Today is the 2nd day of the 2nd week of the Omer, day 9. 

I think I will be one of those old people who sit in the park all day. Honestly, I could. I like to be among the trees, whom I admire. They are patient. They don’t have to get up and go anywhere; where the seed falls is where they are. Forever.  If they are hacked or experience drought, they stay right there. If life is good and birds nest in their hair and their arms grow strong, they stay right there.  Trees are stayers. 

Plant life is uniquely suited to life on earth. They are the only things on the planet which make their own food. Long after we’ve killed all the animals, and killed one another, the plants will be here.  Somewhere I read that before Manhattan Island was “discovered” and “civilized” it was so fragrant that you could smell it from a mile out at sea.  Plants might even develop consciousness. I heard once that carrots scream when you cut them. I’ve never heard a carrot scream, but it strikes me as a possibility. I know some people who thank their food before they eat it. I figure it’s pretty much dead by the time it gets to me so I don’t bother. But, when I was out in the Shan Hills that time, out in the wild, it occurred to me that I should thank the food which was giving its life for mine. It was alive when I ate it. I didn’t hear it scream, though. 

I have wanted to write something about the letter Yud. You may remember that I mentioned it last time when I talked about the word for becoming, Hei, Yud, Hei – Yes, someday I will get a Hebrew font for this thing. -- Hey, Yud, Hey is a standard BE verb… Be, am, is, are, been, being, becoming… There are others. But what I said is that the Yud, connecting two Hei shows us that brokenness leads to becoming… hopefully something new and better. Sometimes it’s hard to tell, I know. But we are a hopeful people. 

I will tell you the very first thing that came to mind to me about Yud… Well, first I thought its number is ten, and I thought about Solomon, and the Yud at the heart of tzimtzim. But, after the obvious stuff, I remembered that Yud means hand, and the word for hand, twice, is the word for close friend. Yud, Dalat is hand. Yud, Dalit, Yud, Dalit is close friend. And, I’ll tell you something, if you have been broken, Get A Friend! 

Do not try to go from broken to being all by yourself. 

I can tell you from my own experience that no matter how much you think you know, you still need a friend. And these letters show us. 

Also, remember that Dalit is our letter for door. A friend can help you through a passage. A friend reaches through and takes your hand. I don't know much, but I am convinced that hands, doors, going through passages… that’s all connected. Yes, even loners like me need a friend.

That’s enough for this morning. I’ll write more about Yud later.