Ruby-crowned Kinglet : A Picture’s Worth
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
This is a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. These are notoriously frenetic birds, and they often tend to stay deep in the foliage. Add that their eyes are deep-set, making it particularly challenging to get an angle with the sun’s glint. Kinglets are definitely amongst the most photographically challenging birds in my area. I have just bought a brand-new camera, and it’s my new gear I used to receive this photo. It’s fair to say I’m thrilled with my new kit. This camera has technology five years newer than my previous one, and the result is that I now have access to all kinds of new capabilities. I never want to be an artist who blames - or overly credits - his tools, but I do have to wonder if my earlier version would have empowered me in the same way. Doubtful.
Most weekdays, Jews employ “gear” during their morning prayers. Tefillin are small black leather boxes containing parchment scrolls inscribed with Biblical passages. These boxes are tied on the arm and set on the brow between the eyes. There are minor differences in custom between different communities, but an ancestor from Talmudic times would immediately recognize modern observance as entirely familiar. The “why” of this ritual has been explained in various ways. Some see tefillin as a magic amulet, a characterization I find uncompelling. Instead, it is the palpable, tactile presence, the physicality of these prayers next to my heart and brain that makes me appreciate the ritual. Tefillin help us bridge the spiritual and temporal worlds.
Juxtaposing a digital camera and utterly analog tefillin may seem a bit odd. The former has a lifespan of just a few years; the latter have been used identically for thousands of years. Both, though, enable us to express our deepest visions, our most profound desires to share our message. Art is an idea made tangible for sharing with others; prayer is the feelings of our heart shaped into words. Could we find other methods to give voice to these expressions? Of course. But humans’ nature is uniquely composed of both the physical and the Divinely infused. I consider this Kinglet’s photo an offering, to God and my community. May my continued growth, physical and spiritual, bring much joy and inspiration to all with whom I am privileged to learn together.