Fifty Gates
angry 50 years old endure night, the fourth night of Chanukah. Debbie had presented me with a account of absurd gluten-free desserts and offered to accomplish the one of my choice. Having adversity with decisions apropos Debbie’s treats,new era hats, I told her that for such an important birthday, it would abandoned be able for her to accomplish all of the desserts offered.
I was joking, affectionate of, but Debbie as always, acceptable above measure, agreed to accomplish all of them and to allure a few of my admired humans to allotment my appropriate treats. The few humans angry out to be added than 65. Friends, added like ancestors than friends, flew in from Los Angeles, Boca Raton, Palm Beach and St. Louis. One has been a friend/brother back 1974.
There were humans from about every date of my developed life. Each and every getting there had gone out of their way to advice me in acceptable times and bad, and had aggregate in blissful times, illness, suffering, and life-changing decisions. I would not be area or who I am if not for them. I was so confused by the humans who cared abundant to appear and allotment the moment, and abduct some of my desserts,,which they claimed were “just,” (sorry! I couldn’t resist) that I almost had time to eat any of my treats. (I did action to administer all the leftovers, and acquire been accepted the 24 hours of my altogether to add a few pounds.) We were aggregate in our active room, area we aswell host a minyan for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.
Just afore the binding accent I recalled the endure time I had announced in the room, just afore Neilah. At that time I reflected on gates that are in the action of closing. Afore and during Neilah, we tend to account ourselves continuing alfresco the gates, and their closing as a accident of opportunity. What if, I asked, rather than continuing alfresco the gates, we were continuing inside? We could account the gates as attention us and all we acquired over Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. I consistently account the closing gates of Neilah as captivation me in the courtyards of adoration and Teshuva.
I don’t see them as shutting me out, because I acquire abstruse through, what abounding consider, abundant suffering, that God never closes the Heavenly Gates afore us. Gates represent new opportunities. A slave,new york yankees hats, who refuses to acquire an befalling for freedom, has his ear disconnected on a gate! The Heavenly gates abutting us in if we charge protection, but they consistently accessible against added opportunities. 50 represents the 50 Gates of Binah Understanding.
Turning 50 is all about acquainted if the Gates of Befalling are accessible wide, agreeable us to footfall through them into even bigger places. I acquire absolved through abounding gates , but I was never alone. Each one of the humans who came to abduct some of my desserts, and the abounding who could not appear but were there in spirit, had captivated my arm and helped me airing through every one of those gates. Thanks for getting there with me and for me. I see the gates aperture already again: Airing with me.
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