#elf nesting

1 - Blessed are you, G-d, Gardener of the universe, who creates fruits of the vine.

Don’t Hesitate, Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.

2 - Blessed are You, G-d, Artist of the universe, who shaped all of creation in the spirit of honor and glory.

The Nature of Middle Earth, J.R.R. Tolkien “To speak of Quenya: Love, which Men might call “friendship” ... was represented by mel. This was primarily a motion or inclination of the fea, and therefore could occur between persons of the same sex or different sexes. Such persons were often called melotorni ‘love-brothers’ and meletheldi ‘love-sisters.’”

3 - Blessed are You, G-d, Parent of the universe, who creates human beings.

People-Shaped Universes, Nikita Gill Someone once told me, We are the universe expressing itself as a human for a while. It makes me think of every person I meet as their own little universe, each with their own planets of thoughts and solar systems of dreams and galaxies of emotions in their bloodstreams. People are so much bigger on the inside than they seem on the outside. Imagine a whole world of universes constantly bumping into each other, listening and learning and sometimes, just sometimes, building a perishable forever together.

4 - Blessed are You, G-d, Parent of the universe, creating human beings in Your own image, establishing those human beings as the foundation of an everlasting stream of creation. Blessed are You, G-d, who creates human beings.

Sonnet 116, William Shakespeare Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments; love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove. O no, it is an ever-fixèd mark That looks on tempests and is never shaken; It is the star to every wand'ring bark Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. Love's not time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks Within his bending sickle's compass come. Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, But bears it out even to the edge of doom: If this be error and upon me proved, I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

5 - May all whose hearts were closed now feel openness and joy. May fields that were dry now be blessed with rain. May we gather in our loved ones who had previously been scattered. Blessed are You, G-d, who rejoices in resilience and togetherness.

All About Love, bell hooks “Fear is the primary force upholding structures of domination. It promotes the desire for separation, the desire not to be known. When we are taught that safety lies always with sameness, then difference, of any kind, will appear as a threat. When we choose to love, we choose to move against fear, against alienation and separation. The choice to love is a choice to connect, to find ourselves in the other."

6 - Bestow joy, oh joyful G-d, on these beloved companions, just as you bestowed joy on Your dear creations in the Garden of Eden. Blessed are You, G-d, who brings joy to those who join together in a covenant of love.

The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien “I feel the air is stuffy,” said the Dwarf. “This wood is lighter than Mirkwood, but it is musty and shabby.” “It is old, very old,” said the Elf. “So old that almost I feel young again, as I have not felt since I journeyed with you children. It is old and full of memory. I could have been happy here, if I had come in days of peace.” “I dare say you could,” snorted Gimli. “You are a Wood-elf, anyway, though Elves of any kind are strange folk. Yet you comfort me. Where you go, I will go.” [and in a later chapter] “This is more to my liking,” said the dwarf, stamping on the stones. “Ever my heart rises as we draw near the mountains. There is good rock here. This country has tough bones. I felt them in my feet as we came up from the dike. Give me a year and a hundred of my kin and I would make this a place that armies would break upon like water.” “I do not doubt it,” said Legolas. “But you are a dwarf, and dwarves are strange folk. I do not like this place, and I shall like it no more by the light of day. But you comfort me, Gimli, and I am glad to have you standing nigh with your stout legs and your hard axe.”

7 - Blessed are you, G-d, Breath of the universe, who created joy and gladness, companion and beloved, rejoicing, dancing and celebration, love, friendship, peace and solidarity. Oh G-d, let there soon be the sound of joy and happiness in all of our cities and all of our streets, the voices of those we join together in loving covenant, and the voice of beloved companions who exult from within the shelter of their love and community, and the voices of all who rejoice at tables overflowing with wonder. Blessed are you, G-d, who brings joy to those who love.