{"id":2134,"date":"2016-04-11T13:42:44","date_gmt":"2016-04-11T20:42:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/?p=2134"},"modified":"2021-03-22T23:33:21","modified_gmt":"2021-03-23T06:33:21","slug":"where-grass-can-never-be-called-straw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/04\/where-grass-can-never-be-called-straw","title":{"rendered":"where grass can never be called straw"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A poem for Nissan, and an everyday reminder.<\/p>\n<table style=\"margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align:top;\" width=\"46%\">\n<div class=\"poetry-hebrew\" style=\"text-align: right;\"><span lang=\"he\"><br \/>\n\u05de\u05e6\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd \u05dc\u05d0 \u05d9\u05db\u05d5\u05dc \u05dc\u05b4\u05de\u05e6\u05d5\u05b9\u05d0 \u05d1\u05de\u05e4\u05d4<br \/>\n\u05de\u05e6\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd \u05dc\u05d0 \u05d9\u05db\u05d5\u05dc \u05dc\u05b4\u05de\u05e6\u05d5\u05b9\u05d0 \u05d1\u05d0\u05d8\u05dc\u05e1<br \/>\n\u05dc\u05e6\u05d0\u05ea \u05de\u05de\u05e6\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd \u05d4\u05d9\u05d0 \u05db\u05dc \u05d9\u05d5\u05dd<br \/>\n\u05dc\u05e6\u05d0\u05ea \u05de\u05de\u05e6\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd \u05d4\u05d9\u05d0 \u05e7\u05e4\u05d9\u05e6\u05d4 \u05e0\u05e4\u05e9\u05d9\u05ea<\/p>\n<p \/>\n\u05d0\u05e0\u05d5 \u05d7\u05d9\u05d9\u05dd \u05d1\u05e2\u05d5\u05dc\u05dd \u05e9\u05dc \u05d7\u05dc\u05d5\u05de\u05d5\u05ea<br \/>\n\u05d5\u05e2\u05dc\u05d9\u05e0\u05d5 \u05dc\u05d4\u05ea\u05e2\u05d5\u05e8\u05e8 \u05d0\u05ea \u05e2\u05e6\u05de\u05e0\u05d5 \u05dc\u05de\u05e7\u05d5\u05dd \u05d7\u05d3\u05e9<br \/>\n\u05e4\u05e8\u05d0\u05d9 \u05d5\u05e4\u05ea\u05d5\u05d7<br \/>\n\u05d1\u05ea\u05d5\u05da \u05e8\u05d7\u05dd \u05e4\u05e8\u05d0\u05d9<br \/>\n\u05dc\u05b4\u05de\u05e6\u05d5\u05b9\u05d0 \u05dc\u05d0 \u05dc\u05d1\u05d3 \u05d0\u05e0\u05d7\u05e0\u05d5<br \/>\n\u05d1\u05e8\u05d7\u05de\u05e0\u05d5\u05ea<br \/>\n\u05d1\u05ea\u05d5\u05da \u05d4\u05de\u05e7\u05d5\u05dd \u05e9\u05d1\u05d5 \u05d4\u05d3\u05e9\u05d0 \u05dc\u05d0 \u05d9\u05db\u05d5\u05dc \u05dc\u05d4\u05d9\u05e7\u05e8\u05d0 \u05e7\u05e9<br \/>\n\u05d5\u05e8\u05d2\u05d1 \u05dc\u05d0 \u05d9\u05db\u05d5\u05dc \u05dc\u05d4\u05d9\u05e7\u05e8\u05d0 \u05dc\u05d1\u05e0\u05d4<br \/>\n\u05db\u05d3\u05d9 \u05dc\u05b4\u05de\u05e6\u05d5\u05b9\u05d0 \u05d0\u05ea \u05d4\u05e9\u05dd \u05e9\u05dc(\u05da\/\u05e0\u05d5) \u05d1\u05d7\u05d9\u05d9 \u05db\u05dc \u05d7\u05d9\u05d9\u05d4\u05dd \u05d5\u05db\u05dc \u05e9\u05de\u05e9\u05ea\u05e0\u05d4<br \/>\n\u05d1\u05de\u05d3\u05d1\u05e8<br \/>\n\u05de\u05e2\u05d1\u05e8 \u05d4\u05d7\u05dc\u05d5\u05de\u05d5\u05ea \u05e9\u05dc \u05d1\u05e0\u05d9 \u05d0\u05d3\u05dd<br \/>\n<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"vertical-align:top;\" width=\"53%\">\n<div class=\"poetry-english\">\n<em>Mitsrayim<\/em> cannot be found on a map<br \/>\n<em>Mitsrayim<\/em> cannot be found in an atlas<br \/>\nLeaving <em>Mitsrayim<\/em> is every day<br \/>\nLeaving <em>Mitsrayim<\/em> is a mental leap<\/p>\n<p \/>\nWe live in a world of dreams<br \/>\nand we must awaken ourselves into a new place<br \/>\nwild and open<br \/>\nwithin a wild womb<br \/>\nto discover we are not alone<br \/>\nwith compassion<br \/>\nwithin the Place, where grass cannot be called \u2018straw\u2019<br \/>\nand a clod of earth cannot be called \u2018brick\u2019<br \/>\nto find (y)our name in the life of all that lives and all that changes<br \/>\nin the Wilderness<br \/>\nbeyond the dreams of human ken\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<div id=\"attachment_2135\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/sem303_10.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-2135\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2135\" src=\"http:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/sem303_10.jpg\" alt=\"A stream of flowers between fields of wheat (credit: unknown, copyright orphan)\" width=\"800\" height=\"1199\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2135\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/sem303_10.jpg 800w, https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/sem303_10-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/sem303_10-768x1151.jpg 768w, https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/sem303_10-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/sem303_10-100x150.jpg 100w, https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/sem303_10-400x600.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2135\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A stream of flowers between fields of wheat (credit: unknown, copyright orphan)<\/p><\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<p>This is pretty much how I understand the Exodus as allegory for a daily practice of being liberated from self-delusion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A poem for Nissan, and an everyday reminder. <span style=\"color:#777\"> . . . &rarr; Continue reading: <a href=\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/04\/where-grass-can-never-be-called-straw\">where grass can never be called straw<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2135,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,20],"tags":[237,238,239,240],"class_list":["post-2134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-yiddishkeit","category-poetry","tag-nissan","tag-pesa","tag-liberation","tag-black-iron-prison","odd"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>where grass can never be called straw &#8226; Aharon&#039;s Omphalos<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/04\/where-grass-can-never-be-called-straw\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"where grass can never be called straw &#8226; Aharon&#039;s Omphalos\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A poem for Nissan, and an everyday reminder. . . . &rarr; Continue reading: where grass can never be called straw\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/04\/where-grass-can-never-be-called-straw\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Aharon&#039;s Omphalos\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/aharonium\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/aharonium\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-04-11T20:42:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-03-23T06:33:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/sem303_10.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1199\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Aharon N. Varady\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@http:\/\/twitter.com\/aharonium\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@aharonium\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Aharon N. Varady\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/04\/where-grass-can-never-be-called-straw#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/04\/where-grass-can-never-be-called-straw\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Aharon N. Varady\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/#\/schema\/person\/995b8f7b388fb460e5204034604079f5\"},\"headline\":\"where grass can never be called straw\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-04-11T20:42:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-23T06:33:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/04\/where-grass-can-never-be-called-straw\"},\"wordCount\":153,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/#\/schema\/person\/995b8f7b388fb460e5204034604079f5\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/04\/where-grass-can-never-be-called-straw#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/sem303_10.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Nissan\",\"Pesa\u1e25\",\"liberation\",\"black iron prison\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Judaica\",\"Poetry\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/04\/where-grass-can-never-be-called-straw#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/04\/where-grass-can-never-be-called-straw\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/04\/where-grass-can-never-be-called-straw\",\"name\":\"where grass can never be called straw &#8226; Aharon&#039;s Omphalos\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/04\/where-grass-can-never-be-called-straw#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/04\/where-grass-can-never-be-called-straw#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/sem303_10.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-04-11T20:42:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-23T06:33:21+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/04\/where-grass-can-never-be-called-straw#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/04\/where-grass-can-never-be-called-straw\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/04\/where-grass-can-never-be-called-straw#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/sem303_10.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/sem303_10.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":1199,\"caption\":\"A stream of flowers between fields of wheat (credit: unknown, copyright orphan)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/04\/where-grass-can-never-be-called-straw#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/contact\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"where grass can never be called straw\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/\",\"name\":\"Aharon's Omphalos\",\"description\":\"spinning navel lint into fine yarn\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/#\/schema\/person\/995b8f7b388fb460e5204034604079f5\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/#\/schema\/person\/995b8f7b388fb460e5204034604079f5\",\"name\":\"Aharon N. Varady\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Aharon-Varady.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Aharon-Varady.jpg\",\"width\":1061,\"height\":1062,\"caption\":\"Aharon N. Varady\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\"},\"description\":\"Aharon's Omphalos is the hobbit hole of Aharon Varady, founding director of the Open Siddur Project. He is a community planner and environmental educator working to improve stewardship of the Public Domain, be it the physical and natural commons of urban park systems or the creative and cultural commons of libraries and museums. His advocacy for open-source strategies in the Jewish community has been written about in the Atlantic Magazine, the Yiddish Forverts, Tablet, and Haaretz. He is particularly interested in pedagogies for advancing ecological wisdom, developing creative and emotional intelligence, and realizing effective theurgical praxes. He welcomes your comments, personal messages, and kind words. If you find his work helpful to your own or you'd simply like to support him, please consider donating via his Patreon account.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\",\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/aharonium\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/http:\/\/twitter.com\/aharonium\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/author\/admin\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"where grass can never be called straw &#8226; Aharon&#039;s Omphalos","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/04\/where-grass-can-never-be-called-straw","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"where grass can never be called straw &#8226; Aharon&#039;s Omphalos","og_description":"A poem for Nissan, and an everyday reminder. . . . &rarr; Continue reading: where grass can never be called straw","og_url":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/04\/where-grass-can-never-be-called-straw","og_site_name":"Aharon&#039;s Omphalos","article_publisher":"http:\/\/facebook.com\/aharonium","article_author":"http:\/\/facebook.com\/aharonium","article_published_time":"2016-04-11T20:42:44+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-03-23T06:33:21+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":1199,"url":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/sem303_10.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Aharon N. Varady","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@http:\/\/twitter.com\/aharonium","twitter_site":"@aharonium","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Aharon N. Varady","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/04\/where-grass-can-never-be-called-straw#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/04\/where-grass-can-never-be-called-straw"},"author":{"name":"Aharon N. Varady","@id":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/#\/schema\/person\/995b8f7b388fb460e5204034604079f5"},"headline":"where grass can never be called straw","datePublished":"2016-04-11T20:42:44+00:00","dateModified":"2021-03-23T06:33:21+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/04\/where-grass-can-never-be-called-straw"},"wordCount":153,"commentCount":1,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/#\/schema\/person\/995b8f7b388fb460e5204034604079f5"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/04\/where-grass-can-never-be-called-straw#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/sem303_10.jpg","keywords":["Nissan","Pesa\u1e25","liberation","black iron prison"],"articleSection":["Judaica","Poetry"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/04\/where-grass-can-never-be-called-straw#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/04\/where-grass-can-never-be-called-straw","url":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/04\/where-grass-can-never-be-called-straw","name":"where grass can never be called straw &#8226; Aharon&#039;s Omphalos","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/04\/where-grass-can-never-be-called-straw#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/04\/where-grass-can-never-be-called-straw#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/sem303_10.jpg","datePublished":"2016-04-11T20:42:44+00:00","dateModified":"2021-03-23T06:33:21+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/04\/where-grass-can-never-be-called-straw#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/04\/where-grass-can-never-be-called-straw"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/04\/where-grass-can-never-be-called-straw#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/sem303_10.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/sem303_10.jpg","width":800,"height":1199,"caption":"A stream of flowers between fields of wheat (credit: unknown, copyright orphan)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/04\/where-grass-can-never-be-called-straw#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/contact"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"where grass can never be called straw"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/#website","url":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/","name":"Aharon's Omphalos","description":"spinning navel lint into fine yarn","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/#\/schema\/person\/995b8f7b388fb460e5204034604079f5"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/#\/schema\/person\/995b8f7b388fb460e5204034604079f5","name":"Aharon N. Varady","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Aharon-Varady.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Aharon-Varady.jpg","width":1061,"height":1062,"caption":"Aharon N. Varady"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/"},"description":"Aharon's Omphalos is the hobbit hole of Aharon Varady, founding director of the Open Siddur Project. He is a community planner and environmental educator working to improve stewardship of the Public Domain, be it the physical and natural commons of urban park systems or the creative and cultural commons of libraries and museums. His advocacy for open-source strategies in the Jewish community has been written about in the Atlantic Magazine, the Yiddish Forverts, Tablet, and Haaretz. He is particularly interested in pedagogies for advancing ecological wisdom, developing creative and emotional intelligence, and realizing effective theurgical praxes. He welcomes your comments, personal messages, and kind words. If you find his work helpful to your own or you'd simply like to support him, please consider donating via his Patreon account.","sameAs":["https:\/\/aharon.varady.net","http:\/\/facebook.com\/aharonium","https:\/\/x.com\/http:\/\/twitter.com\/aharonium"],"url":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/author\/admin"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/sem303_10.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgdGV-yq","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1282,"url":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2012\/06\/on-the-interconnectedness-of-all-of-life-an-ecology-of-oneness-in-the-tanna-dbei-eliyahu","url_meta":{"origin":2134,"position":0},"title":"On the Interconnectedness of All of Life: An Ecology of Oneness in the Tanna d&#8217;bei Eliyahu","author":"Aharon N. Varady","date":"June 11, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I want to share one of the most beautiful Jewish ecology quotes I learned while reading through the curricular material while teaching at Teva Learning Center in (now Teva Learning Alliance) in the fall of 2010. The quote: \"The whole world of humans, animals, fish, and birds all depend on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Judaica&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Judaica","link":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/category\/yiddishkeit"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Oyster_mushroom_Pleurotus_ostreatus_mycelium_in_petri_dish_on_coffee_grounds.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Oyster_mushroom_Pleurotus_ostreatus_mycelium_in_petri_dish_on_coffee_grounds.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Oyster_mushroom_Pleurotus_ostreatus_mycelium_in_petri_dish_on_coffee_grounds.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Oyster_mushroom_Pleurotus_ostreatus_mycelium_in_petri_dish_on_coffee_grounds.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":773,"url":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2009\/11\/the-talmud-on-the-virtues-of-robots-and-cats","url_meta":{"origin":2134,"position":1},"title":"The Talmud on the Virtues of Robots and Cats","author":"Aharon N. Varady","date":"November 30, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"A few days ago Engadget blogged a story originally reported in the Israeli print media that a local family was surprised to discover that their Roomba had ingested a dangerous poisonous snake (Vipera palaestinae). (Within a few days, the story was echoed by Gizmodo, Boing Boing, and Jewschool.) In so\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Kittehs&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Kittehs","link":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/category\/miscellanies\/kittehs"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/Vipera_palaestina-Large.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/Vipera_palaestina-Large.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/Vipera_palaestina-Large.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/Vipera_palaestina-Large.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1498,"url":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2013\/05\/all-streams-one-source","url_meta":{"origin":2134,"position":2},"title":"All Streams, One Source: Shesha and the Mystery of the Four-headed Shin","author":"Aharon N. Varady","date":"May 14, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"A Midrash of the Jews of Yemen dating from the 13th century provides the following explanation for the mystery of the four-branched shin. There is one \"head\" for each of the following facets: cogitation, imagination, memory, and estimation.[ref]paraphrasing Midrash haBeur, translated in Yemenite Midrash: Philosophical Commentaries on the Torah, edited\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Music&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/category\/art\/music"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/8245225690_15c0588051_b_905.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/8245225690_15c0588051_b_905.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/8245225690_15c0588051_b_905.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/8245225690_15c0588051_b_905.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1294,"url":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2012\/07\/more-on-the-sia%e1%b8%a5-of-sua%e1%b8%a5-numinous-conversations-of-trees-and-other-vegetation","url_meta":{"origin":2134,"position":3},"title":"More on the sia\u1e25 of sua\u1e25: numinous conversations of trees and other vegetation","author":"Aharon N. Varady","date":"July 16, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"While working on some curriculum for the Teva Learning Alliance this summer, I was introduced to the Tseno Ureno, an amazing medieval commentary on the Torah by Rabbi Yaakov ben Yits\u1e25ak Ashkenazi (1550-1625). Here's Rabbi Yaakov Ashkenazi on Deuteronomy 20:19 -- \u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05a4\u05d9 \u05d4\u05b8\u05bd\u05d0\u05b8\u05d3\u05b8\u05dd\u0599 \u05e2\u05b5\u05a3\u05e5 \u05d4\u05b7\u05e9\u05b8\u05bc\u05c2\u05d3\u05b6\u0594\u05d4. This is the verse from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Mythology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Mythology","link":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/category\/yiddishkeit\/mythology"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Sukkah-Italy-1374.-British-Library-MS-Or-5024-fol-70v.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Sukkah-Italy-1374.-British-Library-MS-Or-5024-fol-70v.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Sukkah-Italy-1374.-British-Library-MS-Or-5024-fol-70v.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Sukkah-Italy-1374.-British-Library-MS-Or-5024-fol-70v.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Sukkah-Italy-1374.-British-Library-MS-Or-5024-fol-70v.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1311,"url":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2012\/07\/rosh-hashana-labeheima-a-new-year-day-for-animals-domesticated-within-human-society","url_meta":{"origin":2134,"position":4},"title":"Rosh haShanah la-Behemot: A New Year&#8217;s Day for Domesticated Animals","author":"Aharon N. Varady","date":"July 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the most delightful things I learned about Judaism growing up was that rabbinic Judaism had not one, but four new year holidays (according to the Mishnah Seder Moed 1:1). There's the well known and widely celebrated Rosh Hashanah La'Olam -- for the World -- an annual commitment to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Judaica&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Judaica","link":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/category\/yiddishkeit"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/602580_259428937501712_1846778416_n.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/602580_259428937501712_1846778416_n.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/602580_259428937501712_1846778416_n.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2725,"url":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2017\/04\/on-the-meaning-of-mimouna","url_meta":{"origin":2134,"position":5},"title":"On the Meaning of Mimouna","author":"Aharon N. Varady","date":"April 14, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"In 2007, Dr. Yigal Bin-Nun wrote a provocative article in Haaretz \u05d4\u05d0\u05e8\u05e5 on the origins of the Moroccan Jewish post-Passover festival of Mimouna. In the article, Bin-Nun speculates that Mimouna was a Judaized festival originally derived from local customs celebrating gods of Fortune. I wish to present an alternate thesis\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Mythology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Mythology","link":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/category\/yiddishkeit\/mythology"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Praveen-Gupta-DSC04926-CC-BY-SA.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Praveen-Gupta-DSC04926-CC-BY-SA.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Praveen-Gupta-DSC04926-CC-BY-SA.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2134"}],"version-history":[{"count":37,"href":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2134\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3133,"href":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2134\/revisions\/3133"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}