Miryam's Space

I have a bad habit: when I daven (pray), I look up, heavenwards. Apparently that is terrible for singing. How did I learn to look straight ahead? Here is the story.

When I was a younger person, I delighted in SciFi Fantasy novels, Ray Bradbury, JRR Tolkien, Ursula K LeGuin (Earthsea), and among my favorites, Anne McCaffrey’s “Dragonriders of Pern” Series. It has been decades since I have enjoyed these types of novels: tastes change, I told myself, and that was that… until last month. On vacation in Lenox, Mass. I stopped in to an independent bookstore. While my friend was browsing, I picked up a dragon novel and sat down in a big cozy chair to read, and when I left I bought the book: for the sake of supporting the author and the bookstore, I reasoned. But I discovered why I loved them. The book, by Naomi Novik, didn’t capture my imagination until the dragon hatchling and the reluctant rider bonded: fell in love, really.

G8d* is evoked with the powerful combination of love and awe in Jewish prayer and tradition. We prayer to “Yotzer Ohr”, fashioner of light, followed by Ahavah Rabba “great love” which leads us to Shema “Listen up, oh G8d wrestlers (Israel) Adonai, our G8d is ONE” followed by the command to LOVE! Here is this dragon tale carrying a human flying above the earth, bonded in a love that will motivate them to care for and protect one another. Now I have a new metaphor for G8d in my life: G8d is my dragon, bonded in love, the Holy One of Blessing takes me soaring on dragon’s wings in awe.

Now I don’t need to look upwards, I’m already there!

*G8d is God, with the center replaced by 8, a sideways infinity sign, and one more than the full perfection of Biblical seven! It indicates the extraordinary.