<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div dir="auto" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">What to Remember as the</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> Next Great Eclipse Approaches</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Three great Rebbes are standing in a field of groomed </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">flowers as the great eclipse approaches.</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">One inquisitive Rebbe asks his comrades if the reflective</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">moon and the radiant sun might be offering prayers to </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">earthlings and if so, what might be those prayers? </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">They confer.</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The first Rebbe posits that a moment of darkness amid </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">daylight reveals the paradox of light and dark.</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The second Rebbe affirms that the moon interrupting the sun</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">joins the kinetic forces of the universe with the reflective.</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The third Rebbe muses that the sun, moon, and earth are pointing</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">toward Shemayim, the heavenly residence of God and angels.</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Standing amid uniformed rows of multi-colored dahlias and </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">alluring white tuberose, they wait and watch as the miracle</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> unfolds, then all three begin to cheer.</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">In the field stands one perfect sunflower whose center is bursting</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">with black tentacles surrounded by a pulsating corona of red petals,</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">just as the moon will soon do with the shimmering rays</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">of the waiting sun.</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The eclipse approaches totality and the Rebbes say:</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">“Look how the sun and moon have joined, offering </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">humanity this special prayer.”</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">What we and the Rebbes forget is that the</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">whirling planets, with their heartfelt prayers</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">are always reaching for totality.</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><div><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>- Bruce Silverman</span></div><div><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "PT Serif", serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;">*</span><i style="font-family: "PT Serif", serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;">Rebbe</i><span style="font-family: "PT Serif", serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;">: a highly esteemed Rabbi</span></div></div></body></html>