Life is But a Dream (Story)

God said “Be” and this Creation comes into being. At first, it does not include anything, it just exists.

Then God exhales and Holy Spirit comes into existence. With and through Holy Spirit all else is created. Holy Spirit gives life and is the connection between Creator and created. God is well beyond understanding, existing both within and beyond all Creation. When one interacts with God, it is Holy Spirit. Thus some origin legends contain, “In the beginning God creates God.”

Great Love connects Holy Spirit and God; they are One. It is through this Love that all else in Creation comes to be.

Next, God creates Child. God says to Holy Spirit, “Let Us create Child to be like Us, in Our image.” So Child comes to be and brings great delight to God and Holy Spirit. To Child, God is Parent; Holy Spirit is beloved Companion. Child exists before all else and learns at Parent’s side, participating in the creation of all else. Great Love connects and integrates Parent, Holy Spirit and Child as One. This delights all very much.

The existence of Heavenly realms are created, which are then filled with many different angelic and heavenly beings. Parent, Holy Spirit and Child take much delight in interacting and teaching these beings. The first lesson is Love.

In the beginning, the angelic beings are all One through Love, though they can learn and experience the Heavenly realms on an individual basis. The more they strive for independence, the further they walk from God’s Presence and Love.

God tries to counter this, by showing these headstrong angelic beings more Love. This, unfortunately, has the opposite effect. Some begin to wax proud, becoming leaders among their kind because they (and others) mistakenly perceive that they are “the most beloved of God’s angels.” 

Free will was granted to angelic beings, for God’s heart knows that they will repent and return. God wants the angelic beings to grow in Love and Wisdom, which means letting them do it in their own way. All this occurs beyond space and time. 

Eventually, a war breaks out. There is an open rebellion from angelic beings who rebel against God’s rule, wanting to rule Creation themselves; thus Greed comes into being.

Some desire the awe and respect Heavenly hosts and angelic beings give Parent, Holy Spirit and Child; thus Envy comes into being.

Some distance themselves far from God and think they could be gods themselves; thus Pride comes into being.

Those who remain faithful to God win that war and evict the rebels from the Heavenly Realms. It breaks every angelic heart to recall this event; they know they are One with each other.

God, Holy Spirit and Child create a new realm for the exiled; if not done, all angelic beings cease to exist. A dark, bitterly cold existence is created, for if rebellious angelic beings, of their own free will, desire to be as far from God’s Love and Light as possible, this is the place. Therein, they do not feel God’s Presence, even though at its very depths, Parent, Holy Spirit and Child still exist and rule. It is a place, God knows, where they can reconsider their decisions, repent and return to God. Thus Hell is created.

Within the Heavenly realms, Parent, Holy Spirit and Child create a corporeal existence, and call it Eden. Therein They create and place a wide variety of corporeal beings that live in peace and harmony with each other. Child takes great interest in this new part of Creation, and wants to experience it on a more intimate, first-hand basis. Parent consents and with Holy Spirit fashions a corporeal form in which Child can experience the corporeal world. 

Because all that Child has learned to date and all that Child truly is cannot be encased in such a small form with its small brain, Holy Spirit causes much of Child’s being to sleep, so it can focus on the experience. Because, even in that capacity, all there is to experience through six senses is so great, Parent and Holy Spirit create Space and Time to allow Child to learn through corporeal life.

Child delights in exploring Eden. With vague memories of creating each item, Child decides to name them.

Like the angelic beings, Parent gives Child free will and lets Child explore. Knowing that Child is limited by a corporeal mind and body, God instructs the angelic beings to protect and serve Child. Several angels do not like the fact that they are asked to serve Child in corporeal form, even though Child is created before them. They delight in serving Parent; Holy Spirit is their faithful Companion. But… to serve a creation of flesh is too much to ask! A second war rages in the Heavenly realms, and a second legion enters Hell. 

Holy Spirit is Child's eternal Companion, but the more Child focuses on corporeal existence, the more Child yearns for a corporeal companion, one that can experience just as Child experiences. Child begins to despise having a Companion of Spirit rather than flesh. Parent is adamant that Holy Spirit cannot take corporeal form, and Child wanders farther from God’s Light and Love.

There is so very much more to teach Child, so as Child starts to move away from Holy Spirit, Parent adds guidance to the roles of angels.

Child becomes more and more instant that Parent create a new corporeal companion to replace the Companion that Child has known for all of its existence. With a sigh of disappointment, Parent turns to Holy Spirit (who grieves the temporary loss of Child as Companion) and devises a plan – a way Child could learn all it seeks in corporeal existence, and yet, not be lost.

God causes Child to fall asleep. In the dream, Child becomes two beings: one male, the other female. Now Child has a corporeal companion. Child, at first, understands that it is one being, experiencing corporeal existence through two bodies. Child takes great delight in this.

Friendship blossoms. Lovemaking is a new ecstasy! Child spends more time exploring and learning, speaking with Parent often. Parent smiles, for in the dream Child does not realize that it can only interact with Parent through Holy Spirit. So what Child considers “God” is Holy Spirit as liaison between Creator and Created.

This lasts for some time, but Child is slowly drifting farther and farther from God’s Light and Love, while focusing and exploring all that corporeal existence has to offer. The thirst for information and experience is unquenchable. Child insists on learning all there is to learn, experience all there is to experience. If two bodies as one can learn so much and share such delight, what about many bodies of different sizes, shapes, abilities and experiences? 

Child discusses this wild idea with God/Holy Spirit. Fully aware that this is a dream, God/Holy Spirit know that when Child learns what it needs to learn from this experience, Child awakens and the dream ends. So God plants in Eden a Tree of Knowledge so Child can learn all there is in corporeal existence.

Child is firmly and sternly warned that such does cause great distress for Child. There no longer is eternal Joy; there is sadness. There no longer is ease; there is hardship. And at times, Child no longer feels the ever-presence of God’s Love; there is hate, anger, frustration and bitterness.

Parent and Holy Spirit weep as Child – in the corporal form of man and woman – reach up and eat of the tree's fruit. 

Thus, with Child’s decision, Parent and Holy Spirit cause a series of corporeal universes to exist. Within them, they place many stars, worlds, and environments. Many other forms of life in various levels of sentience populate the multiverses. All this comes to exist within Child’s dream.

Then God sends angels to chase Child out of Eden, leaving that corner of the Heavenly realms pure, and exile Child to Earth.

While all this comes to be, something also happens inside of Child. The man and woman have become two separate individuals. They no longer exist as one Child. They chose names for themselves to indicate – and even celebrate – their new-found individuality.

On Earth, they find other species like themselves, but not exactly. The man and woman are smarter, walk more upright, are more creative, and work more collaboratively. However, as they mingle and copulate with the sentient species of this world, the genes in their Eden-based corporeal forms dominate in the offspring. Homo-sapiens soon displace the other species, multiply and spread across every land, eventually even living on the fringes of their world.

As each succeeding generation is born, the understanding that Child is one, grows dimmer and dimmer until forgotten. The corporeal form in this harsh environment wears down, becomes injured, ill, and even dies. Child has become many minds, and mourns the loss of each individual as though each is a completely separate entity tied by friendship and family.

While this is still a dream, the fallen angelic beings find that they can influence these individuals. They teach hate, envy, greed, war and pride to humanity. This is possible because angelic beings are created after and through Child. While Child no longer remembers what it once was, these angelic beings do, and now is the chance to hurt Child in vengeance for being outcast to Hell. 

In time, they teach several individuals to reject the One True God to the point where these individuals experience Hell’s existence as well as corporeal existence.

After a few generations, the concept that Child is one being that exists before Eden is no longer in the individual minds. Some still pray, as a form of interacting with God (Holy Spirit), but there is a greater and greater distance. The intimate relationship is gone.

The descendants believe there are many gods – and not a few goddesses. They create stories about how these gods and goddesses interact with the corporeal world to bring about such that they could not explain. While they do not realize it, because they are Child – the Child at the start of Creation – anything that they believe (especially collectively), they create to be, if only within the confines of Child’s dream.

Thus a wide variety of gods, goddesses, fae, jinn, spirits and other beings come into existence. The stories that humanity tells each other became as real as the flesh on their bodies to them. Parent/Holy Spirit are now one of many, even forgotten by some. In Greek and Roman legends, stories tell how the gods overthrew their Parents.

A man named Enoch is born. He knows about other divine beings, but feels a greater love stir in his breast for the one true God – the Creator of all. Holy Spirit draws very close to Enoch and reveals angelic beings that continue to help and serve Child. One day, Holy Spirit asks Enoch, “Will you be my Companion?” Enoch agrees and becomes known as "The man who walked with God."

As Enoch and Holy Spirit grow closer in Love and Companionship, Holy Spirit reveals Child to Enoch, as much as Enoch’s limited mind can understand it. Enoch accepts it and whole new waves of wisdom pour into his mind, leaping beyond space and time. He can see his connection with all humanity -- past, present and future, as one Child of God.

He sees events from the start to a point beyond where we now are. He writes all that he can put into words. The rest would have to wait.

As Enoch’s corporeal form ages and grows tired, Holy Spirit takes pity on him. Enoch never dies; Holy Spirit takes Enoch corporeally to Eden to rest and wait for the rest of humanity –- to wait until Child awakens from the dream. 

Millennia come and go. Many individuals draw close to Holy Spirit and the One True God, yet still die.

At one point, another individual burns with a passionate zeal for the One True God. Elijah, like Enoch, becomes a true Companion with Holy Spirit. And like Enoch, Elijah does not die. When his corporeal form is worn and tired, Holy Spirit takes Elijah to Eden.

Many more centuries pass. Then the rarest of individuals is born. Like the pairing of two bright points of light in the sky (such as the recent planetary conjunction), two individuals are born into the same family, months apart, as cousins to each other. 

The preceding life contains the spirit of Elijah, the same whose fiery passion for God and Companionship with Holy Spirit is well known. This time the bond of Companionship was in place before his birth.

The other is one whom Holy Spirit leads to play the greatest role in bringing the Good News to a weary world. Into the womb of a virgin, Holy Spirit breathes this individual life into being and is with this person every moment. As the individual grows into manhood, He comes to understand something beyond all others: He is Child of God, one with Parent (whom He affectionately calls Abba/Father), one with Holy Spirit -- who is His Beloved Companion – and One with all of humanity. One Child of God.

As Child, He can do anything he can think of. He feeds thousands on very little. He walks on stormy water. He heals any aliment of the corporeal world, even raises the dead. He convinces others to have Faith so they, too, can do the same.

But, in the understanding of those listening to Him, these are hard concepts to grasp. He shows them miracles, teaching that any with even the smallest amount of Faith could do great wonders. He prays that they open their eyes to see that humanity is One. He teaches them that God is Parent and that Holy Spirit is beloved Companion.

He lives, Loves, Forgives and even sacrifices His individual corporeal form so that each member of humanity could draw closer to the One True God, in Love and Companionship. He rises from the dead, teaching that death itself is just a dream, and encourages all around him to awaken.

There is much more I can say about Yeshua / Jesus the Christ, but these are the related points, and this story is already quite long. In short, Yeshua / Jesus opens the way for Child to find a way back to what was forgotten, and rekindle the relationship between Child and Holy Spirit. This is the path to awakening.

In the nearly two millennia since, there are other teachers. Few understood as He did. Many learn from His words, believe He is the Son of God, and even proclaim others are God’s Children through adoption via Christ.

Some believe they are part of a collective conscience, which is their concept of God. This collective is simply Child, and Parent is far, far, far greater.

Some wonder if this existence really IS a dream – or a nightmare.

What you, my dear reader, believe is up to your heart and soul.

There are many different beliefs out there. This is one that dawns clearer and clearer inside myself. From this dream, one cannot awaken without ALL of humanity. Humanity is One, the Child of God. Holy Spirit is our Companion, well beyond space and time.

Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream 

~ ESA

Summer Solstice

While I'm on a roll, I decided to post something a bit lighter. This past Sunday night, my husband and I attended a Summer Solstice celebration held by our local Audubon group.

Please note, that is NOT a live tree in the picture, it is a pruned branch stuck in the top of the woodpile. If they were burning a live tree, I would be protesting, not joining them.

The evening started indoors with music, song, poetry and readings, mostly related to summer, nature and hope.

Then we went outside where they lit the fire. Two baskets were passed around with Juniper sprigs. One would take the sprig, say a prayer and toss it into the flames. Immediately the flames tossed it straight up as it disintegrated into bright embers, rising well above the 20-foot flames. One could literally watch prayers ascend Heavenward.

I prayed for Peace in this world, healing for friends (and myself), Love to overcome and end hate, violence to end, compassion and mercy to be as common as stars overhead on a clear night. One-by-one, I watched the prayers rise to God, and I felt with certainty that God was there... LISTENING.

There was also a bowl of rosemary. One scooped out a small handful, thought about what they would like to remember from the past, and what memories one would like to create in the future. These too, where tossed into the flames, as if to give Light to those memories.

In the recent year of pain, I did want to remember the good days. Lately, I've learned to treasure them all the more.

I also prayed that I remember God, always - every situation, every moment. God always remembers us. It is something for which I strive.

Then participants linked hands in a long chain and wove our way around the fire and each other as drummers kept the beat. Vaguely reminiscent of the old Celtic traditions, this was a celebration of life, of summer, of community, of humanity, and of our relation with each other and the Divine - regardless of how each individual perceives the Divine to be. Everyone was welcome.

I especially remember a woman who had two autistic children. She confessed she usually avoided public events, as her sons might disrupt. But here, both parents and children felt welcome. One of the children even read his favorite poem; the group listened patiently with gentle smiles on every face -- not pity, but rapt attention and empathy of what the words meant to the reader.

When flames burned low, people went back inside to an assortment of refreshments and friendly chat.

Some, like myself, wandered back outside to sit quietly and watch the glowing embers. The flames were white with tips of orange at that point. One could see the ethereal fire dancing inside the large glowing coals.

As I sat silently, I would swear God sat down right beside me on the bench. I felt such a wave of Peace and Contentment wash over me. Tears slid down my cheeks.

When we are open to that relationship, when we are still and silent, God can touch our soul: A gentle reminder that no matter the past, no matter the future... We do not walk this world alone.

~ ESA

Prejudice

I received a text message from my "little sister" (19 years old) recently. I am glad she did not to take it personally, but I wish others would stop teaching prejudice.

"The saddest thing happened today. A girl called me not pretty... because my skin isn't white. That's not the sad part, I can deal with racism -- the sad thing is she's 6 years old.

"It's sad because when I was 6, all I was worried about was what my Barbie dolls would wear. I don't recall judging someone by skin color. My Barbies were all colors from all different parts of the world.

"I was taken aback by what this little girl said. So taken off guard that I couldn't get upset. I just sat quietly. She said I'm ugly because my skin is brown. I didn't know what else to say. She's 6 and this is her mindset already."

My response was this: "Prejudice is not natural; it is taught to kids. I pray for that child and her family. Imagine all the hate that must exist in that home. How can someone truly be happy and experience God's unconditional Love with all that hate?"

~ ESA

Song of Silence

 It's been a long while since I blogged. Some asked me why on Twitter. One time a poem came as reply, which I share with my readers.

 

 

Lately, and the reason I've been offline
I've been working through trials at this time
Chronic pain, hard to move from bed
But I still thank God for my daily bread

I can telecommute in my role
But being away does have a toll
After seven years of increased cost
And no raise; my savings are lost

Combined, for a time
Joy was smothered too
That is why I didn't tweet
Or talk to any of you
But I kept praying
God does not leave us alone
Fire is rekindled
Song still inside has a home

There is still pain
Financial trouble too
But Spirit sings inside
So I know what to do

I sing when I am happy
Pray when I am sad
Reach out to others
Who never have had

 

For in my trials
One thing I did learn
Others suffer too
For God they do yearn
But in this world
God seems hard to find
That's why we must be
Compassionate and Kind

For when another struggles
To find God in the stormy woe
God reaches through us
To let His Light and Love show

 Like precious metals
That go through the fire
When we keep eyes on God
Our trials lift us higher

You are right
God shares our tears
And gives Joy
In place of our fears

Little steps we make
In this world wide
God smiles at our efforts
And takes much bigger stride
:D

~ ESA

Eight Days (Story)

Written last year, here is a story that starts on Thanksgiving eve, when a winter storm likewise hit the Northeastern US.

~ ESA
_______________________________________________________________

EIGHT DAYS

The winds howled wordlessly outside. All the local trees had the last of their leaves torn mercilessly from the branches. Driving rain and heavy wet snow covered the northeast the day before Thanksgiving.

In the small riverside town of New Hope, PA, the residents feared the worst. The waters of the Delaware River rose alarmingly as the downpours continued. Some abandoned their holiday plans to move to higher grounds.

Up on the hill, a small Jewish synagogue prepared for both the storm and for the celebration. Wednesday night was not only the eve of Thanksgiving; it was the first night of Chanukah this year.

As the winds and blinding precipitation increased Wednesday morning, the lights around their small community were winking out, even before the full onset of daylight. Wednesday had become a dark day indeed.

The Rabbi of the local synagogue was a practical hands-on woman. She went out into the driving rain and started the generator. The lights in the little shul slowly blossomed into life again.

Shaking the rainwater from her hair as she stepped back inside, the Rabbi pulled out her cell phone, praying the reception from the cell tower would hold a while more.

"Hello?" the synagogue's Administrator answered.

The Rabbi identified herself and updated the Administrator on the situation. "The question in my mind," she added, "is how long do we have?"

"For lights, water pump, and minimal heat we have enough propane to last three days. Maybe less."

"Three days," the Rabbi signed, remembering Hurricane Sandy. "I pray this storm is not as bad."

"Will you cancel tonight's celebration?"

The Rabbi laughed at the challenge, "Of course not! This is Chanukah!"

The nor'easter continued through the day. While the winds died down in the evening, the widespread devastation in Eastern PA included their little town. Limbs were down everywhere. Power lines snaked across lawns and streets. Power was out and calls to PP&L discovered that the major trunk lines into the area were destroyed. New Hope, being a small tourist community, was nearly last on the recovery list.

The town needed to rely on its own resources for the next few days...

Being a hardy lot, the residents had weathered many snowstorms and outages before. Even if many of the roads were blocked, the residents came out on foot in droves Wednesday to assess the damage and to help each other.

By the afternoon, the Administrator had called the propane supplier in Harrisburg, PA. Then she called the Rabbi with the bad news. "With the roads into our town closed, they cannot get us anything. We were originally scheduled for a delivery Friday, but now it looks like it will be sometime next week."

The members of the synagogue helped each other to the little shul on the hill Wednesday evening, some even walking a mile or so through the last of the rain and blowing snow as the sun remained hidden behind darkened clouds.

At the end of the service, the Rabbi announced that the synagogue was ready to help any who needed a shelter. Even more, hot showers and hot meals would be provided.

The administrator approached the Rabbi with her brows drawn down in a worried scowl, "When I said three days, Rabbi, I meant heat, lights and water pump only. If we start to use the propane for hot water and cooking, we have less than a day's worth of propane! Our pipes will FREEZE! You know temps are predicted to plummet Thursday night!"

The Rabbi nodded. "That is EXACTLY why I opened the invitation. There are many in need. We should not turn them away."

The Administrator grumbled that there will be a price to pay, but the Rabbi caught her sleeve to grab her attention, "One more thing: Tell no one about the propane issue."

That night, seven families moved into the temporary shelter set up in the synagogue's community room. Hot soup, juice, coffee, tea and showers were made available. Even crayons and coloring pages were ready for the children.

The next day, the Rabbi got a call from the local Christian Church. They had fourteen families sheltering there, and their fuel tank was practically empty. "We have enough to cover Thanksgiving meals, but we'll be in the dark tonight. Can you help?" the minister asked the Rabbi.

"If we still have lights, send them up the hill," the Rabbi responded, wondering where they could get the fuel themselves. She sighed, "We will do what we can. All of us are in G-D's hands now."

The Christian Church's generator sputtered to an end around noon Thanksgiving Day. The church's volunteers served the community a hot dinner in a cooling room lit by candle light. With no generator to bring water up, they relied on portable toilets and paper plates. The kitchen pots and pans would just have to wait until there were resources to clean them.

Members of the Jewish community helped relocate the fourteen families from the church to the synagogue. An additional three families joined them as their gasoline generators died during the day. Twenty-four families crowded into the little shul's community room. Somehow, the water continued to flow, the heat, hot showers and hot food continued to be available, and the lights remained on.

The Rabbi wandered out to the generator just as the sun was making its final approach to the horizon. She rapped the propane tank with her knuckles near the bottom. It sounded sadly empty. She bowed her head in dismay. It was a matter of minutes now. There were no other shelters in the community with lights.

She wrapped her coat tightly around her as she walked back to the building. It was time to light the second candle on the Menorah.

By the morning, the Rabbi was dumbfounded; the generator continued to chug through the night. The smell of hot coffee and hot breakfast greeted her as she went through the community room, asking how everyone was doing.

She also made discrete inquires if anyone changed the tanks during the night. No one had. In fact, all were clearly unaware that there was no fuel.

She went outside and checked the tank. It was still the same tank, right down to the identifying number stamped on its side. She rapped it once again; it still sounded empty -- completely empty.

The temperature climbed from the freezing numbers through Friday. So the community got to work clearing the tree branches and shoving the dead power lines to the sides so they could travel the local roads.

Pick-up trucks ventured to the main roads into town. Some had huge swaths of limbs down as though a tornado or down draft plowed through the Deleware Water Gap's Forest. Others were washed away completely by the flash floods that ran down the steep hillsides. They were, indeed, cut off for some time to come.

The residents of New Hope took matters in stride.

As Friday evening's and Saturday's Shabbat ceremonies were held, a few new curious faces joined those in the synagogue.

While black-Friday shopping was a bust, most of Main Street was cleared by Saturday. Shop-keepers were still out of power and heat, but they used the natural light pouring in through the windows. Some even braved the elements and set out tables on the sidewalks to lure shoppers.

By Sunday, the world seemed to have forgotten their little town. PP&L still reported that they are doing their best to repair the trunk lines to get the power to their local substations. Penn-DOT reported that road clearing and repairs would begin on Monday.

Through all this time, the propane tank at the synagogue continued to supply the generator, heat, hot water and kitchen, defying all rational explanation. The Rabbi and Administrator kept this to themselves; they did not want to worry those sheltering there.

Sunday night, after lighting the fifth Menorah candle, those crowded into the little shul stared at each other as a loud reverberating noise filled the air. They gathered at windows and outside as a cacophony of roars grew in volume. Then over the mountain they saw the National Guard helicopters. With no place to land, they guided people to a location using spotlights. There they carefully lowered crates of supplies to the ground.

Food, bottled water, blankets, medical supplies... the volunteers quickly sorted through the contents in those crates. The Rabbi ran to one of the soldiers who was on the ground coordinating the supply drop. "What about propane? Any propane?"

"Sorry, ma'am," the uniformed guard shouted back over the roar of the hovering choppers. "Not this run. Maybe on the next trip. You should see the devastation. We've got towns cut off all over Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont have towns buried in snow."

The soldier studied the faces of the community, "Are there any evacuees? Anyone who needs medical attention outside your town?" The Rabbi shook her head, "As long as there is the insulin and the other medical supplies we asked for, we should be OK. What we really need is propane. I don't know how long we have before we get the power back."

The soldier nodded, "I'll relay your request, ma'am. It's a good thing you had full tanks when the storm hit."

The Rabbi shared a lopsided smile with the solider, and replied quietly, "The truth is we didn't; we only had enough for one day..."

Monday night, a new family showed up at the little shul. A few hisses and whispered comments were passed among those gathered when the family climbed out of the car. The mother and her two teenaged daughters were wearing hijabs.

Several members of the synagogue stormed through the Rabbi's office door. "We have a problem, Rabbi. There are those here that would rather stay at home and freeze than to shelter a Islamic family under our roof."

The Rabbi looked up from the pages she studied on the desk before her. "Are we not taught to help our neighbor?"

"But these are Muslims, Rabbi! They are not our People!"

"The Christians we brought under our roof are not Jews, yet we sheltered them."

"That is different. We have done a lot of work for our community with them. We know them. This family... is different; they are strangers. There is no mosque in New Hope! Let them go across the Delaware to find help. They are not welcome here."

The Rabbi closed the book on her desk and wordlessly met the eyes of each and every person gathered there.

Then she quietly responded, "We were strangers in Egypt. Yet Our G-D heard our cry and led us out of Egypt to Israel. This family is now crying to G-D. They are cold and hungry. When we were cold and hungry those 40 years in the desert, did G-D abandon us? No! G-D sent us food. Now we have a family whom G-D in His Wisdom has led here, with whom we can share G-D's Love and Providence."

One of the men growled through his beard, "Remember, Rabbi, you are an employee of this synagogue's counsel. If you push this upon the community, you will find yourself out of a job before the end of December!"

The Rabbi sat back, then resolve filled her heart and soul. "If that is what this synagogue community wants, then I will accept what G-D has in mind for my life." She gestured toward the propane tank visible through her window. "Do you see that tank?"

Those gathered were taken aback by the sudden change in topic. One of them inquired, "What about the tank?"

The Rabbi smiled a knowing smile. "We only had enough propane for one day."

She fell silent to let the meaning of the words sink in. That fuel had lasted for over six full days and still continued.

One of the women began to cry. One of the men hit his knees and began to pray. The others wordlessly shuffled out of the Rabbi's office and began to spread the news.

The Rabbi went outside to greet the newcomers personally, welcoming them to their little hilltop shul.

On Wednesday, Penn-DOT finally cleared one of the roads into town. The Administrator put in the call to the propane supplier; they would be there the next day.

As the final candle was lit on the Menorah that night, the generator outside sputtered and died. Those gathered in the synagogue blinked in the darkened room. Only the menorah provided light for the room, and those gathered gazed upon it in silence and wonder.

Then the lights came back on. Not from the generator; the main trunk lines into town had been restored, and the small town of New Hope, PA was back on the main grid.

The Rabbi walked toward the light switch as tears streamed down her cheeks. She snapped off the electric lights and in the soft glow of the lit Menorah, she began the ritual prayers.