help please! | Imamother

amother

Mon, Jan 15 2007, 11:49 am

I am posting anonymously because I don't want people knowing my sn.

I am Baruch Hashem having a seudas hodaah - cancer.

I want to have it before Purim and want to make a dvar torah connecting to Purim. It is only family so I wanted to talk about hashgacha pratis, thanks, hope, and miracles. If anyone can help me I'd be so grateful. Please either post your ideas or your name so I can PM you.

On another note, if you have any ideas for a poem - I am giving everyone a gift and wanted to attach a small note.

Thank you so much!

nehama

Mon, Jan 15 2007, 1:02 pm

Well, the whole thing of Purim is that the miracles came about through nature, not obvious miracles. You can tie that in pretty easily.

Maybe do your poem along the same lines as your dvar Torah, only more personal, maybe thanking them for being there for you in your tough time.

I know someone who's very good with this kind of thing; you can PM me if you want.

purplegirl

Mon, Jan 15 2007, 3:19 pm

You've probably heard this idea before, but I recently heard it in a beautiful story:

A group of women were studying Navi and came across a sentence that described G-d as a silversmith. They were intrigued - why was G-d compared to a silversmith? They couldn't come up with an explanation. One woman decided to observe a neighboring tradesman at work and see if she could understand how his actions can be compared to those of G-d.

The woman walked into the silversmith's shop and asked for permission to observe him at his work. He took her to the back of his shop and placed some pieces of silver into a pan. He held it over a hot flame for a long time, concentrating intently.

The woman asked, "Do you have to hold the pan continuously? Can you set it down if a customer walks in?"

"Oh no," the silversmith answered, "I have to hold it continually. The silver is very precious."

She asked, "Do you have to hold it over the hottest part of the flame?"

"Oh yes," he answered, "the very hottest part."

"Why?" she inquired. "What are you doing?"

He replied, "I am purifying it."

She asked her last question, "How do you know when you are done?"

The silversmith replied, "I know that it is pure when in the melted silver I can see my own reflection."

btMOMtoFFBs

Tue, Jan 16 2007, 7:29 am

Refuah Shleima,

Went thru something similar myself. PM me if you'd share stories. One idea for your d'var Torah: The story of Purim is about how Hashem's name is hidden in megillas Esther and we take that as a sign of His hidden hand in running the world.

When someone is ch"v ill, we merit to see Hashem's hand in our lives time and time again -- so much open involvement in our lives.

Hope this is useful.