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I don’t know you (unless I do), but statistically, I’m pretty sure you don’t like public speaking.  Unfortunately, though, you probably have to make a bar mitzvah at some point, nebech, and you have to speak, even though you’re not the one becoming bar mitzvah.  This might stress you out, seeing as you haven’t spoken since your own bar mitzvah, and you didn’t even fully understand what you said at the time.  All you know is that it was too long, your parents were claiming it wasn’t too long, and you have no idea whether anyone was listening because you read it from the paper.  People told you beforehand that you should look up at your audience from time to time, but when you did that, there were long, silent gaps, and then you lost the place.  But the only people listening, as far as you could tell, were your rebbeim, your parents, and whoever it was who wrote the speech. 

Recap: Yishai has a theory of where Dovid is. He goes to the apothecary and waits for the Native American woman who works there. He speaks to Holata and somehow evokes her sympathy. She leads him to her village, and he finds Dovid living there. Meanwhile, his brother and sister-in-law realized the error in their ways after this whole ordeal and finding out that Mr. Burr is a wanted criminal now. Yishai’s father came because of the worry about Dovid, and he tells Yishai that he is needed to help capture Mr. Burr. He and two other young men will be standing by the boats when Mr. Burr comes, and then the men will be able to capture him.

“Vulnerability” is a word that is commonly associated with psychology. In this context, vulnerability refers to the familiar experience of being emotionally exposed to the possibility of attack or harm.

Ever get the feeling that your children aren’t listening? Don’t worry; you’re not alone. We’ve all been there. We’ve all pleaded with blank stares to finally comprehend the simple instructions we are providing. We’ve even lashed out after yet another failed attempt by our child to engage in activities according to our specific directions.

The consummate hero,

Avraham dug wells,

They were stopped up

Every day is a gift,

Every ray of the sun

A continuation, the miracle

Of Hashem’s Creation.

Before Adam

All creatures came,

Great and small,

Adam given the honor

Of naming them all:

Their spiritual essence,

Their inner truth,

The dense physical fiber

Of each hide, claw, and tooth

Condensed down to their

Metaphysical aspect;

The Hebrew names Adam gave them

Remain in effect.

HaKadosh Baruch Hu

Greatly exalted Adam,

Made him partners in a song,

Even angels cannot fathom

The tohu,

Intense expression

Of G-dliness,

The Song of Creation,

Spiritual, made manifest,

Sung by Hashem Himself;

Angels can only but listen,

As each day

Hashem creates the world

Again and again.

There still exists

Divine dispensation;

We can still be partners

Of HaKadosh Baruch Hu’s creation –

The mitzvos, an expression

Of Hashem

Embodied in physical action

In serving G-d;

The mitzvos yield

The song given back to us

As Hashem is revealed.

By Sharon Marcus