(יד) בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה', אֱלֹקֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ וְקִיְּמָנוּ וְהִגִּיעָנוּ לַזְּמַן הַזֶּה:
Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, shehecheyanu, v'kiy'manu, v'higiyanu laz'man hazeh.
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of all, who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this season.
Discussion: if it's just me eating an apple, why would I say this blessing in the plural?
Discussion: What insight(s) does this illustration give you about connectedness?
One day, (Rabbi Yochanan) was walking along the road when he saw a certain man planting a carob tree. Ḥoni said to him: This tree, after how many years will it bear fruit? The man said to him: It will not produce fruit until seventy years have passed. Ḥoni said to him: Is it obvious to you that you will live seventy years, that you expect to benefit from this tree? He said to him: That man himself found a world full of carob trees. Just as my ancestors planted for me, I too am planting for my descendants.
Discussion: who does Honi feel connected to?
How does he demonstrates this connection?
או חברותא או מיתותא
Either friendship or death
Discussion: what does this statement associate life with?
To what extent do you think such a strong assertion is valid?
Landslide, Fleetwood Mac, 1975
I took my love, I took it down
Climbed a mountain and I turned around
And I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills
'Til the landslide brought me down
Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changin' ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?
Mmm
Well, I've been 'fraid of changin'
'Cause I've built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Even children get older
And I'm gettin' older, too
Well, I've been 'fraid of changin'
'Cause I've built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Even children get older
And I'm gettin' older, too
I'm gettin' older, too
Ah, take my love, take it down
Oh, climb a mountain and turn around
And if you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
Well, the landslide will bring it down
And if you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
Well, the landslide will bring it down
Oh, the landslide will bring it down
Discussion: Do you worry about your own capacity to manage the changes that life inevitably has in store for you?
John Mayer, Waiting on the World to Change, 2006
One, two, one, two, three
Me and all my friends
We're all misunderstood
They say we stand for nothing and
There's no way we ever could
Now we see everything that's going wrong
With the world and those who lead it
We just feel like we don't have the means
To rise above and beat it
So we keep waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
It's hard to beat the system
When we're standing at a distance
So we keep waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
Now if we had the power
To bring our neighbors home from war
They would have never missed a Christmas
No more ribbons on their door
And when you trust your television
What you get is what you got
Cause when they own the information, oh
They can bend it all they want
That's why we're waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
It's not that we don't care
We just know that the fight ain't fair
So we keep on waiting (waiting)
(...)
One day our generation
Is gonna rule the population
So we keep on waiting (waiting)
(...)
Discussion: Do you sometimes feel helpless about the capacity of your self or the world to change?
David Bowie, Changes, 1971
Still don't know what I was waitin' for
And my time was runnin' wild
A million dead end streets and
Every time I thought I'd got it made
It seemed the taste was not so sweet
So I turned myself to face me
But I've never caught a glimpse
How the others must see the faker
I'm much too fast to take that test
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
Don't want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
There's gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I can't trace time
Mmm, yeah
I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
And so the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're goin' through
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
Don't tell them to grow up and out of it
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
Where's your shame?
You've left us up to our necks in it
Time may change me
But you can't trace time
Strange fascinations fascinate me
Ah, changes are takin'
The pace I'm goin' through
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
Ooh, look out you rock 'n' rollers
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
Pretty soon now you're gonna get older
Time may change me
But I can't trace time
I said that time may change me
But I can't trace time
Discussion: What helps you understand change?
What helps you accept change?
Jennifer Hudson, I Am Changing, 2006
Look at me, look at me
I am changing, trying every way I can
I am changing - I'll be better than I am.
I'm trying to find a way, to understand.
But I need - I need - I need your help.
I am changing, seeing everything so clear.
I am changing.
I'm gonna start right now right here.
I'm hoping to work it out.
And I know that I can
But I need you, I need a hand.
All of my life I've been a fool
Who said I could do it all alone.
How many friends have I already lost?
And how many dark nights have I known?
Walking down that long road. There was nothing u could buy.
All those years of darkness could make a person blind.
But now I can see that I am changing
Trying every way I can
I am changing, I'll be better than I am
But I need a friend to help me start all over again.
That would be just fine
I know it's gonna work out this time
Cause this time I am, this time I am
I am changing.
I get my life together now.
I am changing
Yes I know how -
I'm gonna start again.
I'm gonna leave my past behind
I'll change my life.
I make it up and nothing is gonna stop me now.
Discussion: Who can you seek support from in your efforts to change?
How do you support your loved ones to change? What is one concrete small thing you've done this year to help a friend through transformation?