Posted by Steven Benjamin on October 17, 2009, 3:50 pm, in reply to "Another Sabbath"
Well, nice day today. Normally I would be home in the country. But last nite, about 12:30 am, some jerk banged on my trailer and yelled some threat about not being afraid to come inside with my dogs to "get me." I thought I left the hood, no real idea who that could have been, but a couple clues. Had to come into town to use the phone to narrow one of them out. Got some idea about him, by his voice, and his size 13 shoe print left behind, as I was up at sunrise scouring the area for foot prints and tire tracks. Could have been some yahoo messing around on a drunk, but I took it seriously enough to stalk my own yard till 2 am before going back inside, and for all his boasts, he didn't seem eager to deal with me and my dogs once we were outside.
I have to agree with Wendi on this beautiful weather. The past 2 weeks have been wet and gloomy. Sunset last night was awesome. Not a cloud in the sky. IN the last moments of light, there were no yellow hues left to hint to the sun beyond horizon, but there was light, and once again I thought of the Light of God in Genesis on days 1-3, before ever there was a sun or moon or stars. And the light on the horizon seemed a radiant white, had there been clouds, it would have been that cold white gray color of a bland sky on a mid winter day, but I knew it simply was atmospheric as no clouds, anywhere, in front, above or behind, one of the clearest evening skies if not the clearest at Sunset I have ever witnessed. I noticed it as I sat with the Shofar waiting to sound. I saw the first star on the horizon and the lack of clouds made it stand out all the more brilliant, so much so that I gazed at it with all the wonder of memories of childhood boyish fantasies of that Disney star, the "First star to the right and straight on till dawn" in the tales of Peter Pan. It was breath taking, the white light left on the horizon not quite dark, seemed to radiate a halo over and around all the sillouetted images in front, the trees, now black stalks masking the horizon and the apex of the blackened shade stretching forth from them to my feet. The First star hung in blue, not night blue, but not day, kind of a faded denim blue which itself rose and into a mixed gradient to a darker steel blue, it into the darkened night blue, a leuitenant blue or darker, no black, but the darkest of blues, and no cloud, ANYWHERE. Every star in the canopy already overhead twinkled magnificiently with a crispness that left me feeling were I able to buy stars from a store, certainly these had just come out of thier packages for the first time and thier wrappers now the awe and wonder that stretched from the heavens to my feet below.
And again there, on the horizon, high and bright,ever so crisp and standing alone in the glory of the mixed gradients which signaled another day of rest had finally arrived, I started to blow, but basking in the moment, held my breath, took it all in just a little longer, then finally, the sounds of the Shofar filled the chilled evening air, with all the crispness that every other detail witnessed in awe leading up had likewise held, the moment was truly harmonious.
Happy Sabbath, Shalom.
-Steven Benjamin
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