As I am overcome with grief for the violence against the Jews and Palestinians, not entirely between them, I am taken back to an early novel I wrote to explore that on-going relationship and conflict. In the late seventies, I was asked if I knew the story of my name. I opened the Bible my father had given me forty years before when I was a child and began to search the glossary. What I found astonished me.
Leslie Tuchman here. I have been thinking of you constantly over the past few days. Such overwhelm and pressure here to take one side or another. Dualistic thinking has always had me wondering about our minds. Absolutely, the OPEN HEART is what has been so elusive and a challenge in our lifetime. My thought the other day was, "What wisdom seeker can I talk to??" You came to my mind instantly !!! Thank you for making such an impact in my life over so many years!!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart and soul. The heart does not lie, even though too often we think that we know something the heart does not, giving us a reason to disregard the heart's whispers. Thank you for speaking from the heart, from the bedrock of a truth that transcends our 'normal' understanding yet is so solid and so real
That was so beautiful, thank you Deena. The only real change that can happen will be from the women’s voices and actions. Your voice is one that resonates with a clear ring.
Thank you for these stories. How I would love to read the book! Meanwhile, I will carry this phrase in my heart: "no protection will come from the escalation of violence." Thank you for the clarity in this transmission. Alas it is useful even here, far from frontlines, in the realm of lake-facing activism. Sending love and gratitude from the lake shore.
Oh my beloved, so beautiful and so needed. What Dinah Thought was the first novel of yours I read, and I love it to this day. In these last dark weeks I have been holding you in my heart, and I have thought of your eloquent book. I look forward to re-reading it when I return home, where it is thankfully on my bookshelves. (We're in Eureka just now.) Thank you so much for writing this. I had not heard the story of your connection with the Bedouin woman in Sinai, the exchange of rings. Gorgeous. Healing. Wondrous. And vital medicine for us all. As are you.
Thank you for this gift of your wisdom and exploration - I am utterly aligned with this central idea - that unless we see the other as ourselves we cannot understand how to move out of this story of duality and destruction we think we have to live.
As you know from my history, loving the enemy was my way to finding peace in the story I had been handed.
Reading what Dinah had to say and sending you love and deeply felt gratitude for showing us all the way out of the darkness of our own hearts.
Thank you, Deena !
Leslie Tuchman here. I have been thinking of you constantly over the past few days. Such overwhelm and pressure here to take one side or another. Dualistic thinking has always had me wondering about our minds. Absolutely, the OPEN HEART is what has been so elusive and a challenge in our lifetime. My thought the other day was, "What wisdom seeker can I talk to??" You came to my mind instantly !!! Thank you for making such an impact in my life over so many years!!
Sending an open heart and gratitude,
Leslie Tuchman, LMFT
Thank you from the bottom of my heart and soul. The heart does not lie, even though too often we think that we know something the heart does not, giving us a reason to disregard the heart's whispers. Thank you for speaking from the heart, from the bedrock of a truth that transcends our 'normal' understanding yet is so solid and so real
That was so beautiful, thank you Deena. The only real change that can happen will be from the women’s voices and actions. Your voice is one that resonates with a clear ring.
Dear Deena -
I remember reading "What Dinah Thought" when it first came out.
It was powerful, vivid, undeniable - I still see images from it in my mind.
And I, like you, am praying for a way to peace in what we call The Holy Land.
Years ago, a writer friend of mine said, "All of the world's sacred places are bathed in blood."
That has never felt so true as it does at this moment.
But the blood does not make the place more holy; it desecrates it.
I grieve for all the people in Israel and Gaza - and in Ukraine.
And I thank you for your lifelong practice, your writing, your caring, your calling.
With love and gratitude -
Michele
"Everything we need and desire will come from opening our hearts to each other as kin." This is it. Thank you, Deena.
Thank you Deena for your words and as always the invitation to look within and ask the hard questions . I bow to you ...
Thank you for these stories. How I would love to read the book! Meanwhile, I will carry this phrase in my heart: "no protection will come from the escalation of violence." Thank you for the clarity in this transmission. Alas it is useful even here, far from frontlines, in the realm of lake-facing activism. Sending love and gratitude from the lake shore.
Oh my beloved, so beautiful and so needed. What Dinah Thought was the first novel of yours I read, and I love it to this day. In these last dark weeks I have been holding you in my heart, and I have thought of your eloquent book. I look forward to re-reading it when I return home, where it is thankfully on my bookshelves. (We're in Eureka just now.) Thank you so much for writing this. I had not heard the story of your connection with the Bedouin woman in Sinai, the exchange of rings. Gorgeous. Healing. Wondrous. And vital medicine for us all. As are you.
Spectacular Deena. I am so grateful for your heart in this world!
Also deep gratitude for the other comments!
Thanks for this. I have been creeping toward a post about the Dysfunctional Family of Abraham… This helps me.
PS - used copies of the book are available… And it is archived at https://openlibrary.org/works/OL3354155W/What_Dinah_thought
Thank you for this gift of your wisdom and exploration - I am utterly aligned with this central idea - that unless we see the other as ourselves we cannot understand how to move out of this story of duality and destruction we think we have to live.
As you know from my history, loving the enemy was my way to finding peace in the story I had been handed.
Reading what Dinah had to say and sending you love and deeply felt gratitude for showing us all the way out of the darkness of our own hearts.