THE TWILIGHT IN OUR LIVES

 The Babylonian Talmud states, "for twilight lasts but for the blink of an eye: night enters, and day departs."  We have all used the expression, "in the blink of an eye......." referring to experiences such as how fast our kids have grown up (it SEEMED like we blinked and then they were adults!) or how an accident or a medical diagnosis changed our lives on a dime.  Rabbi David Stern of Dallas, Texas wrote an interesting article in his Temple's newsletter, concerning the transition of time, between night and day and the topic of death.  "If [our loved ones] have struggled with debilitating illness of mind or body, we say they were not themselves long before the last breath left them-sometimes the twilight seems sorrowfully long and we say, 'She left us long ago.'  And sometimes life is snuffed out in an instant, at the height of someone's powers.  And we wish there had been any twilight at all- even the blink of an eye.  And we weep our tears on our long paths and in our shattered instants.  And we find our way in the inexorable rhythm of things:  'Night enters and day departs.'  My wish in 2012 is that you relish every twilight you are privileged to enjoy.