! We are proud to be part of Your plan, part of the puzzle which we cannot even understand a tiny bit of, however believing in it with all of our hearts. Believing in You! Watch over us! Watch over the Jewish people! Watch over all the Torah learners! Watch over our soldiers! Watch over our children, our old men, our parents, our brothers and sisters, our friends. Watch over us too! Please send us the Mashiach SOON! AMEN. Shabbat Shalom, Gil
Posted on: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 11:26:06 +0000
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