[Steve Sager]

Especially with increasing stimuli, we try to be aware of our “fence-off” responses, some of which might surprise us. The Hebrew poet, Zelda, was surprised by her own reaction to a Jerusalem beggar-woman who offered her the gift of a small jar of honey:

for I had to shatter seven walls of refusal
to be able to accept from her hand
honey offered as a gift of friendship.

(Zelda, “In The Shade Of The Oak”)

 

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(commentary originally appears in Text Me: Ancient Jewish Wisdom Meets Contemporary Technology)