Ravished

   More from Chaim Bentorah (see 6/14 post).   I have to say that this man packs more eye-opening insight and depth of understanding into three-page chapters than anyone I've ever read.

 Livabethini: Ravished (or the closest English word we have, since there is no literal translation for it). [Song of Solomon 4:9]

   We all know how vulnerable we become when we fall in love and open our heart completely to another. The root of this word, according to Chaim, is levav, or heart. And since beth, which can mean both heart and home, is also used in the form of a 'double beth', "it depicts 'two hearts opening up to each other and becoming equally vulnerable."
   The Almighty God vulnerable? Indeed.  Once again, Chaim gives us an analogy from daily life, using the image of a tree being stripped of its bark and thus being made vulnerable to wounding. He says that livabethini has also been used in other Hebrew literature to describe that very thing. Or the king with his great wealth and mighty army who is still at the mercy of the woman he loves.
   Adonai loves us so greatly and deeply that when we reject or ignore Him, or are too busy to spend time with Him, we have the power to break His heart. We obliviously walk away from Him when He so longs to be with us, the way a lover longs to be with his beloved.  Whether we are man or woman, Adonai's heart can break with love for us.
  Resist the tyranny of the urgent. Turn, run back and wrap your arms around Him.  His are wide open.