Quotes and Readings of the Day

Deuteronomy 16:9-17; Numbers 39:35-38, 30:1

This reading is from the special Torah reading for Shemini Atzeret, October 21, 2008. The complete Torah reading for the day is Deuteronomy 14:22-16:17 and Numbers 29:35-30:1.

You shall count off seven weeks; start to count the seven weeks when the sickle is first put to the standing grain. Then you shall observe the Feast of Weeks for the Lord your God, offering your freewill contribution according as the Lord your God has blessed you. You shall rejoice before the Lord your God with your son and daughter, your male and female slave, the Levite in your communities, and the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow in your midst, at the place where the Lord your God will choose to establish His name. Bear in mind that you were slaves in Egypt, and take care to obey these laws.

After the ingathering from your threshing floor and your vat, you shall hold the Feast of Booths for seven days. You shall rejoice in your festival, with your son and daughter, your male and female slave, the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow in your communities. You shall hold a festival for the Lord your God seven days, in the place that the Lord will choose; for the Lord your God will bless all your crops and all your undertakings, and you shall have nothing but joy.

Three times a year--on the Feast of Unleavened Bread, on the Feast of Weeks, and on the Feast of Booths--all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place that He will choose. They shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed, but each with his own gift, according to the blessing that the Lord your God has bestowed upon you.

Numbers 29
On the eighth day you shall hold a solemn gathering; you shall not work at your occupations. 36 You shall present a burnt offering, an offering by fire of pleasing odor to the Lord; one bull, one ram, seven yearling lambs, without blemish; the meal offerings and libations for the bull, the ram, and the lambs, in the quantities prescribed; and one goat for a sin offering — in addition to the regular burnt offering, its meal offering and libation.

All these you shall offer to the Lord at the stated times, in addition to your votive and freewill offerings, be they burnt offerings, meal offer- ings, libations, or offerings of well-being.

Chapter 30
So Moses spoke to the Israelites just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

From THE TANAKH: The New JPS Translation According to the Traditional Hebrew Text. Copyright 1985 by the Jewish Publication Society. Used by permission.

TAGS: Torah, Torah Reading, Judaism, Deuteronomy

One day beside her bedside I was kneeling,
And angel wings were winnowing the air.
She heard the call for supper time in heaven,
And I know she's waiting for me there.

-Ira Stanphil,
"Supper Time"

TAGS: Angel Quote, Angels, Bedside, Angel Wings, Winnowing, Call, Ira StanphilbrSupper Time

Should we free our mind from attachment to all "things," the Path becomes clear; otherwise, we put ourselves under restraint.

-The Sutra of Hui Neng

From "365 Buddha: Daily Meditations," edited by Jeff Schmidt. Reprinted by arrangement with Tarcher/Putnam, a division of Penguin Putnam Inc.

TAGS: Buddhism, Buddhist Quote, Mind, Attachment

I always drop in a church when passing to say my Catholic prayers, and I make sure my children say them.

-Liam Neeson

TAGS: Entertainment Quote, Church, Celebrities, Family, Spiritual, Celebrity Spirituality, Entertainment, Faith

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

-Matthew 13: 44

TAGS: Bible, Christian Quote, Christianity

Review documents on your computer rather than printing multiple revisions to save paper.

TAGS: Eco Tips

The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.

-Carl Rogers

TAGS: Inspiration Quote, Carl Rogers, Change, Growth, Paradox, Curious Paradox, Curious

‘My children,’ my grandfather said, ‘you’ll never see anything worse than yourselves.’

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

TAGS: Evangelical, Evangelical Quote, Christianity

Not only is women's work never done, the definition keeps changing.

-Bill Copeland

TAGS: Health Quote

Knowledge is hidden by selfish desire--hidden by this unquenchable fire for self-satisfaction.

Bhagavad Gita 3:38-39

Excerpted from The Bhagavad Gita, translated by Eknath Easwaran, copyright 1985. Reprinted with permission from Nilgiri Press, www.nilgiri.org. To order the book, please call 1-800-475-2369.

TAGS: Hindu Quote, Bhagavad Gita, Hinduism

Say yes when nobody asked.

-Lao proverb

TAGS: Glow, Holistic Living Quote, Spirituality, Holistic Living

One man has enthusiasm for 30 minutes, another for 30 days, but it is the man who has it for 30 years who makes a success of his life.

-Edward B. Butler

TAGS: Inspiration Quote, Enthusiasm, Minutes, Success, Edward B. Butler, Happiness, Persistence

God does not predetermine whether a man shall be righteous or wicked; that He leaves to man himself.

-Tanhuma, Pikkude

Reprinted with permission from 'A Treasury of Jewish Quotations,' edited by Joseph L. Baron, Jason Aronson Inc.

TAGS: Judaism, Jewish Quote

O Beloved of hearts, I beseech only You. Have pity this day on those who turn to You. My Hope, my Rest, my Delight, this heart can love none other but You.

-Rabi'a, "Rabi'a the Mystic"

Translated by Aneela Khalid Arshed. Copyright 1999. All rights reserved. Used with permission of The Crossroad Publishing Company, New York.

TAGS: Islam, Muslim Quote, Muslim

Whatever it is that's eating at you, please understand – the answer's not as hard as you think it is. The human mind tends to complicate things. It's because we're so well designed! We have tremendous abilities to analyze, reason, scrutinize, systematize. It's natural to over-think, sometimes. Often, these mental abilities fall into worries. One thought compounds, and leads to another and another. Uncertainties lead to "what-ifs." Concerns can lead to fears. Fears can grow to downright terror. If that happens to you, do this: stop and begin to count your blessings instead. See how good you have it. List your abilities, instead of your disabilities. Problem solve instead of compounding. And don't do it alone. By all means get help. Ask a favor of a friend. Tell someone what you're worried about. Get advice from another who has done what you want to do. And don't ever forget: God's there, too. Always. You needn't go anywhere, call long-distance, or pay any money. God's there, at your core, always ready to guide, protect, and help you with your problems.

-Norris Chumley

TAGS: Weight Loss

For one human being to love another: that is perhaps the most difficult of our tasks; the ultimate, the last test and proof, the work for which all other work is but preparation.

-Rainer Maria Rilke

TAGS: Relationships, Relationship Quotes