{"id":338,"date":"2015-03-15T04:55:58","date_gmt":"2015-03-15T10:55:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.draherin.com\/?p=338"},"modified":"2015-03-21T12:27:11","modified_gmt":"2015-03-21T18:27:11","slug":"color-of-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/2015\/03\/15\/color-of-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Color of Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n
\u201cLife is not light, but the refracted color\u201d
\nGoethe<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n
<\/p>\n
The colors of the world around us are merely the visible parts of the light spectrum that are not absorbed. Thus the leaves of a tree do not absorb green light and therefore appear green to us. Before I lose you completely, let me begin by saying that I am not really out to give a science lesson, but rather I’d like to explain the meaning behind something rather personal to me \u2014 my tallit. I was watching a show that talked about light refraction and was struck by how the light spectrum appears when magnified. Within the visible light, there are black lines where there is light we cannot see. Light is still there in the spectrum, but our human eyes are not capable of beholding all the aspects of light \u2014 we can only absorb and comprehend a finite amount. This is true with a lot of things, especially G-d. How do we as finite creatures, though made in His image, comprehend the infinite?<\/p>\n
That, my friends, is an entirely other theological question. Let us return to my tallit. I understand and respect the traditional Orthodox opinion that women are not required or traditionally supposed to wear the tallit and I find it flattering that one of the commonly held views is that women have a greater connection to the Divine and therefore do not need these outside reminders. Let me state something plainly: I know I am not like other people, my brain functions in a completely different way and I have been, and am, reminded daily by people that everything I experience seems to be totally unique to me. I’ve basically lived as though my brain didn’t come from Earth, if you listen to most people. Frankly, I wouldn’t change that despite a few issues that result from having a different way of processing the world. One of those glitches in my brain is that, despite my femininity, I don’t seem to have a direct connection to the Almighty. The frequency gets jammed a lot and it can be impossible at times to get a signal. In other words, people all around me can see the colors of the world because of the pure light of the Divine, but my world turns black.<\/p>\n
$\"Joseph's$ <\/a><\/p>\n
My tallit gadol is a traditional one, known as a Joseph’s Coat. It is reminiscent of the multicolored coat made for Joseph by his father, Jacob. I was first attracted to it because the story of Joseph has been one of my favorites since childhood. After watching the program about light refraction, the quote from Goethe’s Dr. Faustus<\/em> suddenly came to mind again, “Life is not light, but the refracted color.<\/em>” Everything suddenly came together in this way. White is the primary base for the tallit and represents the Divine Light. The colored stripes remind me of the reflection of the Divine in this world. We cannot reflect the perfect light that is G-d, but, by how we live our lives, others see aspects of His light reflected by us. We cannot see nor fully comprehend G-d, but we can see His presence in the world. However, there is another aspect to this tallit. As it is\u00a0with the light spectrum, there are black stripes between the colors. Black is not the absence of light, but the light we cannot perceive<\/em>. The black stripes remind me that even though there are times when my world is black and my cosmic connection with the Divine has seemingly crashed, He is still there<\/em>. My ability to see or not see does not change His presence.<\/p>\n
$\"chaf\"$ <\/a>One thing about a tallit or prayer shawl that you might have experienced is the feeling of being wrapped in the Divine presence. It is a very tangible reminder that brings a feeling of comfort and peace. A Kabballist rabbi did a short piece on the Hebrew letter chaf and explained that it looks like a giant hand holding something. In fact, if we could see it, that Divine Chaf holds every individual thing in the universe. For me, the tallit is a reminder of this. He is holding me, you, and the rest of the world, which often seems to be falling apart, in His hand. Every individual thing is important to Him because it is a part of His creation. His very breath flows through the world giving it life. It may seem like a verbose explanation of a seemingly simple mitzvah, but for me it is so much more than that.<\/p>\n
As with anything you read, fellow travelers, my hope is that you find something that resonates with you or perhaps challenges you in some way. Learning increases wisdom and nurtures growth; may we always thirst for and seek understanding. I am no expert, only a fellow traveler who also seeks understanding. “Until we meet again, may G-d hold you in the palm of His hand.” ~ Traditional Irish prayer<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cLife is not light, but the refracted color\u201d Goethe The colors of the world around us are merely the visible parts of the light spectrum that are not absorbed. Thus the leaves of a tree do not absorb green light and therefore appear green to us. Before I lose you completely, let me begin […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":343,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":""},"categories":[2,77,42],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.draherin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/prism1-300x200.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5MjSO-5s","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1039,"url":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/2016\/10\/20\/do-jews-celebrate-halloween\/","url_meta":{"origin":338,"position":0},"title":"Do Jews Celebrate Halloween?","date":"2016-10-20","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Do Jews celebrate Halloween? I know its origins aren't very \"Jewish,\" but I'm worried that my kids will feel left out if they can't go trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. Answer: Let me tell you about a wonderful Jewish holiday: once a year, our children dress up as sages, princesses,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.draherin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/vKeR992699.jpg?fit=240%2C236&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1068,"url":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/2017\/01\/04\/addicted-to-the-light\/","url_meta":{"origin":338,"position":1},"title":"Addicted to the Light","date":"2017-01-04","format":false,"excerpt":"My children were spared, but what about me? Years ago when my children were children, there was one picture book I especially liked reading aloud:\u00a0The Wretched Stone,\u00a0by author and illustrator Chris Van Allsburg. In those days \u2013 the mid-1990s \u2013 my children didn't object to hearing it more frequently than\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.draherin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/addicted-to-light-1024x512.jpg?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":653,"url":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/2015\/07\/17\/did-yshua-declare-all-foods-clean-torah-babies\/","url_meta":{"origin":338,"position":2},"title":"Did Y\u2019shua Declare All Foods Clean? | Torah Babies","date":"2015-07-17","format":false,"excerpt":"We would like to point out a few things about these verses that might help shed some light on what is going on here. Many people use these verses as proof that the clean\/unclean food laws were done away with and that in these verses Y\u2019shua declared all food clean.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Schtuff"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.draherin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/unclean.jpg?fit=370%2C296&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1106,"url":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/2017\/02\/06\/beyond-intelligent-design-from-the-upcoming-book-wisdom-to-heal-the-earth\/","url_meta":{"origin":338,"position":3},"title":"Beyond Intelligent Design - From the upcoming book, Wisdom To Heal the Earth.","date":"2017-02-06","format":false,"excerpt":"Some 500 years ago, Rabbi\u00a0Isaac\u00a0Arama wrote that there is another way to perceive the infinite Creator.\u00a0If we look with open eyes, we will discover the signature of an unknowable Creator within the knowable patterns of nature.\u00a0If we look with open eyes, we will discover the signature of an unknowable Creator\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.draherin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/hIXk9969390.jpg?fit=500%2C446&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":356,"url":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/2015\/03\/16\/texas-mayor-shuts-down-shariah-court\/","url_meta":{"origin":338,"position":4},"title":"Texas Mayor Shuts Down \u2018Sharia Court\u2019","date":"2015-03-16","format":false,"excerpt":"Recently the City of\u00a0Irving, Texas, made headlines when the media announced that a \u201csharia court\u201d or tribunal would be set up to handle disputes between muslim parties. Now, the city has made an announcement that sheds new light on the incident. \u201cSharia law court was NOT approved or enacted by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Islam"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.draherin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/c4980d3d8f48f9be289f6cad351beed0_400x400.jpeg?fit=400%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1125,"url":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/2017\/04\/15\/2x4s-from-heaven\/","url_meta":{"origin":338,"position":5},"title":"2x4s From Heaven","date":"2017-04-15","format":false,"excerpt":"Most of us struggle with hearing from God, but there are times when he wants to get our undivided attention. In Jonah's case, he sent the ocean's\u00a0big fish. In my case, he sent a man. 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