The Telling [antikvár]

Ii1992Returning to Israel, I am located this time in the middle ofjerusalem.I am working well."The air ofjerusalem makes you wise," says my neighbor, the professor.I am feeling well."The air ofjerusalem makes you healthy," says my motherly neighbor, Fanny.1975In 1975 it was to Jerusalem that we phoned from Haifa for curious information. We, Nomi (Naomi) Nimrod and I, were working on The Women's Haggadah and had regendered the players. The rabbis of old became the wise women connected to them; the questions of the four sons were put into the mouths of the four daughters.StiU, we had our own questions. Since there is no neuter word in Hebrew for God, could there be a designation for holiness that was not solely male?"Phone Jerusalem," said Nomi. "They feel closer to God there. They'll know."By "they," Nomi meant the first women rabbinical students who were doing their year abroad at Hebrew Union College."What do you call You Know Who?" we asked, once we got the crackly Hne to Jerusalem."Shekhinah," they answered, "She Who Dwells in Our Midst.""Oh, yes!" we said.The Shekhinah is a Kabbalistic concept, the female aspect of God. She is addressed in prayer, especially during the holidays of Sukkoth and the arrival of the New Moon. The sage