Baal Shem Tov: "push away his hand"

"Everyone has times of expanded and constricted consciousness," said the Baal Shem Tov, "but one can also reach levels from which one does not fall. When a father wants to play with his little child, he hides his face with his hand, and then shows his face to him-- doing this again and again. But the father's pleasure is even greater when the child is clever enough to push his father's hand away, so that it no longer conceals his face. God's glory fills the earth and there is no place where He is not present. When it seems that He is absent, He is merely hiding His face from you. But if you know that He is hiding, there is no more concealment. If you truly want the game to end, and to see Him always, push your Father's hand away to see His face."

--from "The Daily Maggid" email from Maggid Yitzhak Buxbaum; you can subscribe to his list for free, or explore his website.

UU aid worker found guilty

Walt Staton, a member of No More Deaths, a group which leaves water jugs in the desert, so refugees are less likely to die there (as 79 people have, since 10/1/2008), has just been convicted in federal court...of littering. He will be sentenced on August 1st, when he may get fined up to $10,000 and/or sentenced to a year in jail. No, really--see the full story here.

Even worse: according to this UUA story, Staton and his NMD pals were actually carrying empty jugs and other trash they'd collected out of the desert when they were arrested. Helping to save people, and cleaning up other peoples' trash...they must be stopped!

Thanks, Ethan Field.