Dear all,

We had to get an x-ray of Eli鈥檚 hand this week. (He鈥檚 100% fine!)

But as I watched his tiny fingers appear in shades of white and shadow, I was reminded of the Hebrew word for 鈥渂one鈥�:聽etzem听(注侄爪侄诐).

In Hebrew,聽etzem聽doesn鈥檛 just mean聽bone:

It means聽core.

It means聽essence.

It means聽true self.

It means聽identity聽鈥� the part of you that is unshakable.

Our bones are what remain when everything else falls away.

They are what holds us up, what gives us shape, what endures.

So when we say,聽鈥淚 can feel it in my bones,鈥�聽we鈥檙e not speaking about anatomy.

We鈥檙e speaking about the deepest place inside us 鈥� the place where our truth lives.

So I ask:

What is the etzem of you?

What are the values you hold so firmly that they shape your footsteps, your words, your way of being in the world?

What part of you is so essential, so true, that even when life gets loud, confusing, or painful 鈥� it remains?

Because here鈥檚 the beautiful part:

When we let that truest, deepest part of ourselves be seen 鈥�

when we live from our聽etzem聽鈥�

the world in that moment in time does, in fact, become brighter, more honest, more whole.

May we have the courage to live from our bones.

From our essence.

From our etzem.

With love and shalom,

Rabbi Zachary R. Shapiro