Keep The Desire Burning

Tonight I begin a new class with the Kabbalah Centre here in DC.  I am retaking Power of Kabbalah Level 1.  It is going to be wonderful to relearn the basics and remind myself of all the stuff I have forgotten!  I am very excited about it and to mark it I thought I would share the recents words of Kabbalist Yehuda Berg:


"Framework is the nature of the universe. Each planet has its orbit. Every week has seven days. Every year has its seasons. Life falls into its own rhythm. It’s meant to. So it’s easy to fall into a rut. A routine.

There’s nothing wrong with routine, unless we allow it to drain the passion form our lives. Personally, I seek to involve myself in something that speaks to my soul every day. And even if you’re punching in and punching out, day in and day out, you must find moments to invigorate your soul in this very same way.

It’s important to identify what it is that speaks to your soul when it comes to work, relationships, and spiritual practice. Many of us fall into careers or relationships that are less than satisfying because we simply aren’t aware of what speaks to us.

In the midst of our routines—when it is most difficult to ignite the internal fires—we must take time to create some sparks.

But once you identify what you want to do, which is only 1 percent of the issue, you need to look at how you do it, which is the remaining 99 percent.

When kabbalists speak of the energy of passion, they actually refer to it as excitement. They explain that excitement is not something that is a result of just enjoying what you are doing or who you are doing it with. Excitement is something you consciously inject into an action or situation.
When I say excitement, I don’t mean jumping up and down and pumping your fist. I mean embracing whatever you are doing with 100 percent of your attention and dedication, whether it’s going to dinner with the family, initiating a project at work, making spiritual connections, or just going to the gym.

This week, if you notice that you like what you are doing but just aren’t feeling passionate about it, try injecting excitement into it.

And most important, meditate with the Name below and let the Light be your guide."

Kol Tuv,
Eliyahu ben Avraham (Matthew G. Myers)

A Proud Day

I couldn't help but notice, as I walked around the Gay Pride Festival yesterday, the number of military support organizations that had booths there.  There were groups for spouses and families as well as groups for the troops themselves.  How wonderful that the DADT repeal is not enacted yet and there are already so many support groups ready to serve our openly gay and lesbian troops and their families.  I cannot wait until next year's price festival, when presumably there will be booths for military recruiters from all branches of the military.  What a wonderful day that will be!  We have all worked so hard to remove our government's prejudice against us and this is a massive step towards achieving that goal.

There was also a new booth from AARP, supporting seniors from our community.  This was nice to see as well.  Just last week AARP launched a new sub-website geared towards the GLBT communities gracefully aging baby boomers.  It is good to see them addressing the unique legal, financial, and personal issues our community faces as we age.  My hope is that by the time Michael and I are old enough to retire there will no longer be unique issues our community faces.

Kol Tuv,
Matthew

Fairy Tale: The Musical

     I got a new show! From April 21st - May 1st I will be performing the role of Squire Everett in John Bronston & Joshua Robinson's new show 'Fairy Tale: The Musical.'  Essentially, it is a gay retelling of sleeping beauty.  This time Beauty is the young Prince (played by Brandon T. Chinn).  He is to marry Princess Deceptia (played by Elyssa Samsel), but cannot stand the sight of her.  Beauty would rather spend his time with his squire, Everett (played by me), from whom he has never been apart.  They soon discover their love for each other, but know it must remain a secret.  Princess Deceptia discovers Beauty and Everett in a compromising position.  She hatches a scheme that would allow the wedding to continue as planned, but give the three of them the freedom to be happy.  The jilted ex-Queen Jewell Diamond (played by Sahara Davenport of RuPaul's Drag Race) knowing all of this, placed a curse on Prince Beauty that put him into a deep sleep from which he can only be awakened by the kiss of his true love.  When the kiss of his new bride fails to rouse him, fairy tale characters from all over Fairyland come to make the attempt.  As you might have guessed Squire Everett is Prince Beauty's true love, but to wake him would risk certain death, as being gay is illegal in Fairyland.  The music is AMAZING and the story is both hilarious and touching.   If you are in NYC come help this wonderful show become a success!

Kol Tuv,
Matthew

One day our cry will also be, "Free At Last, Free At Last, Thank G-d Almighty We're Free At Last!"

I'm on CNN.com

CNN has done a wedding album type story featuring 9 same-sex or transgender marriages of US citizens. The article is called "Beyond Prop 8: same-sex couples and their struggles to marry." It really is a nice piece and it is appearing at a time when the federal trial against Prop 8 has just begun. This trial is expected to be the Roe v. Wade or Brown v. Board of Education of our time. Here's to hoping the justices will put aside any personal feelings or religious prejudices they have either way and rule based on the law alone. I have attempted to copy and paste the flash player file of the article here, but the file is too wide for my blog screen, so our picture and story are cut off. Ours is the second row, far right picture. Therefore, to get to the article on CNN.com you can click on the title of this article you will be re-directed there.

Shalom,

Matthew

On the road again...

Well here we go. The 4th year of the JCS tour just started. It has been a very quick and exhausting rehearsal process over the past two weeks. We had our first two preview performances yesterday and today. They went very well. I am excited for this years tour. We seem to have a great group of performers. I am returning to the tour as Simon and the Judas Cover. I will also be the Assistant Company Manager and Assistant Stage Manager again. New to me this year, is being one of the Jesus Covers. I cannot believe I am covering Ted Neeley. Here's to hoping this year is a great success!

our words

Though we may find it difficult to accept, our hurtful words towards or about others has a cumulative negative effect in the spiritual realm, which in turn generates personal and global suffering. To eradicate the darkness and chaos from human existence, we must extinguish the parallel force in the upper worlds through mindful speech.

Today, if you have nothing nice to say, then don't say anything at all.

- Yehuda Berg

voting your rights away

"You can't put a civil rights issue on the ballot and let the people decide. You have to have elected officials who have courage to make the right decision. If you left it up to the people, we'd have slavery, depending on how you worded it."

- Former Minnesota governor and pro wrestler Jesse Ventura, responding to yesterday's vote in Maine on CNN last night.

"People have been trying to pass off inequality as local democracy for a long time, and unequal treatment under the law in the guise of democratic justice is truly the worst form of inequality.

Today, as we face more brutal injustice we realize that the greatest blow was not another lost vote on marriage equality. Fantastic efforts and organizing happened for both Maine, Washington, and Kalamazoo, MI, but our bitter loss in Maine
reminds us that win or lose, the fact that it is possible for anyone to vote to take away our civil rights is unjust and a crime against the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution.


It's time to demand true justice. No one should be able to vote to withhold freedom.


Organizers across America are taking action right now. We are rising up not only for our brothers and sisters in Maine, but because as equal people we demand the right to live and love equally. How many times will we allow our basic human rights to be trampled? Our government is founded to protect our freedoms, and the misuse of
the democratic process to sanction blatant discrimination is an insult to all who believe in a free and just society."

- Equality Across America e-mail

"I Am Because We Are"

The Great Challenge

L'Shana Tova and Happy New Year to all of my Jewish or Kabbalistic friends out there. I promise I am going to be better at blogging this year. This has been a very difficult High Holiday season for me as I have had a falling out with my family over my marriage. I am grateful for the few who still want to be a part of my life and wait for the day that the rest of them come to their senses. Most of us do not speak very often. And perhaps we do not know each other as well as we should. I hope this will at least have the power to change that. Perhaps if we discussed our different faiths and lives more openly, we would not get hurt so easily and would not have so many misconceptions about each other. Those of you who follow my blog are probably well aware that I am a very open person. I love learning about other people's beliefs and sharing my own. My life is an open book. I also love a good, heated, fact based political debate (right Kelly). Anyway, as this blog is a means of me fleshing out my "inner altar," I felt it necessary to talk about this. Some in my family will find it appalling that I would talk about this here. I am sorry they feel that way, because as I previously stated we need to discuss these things out in the open. If they are ashamed of me or of having others learn of their prejudice, that is not my fault. I am nothing to be ashamed of and their prejudice should be exposed to the Light as there is no other way to banish the darkness. I feel it is important to state that discussing our different faiths and beliefs should not be considered an attack on each other. Likewise, we should never use our faiths to attack each other.



I love them and I am loved by my husband and my many friends. Life is very good and I am so blessed. I have the privilege of being married to an amazing man, my soul mate. I also believe that before we are born our soul chooses our family to help us in our Tikkune (correction) process. So, I know that I chose this family for exactly this time in my life. This struggle has a hugh life lesson for me. I have a tendency to allow people to walk all over me, because I do not want to offend them (especially when it comes to my family). I will remain quiet while they say some hurtful thing to me or about me, and will just breath and ignore it. The lesson I have found in this is that this aspect must change within me. There is definitely a lot to be said for speaking with respect and using a language of love. However, I must stop allowing myself to fall into the role of the victim. As Eleanor Roosevelt said " No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." I no longer consent, from now on when I am hurt I will not hide it. I will let them know they have hurt me and that it is not okay. I will of course always attempt to do this from a place of love.



In this season of Atonement I have cried out to the Creator to give me the strength to change this aspect of myself. After all Kabbalah teaches that we spell Atonement wrong, it is meant to have two spaces in it - At One Ment. This is a season when we can be unified into one human soul through our spiritual work. That unity includes everyone - our friends, our family, and our enemies. We are after all really one, the separation we feel is an illusion. If I am hurt, then you are and if you are hurt, then I am. How can we be enemies with ourselves. Kabbalah teaches us that there is but one enemy, our adversary - Satan (pronounced sah-Tahn). This enemy is within us. It manifests as our ego, our worst desires, and our fears. As the saying goes you are your own worst enemy. We have the power to shut down Satan's work, if we will only be vigilant. Any conflict we find ourselves in, should be seen as an opportunity for change. Our times of greatest tribulation can bring about our greatest triumph and transformation, if we use them and avoid falling into a victim consciousness.



I hope this post has been comprehensible. I feel like I was a little rambling. If I have confused you or made no sense at all I am sorry. LOL. Thank you for reading and gazing with me into our collective soul.



Kol Tuv,

Matthew

Gay Marriage Lowers Divorce Rates in Massachusetts

I always knew that the argument used by the anti-marriage equality activists were really bunk. This proves it. The facts are in and in the state of Massachusetts the first US state to approve gay marriage, the divorce rate has fallen. Provisional data from the CDC's National Vital Statistics Report show that after over four years of legal gay marriage, the divorce rate in Massachusetts has actually dropped, from 2.3 per 1000 residents in 2007 to about 2.0 per 1000 in 2008, the lowest rate nationwide - and one that hasn't been seen since the 1940's. In fact only 5 states fell below the 3 per 1000 mark. They were the District of Columbia (technically a district), Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, and Minnesota. All 5 of which were carried by the democrats and Barack Obama in the 2008 election. Also 3 of the 5 recognize gay marriages, interesting. There were claims, and still are, that marriage equality destroys the sanctity of marriage and the family. This evidence flies in the face of those claims. Divorce rates have not only fallen in the state since the approval of gay marriage in 2004, but Massachusetts has the lowest divorce rate nationwide! The sanctity of marriage at it’s best. When you protect ALL families the strength of the institution of marriage grows exponentially. My husband and I are proud to be one of the over 11,000 (figures as of 2008) gay couples who were married in Massachusetts. And just to clear up any confusion on the issue; if you are a non-resident married in Massachusetts you must return to the state to obtain a divorce. This means that ALL gay marriages performed in the state are included in the statistics presented here. Also, non-residents of Massachusetts have only been allowed to marry in the state since 2008 when an antiquated law was struck down.

Absolutely Fabulous!

Boker Tov,

Matthew

a very good, non-partisan read

Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama
Back to School Event

Arlington, Virginia
September 8, 2009

The President: Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today? I’m here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I’m glad you all could join us today.

I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it’s your first day in a new school, so it’s understandable if you’re a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you’re in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could’ve stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.

I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday – at 4:30 in the morning.

Now I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I’d fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I’d complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."

So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I’m here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I’m here because I want to talk with you about your education and what’s expected of all of you in this new school year.

Now I’ve given a lot of speeches about education. And I’ve talked a lot about responsibility.

I’ve talked about your teachers’ responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn.

I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.

I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working where students aren’t getting the opportunities they deserve.

But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.

And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.

Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide.

Maybe you could be a good writer – maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper – but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor – maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine – but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.

And no matter what you want to do with your life – I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.

And this isn’t just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.

You’ll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You’ll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You’ll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.

We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don’t do that – if you quit on school – you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country.

Now I know it’s not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.

I get it. I know what that’s like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn’t always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn’t fit in.

So I wasn’t always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I’m not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.

But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn’t have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.

Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don’t have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and there’s not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don’t feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren’t right.

But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life – what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you’ve got going on at home – that’s no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That’s no excuse for not trying.

Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.

That’s what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.

Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn’t speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.

I’m thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who’s fought brain cancer since he was three. He’s endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer – hundreds of extra hours – to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he’s headed to college this fall.

And then there’s Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and she’s on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.

Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren’t any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same.

That’s why today, I’m calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education – and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you’ll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you’ll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you’ll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you’ll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don’t feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.

Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.

I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work -- that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things.

But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. You won’t click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.

That’s OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures define you – you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn’t mean you’re a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn’t mean you’re stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.

No one’s born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You’re not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don’t hit every note the first time you sing a song. You’ve got to practice. It’s the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it’s good enough to hand in.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust – a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor – and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.

And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you – don’t ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.

The story of America isn’t about people who quit when things got tough. It’s about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.

It’s the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.

So today, I want to ask you, what’s your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?

Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I’m working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you’ve got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don’t let us down – don’t let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

Love Your Neighbor

"Love your neighbor as yourself" and the world will change. Problem is, in order to really love someone else you have to love yourself first. In this age of self-centrism where people don't want their money helping someone else's healthcare and issues always seeming to fall into the fight of "how will it affect my bottom line?" I would like to posit that it may not be that people do not love their neighbors. It may be that we do not yet love ourselves. How can we follow the golden rule when we do not know how to love or treat the person in the mirror? Find yourself today. Take a deep look at who you really are. Not what faith you are, or who you come home to at night, or what political party you are. Look deep inside and find out if you love the person you see. You might get surprised by the answer you find. If you find the love of your inner self lacking, take yourself on a reflective date and fall in love again. It could be a quiet walk, a dinner out by yourself, or even a solo shopping trip. Find a way to connect to that inner self and learn to love what you see. You may find you want to work on the "man in the mirror" in order to change him/her and there is nothing wrong with that. Just make sure you can love who you are now as well as who you can be. If we all really knew how to love ourselves, we would know how to treat each other right. In that great day when we all really love ourselves and each other, it will be a new world.

Kol Tuv,

Matthew

Busy, Busy...

Wow I cannot believe it has been three weeks since I updated my blog. I have been so busy. First of all, my husband, Michael, and I moved into our new place in Washington, DC. I love this appartment. It is wonderful and in a very diverse neighborhood that makes us feel like we are still in NYC. As many of you know Michael started his new job as full time music staff for Washington National Opera this week and his first days went very well.


I have also been involved in a reading of a new musical theater piece in NYC over the past week. It was a whirlwind audition, rehearsal, and perfromance process, but it went very well. The piece was called Confessions of a Reality TV Star. It is a spoof on American Idol whose main setting is the finaly episode and it delves into the backstage life of the two finalists. The piece was brillliantly written by Joshua Robinson (Book & Lyrics) and John Bronston (Music). The audience seemed to really like the piece and if all goes according to plan we will be recording an album in a month or two. Heres to hoping!


Kol Tuv,
Matthew

Vaetchanan

This week we read the portion of Vaetchanan. In it we hear again the reading of the Ten Utterances (commandments). The Hebrew word used actually means utterances or emanations, not commands, but I digress. The word Vaetchanan means "Moses pleaded". The name of the portion itself contains a very important lesson for us this week. Never give up! After being told by G-d himself that he could not go into the promised land, Moses begged G-d to reconsider. Moses was not dissuaded. He continued asking until G-d allowed him to view the land from the highest mountain. Kabbalists use a term called klippot. It means shell or veil and refers to layers of separation between us and G-d. The more negative actions you perform the more klippot envelop you and the more positive actions you perform the more you remove. The bottom line of this lesson is that you never know how many veils are between you and your answer. Keep asking, keep seeking, keep working. With every effort we make we draw that much closer to Hashem, G-d, the Light, the universe or whatever you want to call It. Perseverance is our task this week. Keep up the good work...


"In other words, as long as we're on the path, we are making progress, even though we may not feel the movement. The work keeps on going whether we feel it or not. As long as we stick with it, we get our opportunities to fight and to grow. If we stay strong and commit to the path, we are guaranteed success. No question." - Yehuda Berg


This weeks sees the 9th of Av, the most negative day of the year. It begins Wednesday at sundown and goes until sundown Thursday. The important thing to remember is that with greater negativity comes greater potential for transformation. After all who is closer to G-d's heart; the honest person who does not steal or the thief who returns his loot?


Kol Tuv,
Matthew

Purple People

My friend Kelly Keefe and I have been debating healthcare on my facebook page for a week or two. That has been the nature of our friendship from the beginning, debate. She is a conservative republican from Orange County, California and I am a liberal democrat from Charleston, SC. We met while between acting jobs, both temping at Ross Stores Corporate headquarters in NYC. Our friendship is built upon our differences. It is wonderful! We agree, we disagree, but we always discuss it. Debate fosters unity, as it allows us to better understand each other. It also gives us the freedom and information needed to change our minds on any given subject. I am so glad to have found her. She is a true friend, the kind with whom you can completely disagree, but still have a good time at dinner.

I wish that our country's political figures could debate the way that we do. It would make our country better. It is a very rare issue where one side is 100% right. Very often we need ideas from both sides to make reform and the world better. The more perspectives included the more likely it is things will be done right. So, I call on my congressmen & women to work together. Not only on healthcare, but always. Stop playing politics with our lives and the future of the country. Republicans - present your healthcare ideas, instead of just complaining. Democrats - listen to your opponents and work with them, instead of just doing what you want. This is too important to have it undone by politicians looking for votes in the next election! Do your jobs NOW!

Barack Obama was right we are no longer a red state/blue state country. We are a purple country. This past election proved that the old formulas no longer apply. There are Democrats, Republicans, and Independents in every town in America. Being purple does not make us less Democratic or less Republican, it simply allows us to understand each others feelings and motivations. It allows us to truely listen. It is time we respected each other and attempted to find common ground, instead of fighting over a few issues that divide us. However; if we really listned to our opponents, we would learn that we can find common ground on even the controversial issues. For instance, I think we can all agree that lessening the number of abortions performed in this country by educating people on how to prevent unwanted pregnencie in the first place is a good thing, right! Common ground. Many less abortions take place, and without curtailing women's rights. Lets find common ground. I'm a purple person, as is my friend Kelly, won't you be one too?

Yom Tov,

Matthew

Devarim

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This week we read the first portion of the book of Deuteronomy. The portion's name is Devarim. The book of Deuteronomy is the book of repitions, as it reminds us of everything that has come before. It not only allows us to be reminded of our personal past Exodus', lessons learned, and journeys taken, but actually gives us a chance to relive them with a new enlightned consciousness. This week we can remake ouselves at the seed level. Devarim connects us to the sefirot of Malchut, which is the physical world around us. This week gives us the opportunity to connect our physical world with our spiritual work. If we are not changing the way we interact with others by being more sharing and proactive then our spiritual work is dead. Spirituality must change you, if it does not then all that you have gained is information. Information is worthless without action or as the Christian Apostle James said "Faith without works is dead!"




This week consider your life so far along with me. Think of the lessons you have learned. See if you are allowing those spiritual lessons to continue to effect your physical actions today. If they have fallen by the wayside, take action to change yourself and the world.




There is no specific Zohar portion connected to this weeks Torah portion, but a good portion to consider this week is the prolouge (back to the beginning).




Kol Tuv,
Matthew

We need more love!

We all have differences, but we ned to learn to put them aside in order to help and care for each other. This is our task here on this Earth, to make ourselves better people and there by make the world a better place. Every selfless

sharing and caring act you perform changes not only the world around you, but you as well. Try sharing a little love and sympathy this week and put aside

petty disputes over ideology and religion. Together we can change the world!

Kol Tuv,

Matthew

Matot & Masaei

This week there are two Torah portions Matot & Masaei.

The portion of Matot has several lessons for us to learn.

1. Feeling Superior We all feel like we are better than someone else for some reason of the other. Maybe you might say you can drive better, sing better, or just plain look better. We learn this week to work on our selfish pride. A truly spiritual person would not see him/herself as better or above anyone else. They understand that we are all equal. When one person has something that someone else does not it simply means they have more responsibility to share and affect others with that gift. This changes the way we live. Our lives are not about getting more, but are about giving more with what we have been blessed with! Don't think in terms of better/worse or more/less, just different jobs.

2. The Power of Words This lesson carries over from last week. Like your mother always said, "Watch your mouth!" Every word has the power to heal or destroy. I know it sounds corny, but it is true. This lesson is expanded this week by considering what our words mean when we "promise" something. It is very easy to say you'll be there or you've got your friends back or you are going to volunteer. Actually showing up and following through on your promise is harder. This does not mean we should not speak our promises, because voicing these commitments gives us the energy we need to act on them. All you need to do is think before you make a promise to a friend, coworker, or even yourself!

The portion of Masaei, which does not have a Zohar portion, is very powerful. In this section of Torah we find a summary of the Israelites journey in the desert and lists the 42 places that they stopped along the way.

1. Rav Berg, the spiritual leader of the Kabbalah Centre, teaches that whenever we travel we elevate our consciousness. We need to remember why we are going and what we can accomplish along the way. By doing this we can discover what sparks of Light we can reveal along the way by connecting to G-d and exercising restriction in our actions and interactions.

2. The number 42 in this section is also very important. The number 42 represents the Ana Bekoach, an ancient kabbalistic prayer that gives us the ability to rise above the chaos of the world around us. The 42 letters of the Ana Bekoach have the power to control all of creation, because G-d used them in the creating of the world. The prayer itself is derived from the beginning of the book of Bereshith (Genesis). This portion's connection to the number 42 takes us back to the moment of creation and allows us to control what happened back then. This gives us the power to control the seed level of the world and our lives in it.

Special thanks to Miriam Levi for opening my eyes to this wisdom.

Kol Tuv,

Matthew

Judge Sonia Sotomayor

As I sit watching the confirmation trial of Judge Sonia Sotomayor I cannot help but think how wonderful our country can be. We have an man of Kenyan descent in the White House, a possible woman of Puerto Rican descent on the Supreme Court, and one of the most successful rappers is a white guy, LOL! There is so much possibility here. I love this country. I am not putting on a blindfold to the great issues to which our country is still lacking. I know we have yet to achieve the ability for openly gay and lesbian Americans to serve their country's military. We still have a biased federal DOMA that denies the civil rights of hundreds of thousands of Americans. We still face daunting task of changing the hearts and minds of the numerous hate groups within our own borders, not to mention terrorists abroad. Our teachers are desperately underpaid and our schools are inadequately funded. We are still a country that depends on sickcare not healthcare, with tens of millions of Americans uninsured and tens of millions more underinsured. But there is hope, change is not only coming it is here! This is a nation founded on change, progress, and freedom! Where we look out for our fellow man and respect each others individual rights and freedoms! Thank G-d for this Great United States of America!

Kol Tuv,

Matthew