this is an official personal post

i had a rabbi (an orthodox one) explain to me once that the reason that women are exempt from time-related laws in the jewish tradition is because these laws (such as observing the first day of each month) serve the purpose of keeping people in touch with the passage of time, connecting them to nature, the movement of the spheres, the tides, etc. since women have their own "built-in" system of time-dictated ebbing and flowing, they don't need external reminders like men do. this was the beginning of my spiritual connection to my body and nature.

i had another teacher (a kind of a rabbi i guess) explain once that what makes humans free is their ability to have control over time and what they do with it. that is why, in part, slavery is such an egregious violation of humanity: it takes away people's ability to control time. and this is why the sabbath (and, by extension, the weekend, brought to you by unions) is so important: it's one day where you're literally commanded not to succumb to other people's constraints on how you use your time.

this is why, i think, i've been so out of whack lately ...