Ampersand Gazette #67
Welcome to the Ampersand Gazette, a metaphysical take on some of the news of the day. If you know others like us, who want to create a world that includes and works for everyone, please feel free to share this newsletter. The sign-up is here. And now, on with the latest …
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After Such Violence, the Center Must Hold
“Things fall apart; the center cannot hold.” William Butler Yeats wrote these words in his poem “The Second Coming” in a different time of violence and fear. The year was 1919. … By “center,” he’s referring not to some kind of moderate political middle but rather to the moral center of civilization. When the moral center gives way, nations fall.
I thought of those words again when I saw the blood on Donald Trump’s ear on Saturday. Now is the time for America’s moral center to rise up and declare—with one voice, neither red nor blue—“Enough.” We either recover our sense of decency and basic respect for the humanity of our opponents, or we will see, in Yeats’s words, the “blood-dimmed tide” loosed in our land.
The cultural conditions for chaos are created by a lack of courage and character. … How does the center hold? … Each of us has our own role to play, in our own circles of influence, either big or small. There has rarely been a better time to love our enemies, to pray for our nation and to remember—during one of the most fraught political campaigns in generations—that each and every one of us is a human being, created in the image of God.
excerpted from an Essay by David French in The New York Times
After Such Violence, the Center Must Hold
July 9, 2024
I appreciated David French’s words after the assassination attempt, but I think he’s campaigning for the wrong things. Every bit of his argument hinges on what he means by the center.
He alleges that Yeats means the moral center of civilization. I wonder, though, do civilizations even have moral centers? Doesn’t that anthropomorphize civilization too much? I think it does. It goes along with another centering that I disagree with: that corporations have moral centers.
Really? Um, I don’t think so. Civilizations and corporations have one particular thing in common. One. The one that in this essay remains the Elephant in the Middle of the Room. Both are formed by humans. So, for that matter are healthcare systems. Do they have moral centers? So, also, are religions and their concomitant buildings—churches, temples, synagogues, storefronts. Also, formed by humans.
Now we’re getting somewhere. Because, ideally, humans—oh, but I have to interrupt myself again! Humans collective, humanity, humankind does not have a moral center either.
Individuals each have their own moral center.
That’s why I disagree with Mr. French. The world situation isn’t about nations falling, or civilizations crumbling, or institutions dissolving. It’s about individual humans, who, one at a time, have lost our way. And why?
Because we’ve put our faith in the wrong places. We’ve put our faith in structures, systems, and scaffoldings outside us when truly fulfilled, contented human life is meant to be lived from the inside-out.
Sure, I’ll go along with recovering our sense of decency, but not as a collective, as persons, as souls, as incarnate creatures who come here with meaning and a purpose. Let’s throw in basic respect, too, whilst we’re at it. First, for the Divine. Then for self. Then, and only then, for others.
Those individual others who make up those corporations and civilizations and systems and structures and scaffoldings.
When exterior structures fall apart, Beloved, it’s a message. Put simply: things need to change, and if we aren’t going to get down to making those changes from within ourselves, and then our relationships, and then our families, and then our homes, our towns, our states, our countries, our world, then things fall apart.
This week, in the midst of all this upheaval, which is, I am certain, all for our ultimate good, take a good, long look in the mirror. How’s your moral center?
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A Pioneering New York Rabbi Says Goodbye
to Her L.G.B.T.Q.+ Congregation
James Estrin for The New York Times
“I never let it upset me,” Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum said. “I didn’t need them to tell me that I, or our community, are worthwhile. My job, I felt, was to listen and help people see that their words and actions were coming from a place of fear and anxiety and that hate wasn’t the only response to have.”
In the years since 1973, Rabbi Kleinbaum’s synagogue, Congregation Beit Simchat Torah in Midtown Manhattan, has grown to become the largest L.G.B.T.Q. congregation in the country. And she has become a national leader in the civil rights movement for L.G.B.T.Q. Americans and their fight for acceptance within Judaism.
Rabbi Kleinbaum, 64, is retiring this summer after a career that put her at the forefront of social change in New York and beyond. Her progressive vision for Judaism was embraced by her congregation, and she became a confidante to liberal political leaders.
When she was first hired, however, Rabbi Kleinbaum’s very presence was seen by some as a provocation. When word got out that a lesbian rabbi was leading a gay synagogue, she said, she received menacing letters and phone calls. In 1993, a death threat led to a police presence inside and outside the synagogue during Sukkot, the Jewish harvest celebration. Even within her congregation, some members initially objected to having a woman as their spiritual leader.
“My community was under attack by a virus, neglected by the government and hated by the society,” she said. “I understood the power of prayer, of creating community and of being present.”
“She is really a rabbi’s rabbi,” said Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld, president of Hebrew College in Newton, Mass. “She’s so highly regarded across a lot of divides and brings together the pastoral and the political seamlessly while drawing from a very deep well of Jewish learning.”
In late June, Rabbi Kleinbaum wrapped her prayer shawl over her head, whispered a blessing in Hebrew and walked to the front of her congregation’s sanctuary, which was enveloped by giant rainbow banners. As she began to lead one of her last services as senior rabbi, she was overcome with feelings of “inconsolable sadness and ecstatic joy,” she said.
As it came time to sing “Lekha Dodi,” a 16th-century mystical poem welcoming the “Sabbath bride,” she exhorted her congregants to sing from the heart.
“Everybody has it hard,” she said. “But we can model what it means to find joy even in the midst of hardship. Even in the midst of despair, even in the midst of fear and anxiety. And we can create a different future.”
“Joy,” she told the gathering, “is an act of spiritual and political resistance.”
excerpted from a feature by James Estrin in The New York Times
A Pioneering New York Rabbi Says Goodbye to Her L.G.B.T.Q. Congregation
July 13, 2024
I don’t know Rabbi Kleinbaum, but, like so many others, I admire her. Her path cannot have been easy, or, certainly not, smooth sailing. The collection of diverse communities she serves implicitly attests to that—LGBTQ+ peoples—there’s a reason for what some call the ‘alphabet soup’ of letters—and the least of that is multiply diverse. Add to that Jewish peoples—again multiplicity galore.
So here is this marvelous essay and photographs that sing out unmistakably of celebration, of unity, of community, detailing thirty-two years of daily service. Of course we want to celebrate her and to celebrate with her, and let us do so with gladness.
But, let us also remember the years Rabbi Sharon stood her ground within Judaism for the right to be both Jewish and Queer.
Let us remember the nights she wept because beautiful men carried a death sentence as they were criminally neglected by scientists, researchers, governments, and healthcare systems.
Let us remember the fear that had to spike under the courage she evinced in the face of death threats.
Let us remember the courage it takes to state publicly that she is a rabbi who loves Palestinians and Israelis.
Let us remember the songs she has sung with her congregation when she was so tired that she could barely take each next step.
Let us recall her adamant love in the face of the men in her own congregation who opposed her leadership because of her gender.
Let us not lose sight of the true service of this blessed instrument of the divine because it’s not all unicorn horns and rainbows, not all, but it is unicorns and rainbows enough that at the end of her devoted dedication she was able to say without irony:
“Everybody has it hard,” she said. “But we can model what it means to find joy even in the midst of hardship. Even in the midst of despair, even in the midst of fear and anxiety. And we can create a different future. Joy,” she told the gathering, “is an act of spiritual and political resistance.”
May G-d bless you richly, Rabbi Sharon. Thank you for your service, and may whatever different future you create be a blessing to you each and every precious moment.
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Here’s a universal affirmation. It works every time, for everyone, always and forever …
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And in publishing news …
A BIG ASK … PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE
If you have bought Jezebel Rising, and liked it, I have a personal request to make.
There is a special promotion I want to do for the series, but I need to have over ten 4+Star reviews on Amazon Kindle to qualify.
If you loved it, would you please take a few minutes of your valuable time to go HERE, and write Jezebel a review? Thank you, thank you, thank you!
P.S. There is no charge for Jezebel on any platform, but I do need you to have a Verified Purchase to quality.
Here’s a recent one that’s amazing—
Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2024
wonderful read, totally delightful, a rare 5 stars from me! At first it felt too "polly-annish", what with unlimited wealth & profoundly loving familial relationships, but then the author found her rhythm & i truly enjoyed myself. The metaphysics are solid & the novel is long enough to go in depth on so many levels. Brava!
If you want the paperbacks of The Subversive Lovelies, look carefully. There are Two Volumes for each title.
If you want the Kindle, there’s One File for each title.
The first two of the tetralogy, Jezebel Rising and Jasmine Increscent can be found at these live links for ebooks and paperbacks. And here’s Gemma Eclipsing …
which is still on THREE AMAZON BESTSELLER LISTS! And has been on four!! Metaphysical Fiction, LGBTQ+ Fiction, Women’s Historical Fiction, Historical Literary Fiction.
SO I’M KEEPING IT FREE FOR AS LONG AS IT REMAINS IN THE TOP 50!!
OKLAHOMA! HEX IS STILL ON THE METAPHYSICAL FICTION BESTSELLER LIST AND HAS BEEN SINCE APRIL 18TH!!!
I finished the first draft of Jacqueline Retrograde on July 5th, the look-back at the eldest Bailey sibling’s story. It ended up being quite the romp to write, and did I have fun. Now comes the meticulous attention to detail part of writing. I’ve reread the book and am happy with it. I’ve written the Historical Notes. I’ve just got one other major step which I call Evil Words.
Evil Words is a single Word docx with four columns of single words or short phrases that I use as sort of placeholders when I’m writing a book the first time through. Words like: looked, seemed, just, little. Everyday words, yes, but also words that in one book can sound overused. So I search each instance of each one, and replace most of them to more interesting versions, often better verbs. It can feel like it’s taking a long time, but it’s well worth it in the end because my editor doesn’t have to point them out, and because it makes the book better.
Jaq’s story will definitely come out in two separate launches—#3.5 Jacqueline Retrograde, and #4 Jaq Direct. I’m hoping to have Jacqueline Retrograde out by my birthday mid-October.
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You know this, but I have someone holding my writing career with me. It makes a world of difference. He makes connections both in my writing and in my career that I never see. It’s really quite miraculous. Now, I have to admit mine is a live-in guy for me, but that’s because I finally got smart enough to marry the man.
Anyway, do you have need of someone to partner with to make sure you get with and stick with your book ideas? Seriously. I know a guy. He’s edited my books for twenty years, and counting.
Tony Amato is a singularly outstanding book coach and editor. May I encourage you to reach out if you need book-husbanding, which includes coaching along the way? Like I said, if you need anything in your writing life, Tony Amato is the person. Without him, my books—both fiction and nonfiction—would be nowhere near as good as they are. Find him here.
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As part of my research for the top-secret fiction series, I’m delving into paranormal fiction, particularly those series designed to be all about saving the world through supernatural means, but now I’m looking at each one through a bit of a different lens.
Since the first time I heard a version of The Creation Story of Judeo-Christian practice, I’ve been fascinated by Origin Stories. I’ve just started a remarkable 25-book series by C. L. Quinn called The Firsts. The first one, which is $1.99 to buy, is called Forbidden Days. I highly recommend it. The series is, as are most Origin Stories, about love at the core of everything. I’m up to the fifth one now, and planning to read them all.
Before you start to worry that I’m slipping into action hero ideas, guess again. No, I’m so over the hero’s journey. Lone agent must give up love to save the world from utter devastation. Uh, no thanks. That’s been done.
Instead I’m a HUGE FAN of Gail Carriger’s book The Heroine’s Journey, which, believe it or not, made me cry when I first read it. I’d been writing the heroine’s journey forever—in The Mex Mysteries, and in The Boots & Boas Romances, and now in The Subversive Lovelies. What I didn’t know was what to call it.
It starts with a woman who’s capable—as they say in the publishing and film industries: strong female lead—who knows her own limitations, and in need of saving the world on a timeline, forms a team, or, a team forms around her. They work together to get the job done, and there’s always, always, always love in the center of their service. Also, way fewer chase scenes. Way.
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Are you waiting for a sign?
How about this one?
Does an empty stage hold the
enchantment for you that it does for me?
I never see one
that I don’t think of endless possibility.
As Pema Chodron is known for saying,
“Things fall apart.”
And it’s true, they do.
And at the moment, it looks like they are,
at warp speed.
When things end,
Beloved,
things begin.
Please, be extra good to yourself and the rest of us,
and remember this.
I am, without doubt, certain that And is the secret to all we desire.
Let’s commit to practicing And ever more diligently, shall we?
Until next time,
Be Ampersand.
S.