BLAH

BS"D


It's a real challenge for me to remain closely engaged with my work today. I re-cut my quill before I began work & it looked good, but I discovered as I wrote that unless I kept *exactly* the correct angle with each stroke, the wide ones were too thin & the thin ones were too wide. So there was not the contrast ideal for well executed ST"M. After battling with the quill to discover what I'd done to my instrument to cause it to behave this way, I realised that it was because the very tip was just a hair too thin. In other words, I'd sharpened it too much & it didn't retain it's shape under the pressure I put on it. It kept bending, but it was subtle, so it took me a while to figure out what was going on mechanically. I cut it again. This is one of the disadvantages of not having a mentor near me who I can consult with.

I've also been taking frequent breaks today, partly because my writing isn't at it's very best & I find that discouraging (I'm the sort who doesn't have patience with the "off days" we all have) & partly because I've had trouble deepening my focus. Very distractable today...so I keep breaking & re-centre-ing so that my mind is in Sefer Torah space.

All this being said, I'm pleased to report that I've written all or part of the following Parshiyot: Haazinu, Bo, Shoftim, Vayechi, Pinchas, Mishpatim, Piqudey, Sh'mot, Yitro, Va'eira & Ki Teytzey.

& then I look at the news & see thousands of souls have drowned & left this world. Why does G@d make tsunamis?
Is writing a Torah useless in the face of death or is it all the more vital?