48
" Once upon a time, [the guru] said, when God had finished making the world, he wanted to leave behind Him for man a piece of His own divinity, a spark of His essence, a promise to man of what he could become, with effort. He looked for a place to hide this Godhead because, he explained, what man could find too easily would never be valued by him." Then you must hide the Godhead on the highest mountain peak on earth," said one of His councilors.God shook His head. " No, for man is an adventuresome creature and he will soon enough learn to climb the highest mountain peaks." " Hide it then, O Great One, in the depths of the earth!" " I think not," said God, " for man will one day discover that he can dig into the deepest parts of the earth." " In the middle of the ocean then, Master?" God shook His head. " I've given man a brain, you see, and one day he'll learn to build ships and cross the mightiest oceans." " Where then, Master?" cried His councilors.God smiled. " I'll hide it in the most inaccessible place of all, and the one place that man will never think to look for it. I'll hide it deep inside of man himself. "
57
" The sun glanced off a long, wicked looking knife in the Comanche's grip. At least Cash wouldn't have long to mourn. The other Indians held similar weapons, but they hung back as their leader knelt next to Sullivan. He muttered something, low and guttural, a single syllable that sounded like an insult, then picked up a lock of Sullivan's hair. The knife descended toward his scalp. " No!" Reese shouted. " Me." The Comanche paused and stared at him with a spark of interest, almost admiration. But that couldn't be since the Indian had no idea what Reese was saying. He continued to try anyway. " Me first." He struggled, wishing he could use his hands to point at himself. " Shut the hell up, Reese," Sullivan said. " What possible difference does it make who they kill first?" " Who knows what might happen. While they're working on me, anyone could show up and save the rest of you." " In that case, me first," Cash drawled. " Me." " No. Yo primero!" " Kid, I'm the only one without a wife and far too many children. No one would miss me." " I would." The words were punctuated by the distinct sound of a rifle being cocked. All eyes turned toward the man who had appeared at the edge of the clearing. Cash's sigh of relief was in direct contrast to the sneer in his voice. " About damn time, Rev. We've been waitin' on you. "
60
" We are images of Adonai, and are responsible for one another, and for taking care of all on earth created by Adonai: just as Adonai is responsible for everything created. We learned to differentiate between good and evil. We can even create order out of chaos, as Adonai did on day one. We not only procreate, but also teach the next generations. (Deuteronomy 6:7). All of these abilities and responsibilities, we inherited when created in the image of Adonai. Every person also has a spark of Adonai within. We can choose to ignore this, or to embrace this. We have the power of choice. With this great power, comes great responsibility. You see, not only were we given the ability to reason, but also, we have the ability to create a new and different future, because we have the ability to change, both ourselves, and the world. "
― Laura Weakley , What The Torah Teaches Us About Life / Through The Themes Of The Weekly Torah Portions (4)