Tales of Old; commissioned illusration of a Talmudic story

To Kalon of the Jews.

האי מאן דבעי מחזי שופריה דרבי יוחנן נייתי כסא דכספא מבי סלקי ונמלייה פרצידיא דרומנא סומקא ונהדר ליה כלילא דוורדא סומקא לפומיה ונותביה בין שמשא לטולא ההוא זהרורי מעין שופריה דר' יוחנן

One who wishes to see the beauty of Rabbi Yochanan should take a silver chalice after being polished, fill it with red pomegranate seeds, surround the mouth of the chalice with a crown of red rose petals, and place it between the sun and shade, and this shining brilliance is akin to the beauty of Rabbi Yochanan.

- Babylonian Talmud, Bava Metzia 84a

"The Metamorphosis": A Terrible Encounter With the Father

It is the custom of the Sanz-Klausenberg Rebbe to throw 
apples to his followers on Simchas Torah. The apples are said to
bring blessing to their recepients.

Es war ein Apfel; gleich flog ihm ein zweiter nach; Gregor blieb vor Schrecken stehen; ein Weiterlaufen war nutzlos, denn der Vater hatte sich entschlossen, ihn zu bombardieren. Aus der Obstschale auf der Kredenz hatte er sich die Taschen gefüllt und warf nun, ohne vorläufig scharf zu zielen, Apfel für Apfel. Diese kleinen roten Äpfel rollten wie elektrisiert auf dem Boden herum und stießen aneinander. Ein schwach geworfener Apfel streifte Gregors Rücken, glitt aber unschädlich ab. Ein ihm sofort nachfliegender drang dagegen förmlich in Gregors Rücken ein...

It was an apple. Immediately a second one flew after it. Gregor stood still in fright. Further running away was useless, for his father had decided to bombard him. From the fruit bowl on the sideboard his father had filled his pockets, and now, without for the moment taking accurate aim, he was throwing apple after apple. These small red apples rolled around on the floor, as if electrified, and collided with each other. A weakly thrown apple grazed Gregor’s back but skidded off harmlessly. However, another thrown immediately after that one drove into Gregor’s back really hard.

- The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka

Please God, Piska Tava, a Gut'n Kvitel!

Hans Beckert (Peter Lorre) appears before the court.
- 'M', Fritz Lang, 1931

"Do you know your case is going badly?" asked the priest. "That's how it seems to me too," said K. "I've expended a lot of effort on it, but so far with no result. Although I do still have some documents to submit." "How do you imagine it will end?" asked the priest. "At first I thought it was bound to end well," said K., "but now I have my doubts about it..."

"You don't understand the facts," said the priest, "the verdict does not come suddenly, proceedings continue until a verdict is reached gradually."

-Franz Kafka, 'The Trial'

According to Jewish tradition our fate is not sealed on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, but rather the judgement waits to be sealed until the seventh day of Sukkos, Hoshana Rabbah.

יומא שביעאה דחג, הוא סיומא דדינא דעלמא 

ופתקין נפקין מבי מלכא  

On the 7th day of the Holiday, this is the comletion of the verdict for the world, as the letters go out from the House of the King. - Zohar, Tzav 31b

Kafka Meets the Rebbe

A little morsel from the annals of Jewish summer vacations: Kafka went to Marienbad on holiday, and there he had the opportunity, thanks to his chasidish (BT) friend Langer to "accompany" the Belzer Rebbe, Yissaschar Dov Rokeach.
Here's some of what he had to say about him:

Er sieht aus wie der Sultan, den ich als Kind in einem Doréee-Münchhausen oft gesehn habe. Aber keine Maskerade, wirklich der Sultan. Und nicht nur Sultan, sondern auch Vater, Volksschullehrer, Gymnasialprofessor u. s. f. 
Der Anblick seines Rückens, der Anblick der Hand, die auf der Hüfte liegt, der Anblick der Wendung dieses breiten Rückens - alles das gibt Vertrauen. Auch in den Augen der ganzen Gruppe ist dieses ruhige glückliche Vertrauen, das ich gut ahne.

"He looks like a Sultan, like I had often seen as a child in the stories of Baron Munchhausen. No joke! Really the Sultan. But not only a Sultan, but also a Father, a Teacher, a Professor, etc.  The sight of his back, the sight of his hand sitting on his hip, the sight of the turns of this wide back  - all of it inspired trust. Also I surmise in the eyes of the whole group that there is a calm, contented trust."

(from a letter to Max Brod, July 1916)

H/T Torah Musings via Bernard Wasserstein, On the Eve, 
The Jews of Europe before the Second World War.

Thuja occidentalis

Roots of the Northern White cedar.
Heart Lake, North Elba, NY. 

The roots are pretty shallow and this tree was exposed on the edge of the lake, so I imagine the tree was downed easily. In any case the wood of the cedar, even of the roots, is very resilient, that is resistant to decay by moisture and other elements. The "aged" roots are quite beautiful, so you'll see them as decorative pieces in homes throughout the U.S.

The Great Builder of the Mammalians, Castor canadensis

Beaver lodge, Sterling Forest, NY, February, 2013 

Stockbridge Shelter

The Stockbridge lean-to on Stockbridge Mtn. 1320' NY
(photo taken by N., January, 2013)

St. John's in the Wilderness Church, Memorial to Lost Love

Harriman State Park, January, 2013

"Even now, the church of Saint John's in the Wilderness stands in thickly wooded seclusion - a remnant of the countryside that first attracted Mrs. Margaret Elizabeth Zimmerman to build this memorial to her late husband... In 1879 Mrs. Zimmerman purchased the land for the church from John A. Conklin also of New York. Margaret Zimmerman had originally intended to build a sturdy wooden church made of native timber. However Ralph Townsend, a New York architect suggested that the plentiful fieldstone of the area be utilized. Once the decision to use the native "hornblend" granite was made, Mrs. Zimmerman selected a design to compliment the feeling of such stone. The architecture was typical of Northern England. It had a decidedly "up-country" look reflective of Mrs. Zimmerman's English heritage and youthful travels."

- Bridget Leahy Ward

Canis latrans, Roaring dog, trickster par excellence

Coyote tracks in C.F.'s backyard

I saw the coyote in the afternoon snooping around for critters, he looked pretty scraggly and desperate so I didn't have the heart to go out and take a picture.

Winter Hike

View of the north end of Lake Nawahunta from the Menomine Trail

 Downed pines on the Menomine  Trail