More stories from the prophets: Archaelogical Dig at Tel Dan in northern Israel, Where Jeroboam built a cult as an alternative to the Temple in Jerusalem

For more on this story of Rehoboam, read A Divided Nation on the Aish website or Kings Chapter 12 (Melachim Bet).

How was this related to last week’s parsha? We learned about the law of jealousy in the ten commandments, and from there, my husband told the story of jealous Jezebel, and then there were more stories from the Prophets…

It is a Jewish custom before the Shabbat in which one sings Shirat HaYam (the Song of the Sea, the song about the crossing of the Reed Sea) to feed the birds. Why feed the birds? I found two explanations:

1) There is a tradition that on the first Shabbat of the Manna, not only did people go out looking for Manna, but they (wicked people, says Rashi) had previously scattered Manna around the camp in order to find it and “make a liar out of Moshe”.

Birds came by early in the morning and ate up the Manna, thus protecting the honor of Moshe, and of G-d Who had said that Manna would not fall on Shabbat. In repayment “one good turn deserves another” style, we feed the birds around this Shabbat when we read of the Manna in the weekly portion.

And here is the second:

2) We joyously sing praise to G-d for His having taken us out of Egypt and saved us from the Egyptians. Singing is the special domain of the birds. That is how they express themselves in acknowledgment of the Creator (so to speak – or so to sing). We borrowed their skill; therefore we “pay royalties” on our Song by feeding birds on (before) this Shabbat.

Since last Friday was right before Shabbat Shira, I decided that this was the perfect time finally to take the new bird feeder I bought out of the box and hang it on our garage window (with the help of my seven-year-old daughter):

After some initial difficulty with the suction cup attachments (you have to first soak the suction cups in hot water, then dry them, then rub them with your thumb, then attach them), I finally got the feeder to stay up properly. However, I don’t believe any of our neighborhood birds have been eating from it. I did see one pecking away at my compost.

I believe this bird is a chickadee (thanks, Eileen).

This is what is left of the finch feeder sock I bought one month ago:

As one of the reasons for the feeding the birds custom is to become more sensitive to the needs of the animals around us, I plan to continue to feed the birds. As Michelle of Rambling Woods has taught me, once you start feeding the birds, they expect it.

I hope to post more bird photos tomorrow for SkyWatch; one day last week, my eldest son said, Eema, there’s a bird making a strange noise outside. I went out with my camera and there many, many, many birds.

For more Nature Notes, visit:

Red Male Cardinal in a Burning Bush

On My Blog

No Jews or dogs: discussion at the celebration of my father’s 80th birthday

Thank you to everyone who left a comment on 11 Inspiring Kitchen or Food Headers.

*** Upcoming (later today): a post about a talk by an adult survivor of child sexual abuse. – now posted – Protect Children from Abuse ***

Elsewhere in the Blogosphere

• Baila responds to colors of bras and offers some real insight about breast cancer.
• What happens when someone uses your post for nefarious purposes? It happened to Ilana-Davita.
• Phyllis posted the blog carnival Haveil Havalim, the Mazel Tov Chavi version.

My original reason for drawing a cow was a I had a chance to read the parsha (Torah portion) last week that was read today in the synagogue. My present reason for drawing the cow is in honor of Louis LaVache, who left me a nice comment on the previous post.

Your turn.

Detail of Parshat Vayeshev Painting 2007

If you don’t know the story (or can only guess the stripes), here’s a link to the parsha.

Please leave your thoughts, ideas, associations in the comments. As always, vulgar or obscene comments will be deleted. But the truth is, I’ve never gotten any vulgar or obscene comments…

Not necessary to play the game, but if you are curious, read the difference between a lamb and a sheep.

How does one depict an angel? How does one depict the earth, the sky, the ladder? I skipped putting the main subject, Jacob, in the painting. Maybe next time. If I were to depict Jacob, he might look like this man.

Fall Leaves at East Jersey Olde Town, Piscataway, New Jersey

On My Blog

Elsewhere in the Blogosphere

Long ago, Jacob prepared some lentils for his brother Esau. “And Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils” – Genesis 25:34. So here are some lentil recipes:

• Ilana-Davita: Lentil Stew
• Leora: Lentil Soup and Lentil Salad
• Mimi: Majadra: Lentils and Rice
• Cooking Manager: Lentils with Onions and Garlic
• Meg: Spiced Lentils with Squash and Raisins
• Christina: Stuffed Lentils

One of the problems with writing about the parsha is getting it up before Shabbat is not always the easiest task, and one often has more time to review the parsha on Shabbat. So here’s a few more thoughts on the years of Sarah, before we turn to the parsha of this coming week, Toldot.

What’s the question about the opening pasuk, the opening sentence of the Torah portion? Unless you read Hebrew, you might think from the English that it only says “years” twice. However, it really says “shanah” or years 4 times. Since everything in the Torah is repeated for a reason, why so many years?

There is a midrash that goes with the story of Sarah. It’s like this:

When Sarah was 100, it was as though she was twenty in sin.

And when Sarah was 20, it was as though she was 7 in beauty.

So Rashi claims that we learn this midrash from the fact that the pasuk repeats the word “shanah” or year: 100 years, 20 years and 7 years. But the Ramban says no, we learn the midrash from the end of the pasuk, where it says “And these were the years of Sarah.” Because by Yishmael, it also has years repeated, but his years were not all alike.

And here the post ended…but Nachi Friedman provides a good summary of what the commentators had to say about this topic of Sarah’s years.

About to go on a little journey by horse around Cold Springs Historic Village

• Journey of the Children of Israel from Egypt through the desert to the Land of Israel
• Travels of Christopher Columbus
• Explorations of Magellan, Sir Francis Drake, Lewis and Clark
• Donner Party
• The band Journey
• The Travels of Benjamin of Tudela
• Man’s travel to the Moon
• Other space expeditions, like the tragic Challenger trip
• Journey to the Center of the Earth
• Exodus by Leon Uris
• Marco Polo, Jacques Cartier, Vasco de Gama, Captain Cook
• Commute to New York City every day
• Odysseus, Jason
• Hegira, the flight of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 A.D
• A Fantastic Voyage, The Fantastic Journey (I had to look these up)
• Byrd, Peary, Scott and Amundsen: journey to the Poles
• Laura Ingalls Wilder – journey through the places she lived in the U.S.
• Dorothy’s journey to Oz (and back to Kansas)
• Bilbo’s and Frodo’s journeys in Middle Earth
• Finding parking in New Brunswick, New Jersey
• On the Road, by Jack Kerouac
• Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
• After 1948 many Jews fled Muslim countries – most went to Israel, some to France and to the U.S.
• Journey of the 12 spies into the Land of Canaan/Israel
• Around the World in 80 Days, Jules Verne
• Pilgrims travel to America (as did later many others from Europe and elsewhere)
• Lady Godiva’s 11th century ride through Coventry to protest her husband’s excessive taxation of his subjects

In this week’s parsha of Lech Lecha, God tells Avram (he is not yet Avraham) to go forth from the land of his birth and travel to another land. According to the commentator Rashi, one is liable to lose three things by journeying: a trip can inhibit the birth of children, decrease one’s wealth and lessen one’s fame (lose one’s reputation). So God blesses Avram accordingly so he will have many children, wealth and he will become a great nation (fame).

So do any of the famous journeys we mention fit into the three categories mentioned by Rashi? As a loss or as a gain? Can you think of any other well-known journeys? Do people lose children, wealth or reputation on these journeys? Or do they gain them?

Last year I wrote about Oaks, Terebinths or Plains.
Ilana-Davita writes about a spiritual journey for man and an individual relationship between man and God.