Polar Vortex

As I write this we are in the midst of another cold spell. The wind whips across the open fields and the air is a frigid blast from the polar vortex.  The sun shines on the frozen landscape and tires crunch on ice on the roads. Our lives feel disrupted as events are canceled, schools and businesses operate on two-hour delays or are closed altogether. Even our membership that relocates to the warmth of sunny Florida for the winter reports that it is cold - they have had to put on sweaters and turn on the heat!

In the Talmud, tractate Avodah Zarah, “Our Rabbis taught:When Adam, the first human, saw the day getting gradually shorter, he said, 'Woe is me, perhaps because I have sinned, the world around me is being darkened and returning to its state of chaos and confusion; this then is the kind of death to which I have been sentenced from Heaven!' So he began keeping an eight days' fast. But as he observed the winter equinox and noted the day getting increasingly longer, he said, 'This is the world's course', and he set forth to keep an eight days' festivity. In the following year he appointed both the days before and the days after the equinox as festivals.” (Bavli Avodah Zarah 8a).

When it is cold and dark, when the days are short and the nights are longer, we often feel like the first Adam. He worries that the world is returning to the chaos that preceded creation, concerned that warmth and light are disappearing. But when he sees that the light is returning, that the days are growing longer, his fears are eased, and he celebrates both the days leading up to the equinox as they grow shorter, and the days following, as the hours of light lengthen.
 
There is a reason that we talk so much about the weather this time of year. When it’s -5 with a windchill of -25, when the bitter wind whistles outside and the cold air makes it hard to take a breath, we notice much more than when the weather is pleasant and does not disrupt our plans. It is harder to see the changes that are taking place day by day when it is dark and cold. But Adam’s story teaches us that even when things seem dark and cold around us, not to despair, because the sun will shine again, the days will lengthen, and what has been growing slowly will blossom in days to come.

Snow Women of the Wall, Jerusalem

We aren’t the only ones experiencing colder than normal winter weather.

Renewal On Tu B'Shevat

Shevat, the Hebrew month that usually coincides with February, is the beginning of Spring in Israel.  The rains lessen, the sun comes out, and the sap beings to rise in the fruit trees.  Tiny leaf buds appear and almost overnight, the almond trees seem to burst into bloom. This is a time for rejoicing, for celebrating the New Year of the trees on the 15th day of Shevat, or Tu B’Shevat, corresponding to the Hebrew letters “Tet” (9) and “Vav” (6), which add up to 15.

The holiday of Tu B’Shevat is not mentioned in the Bible.  It marks the beginning of a new cycle for the tithe on fruit trees.  Before the great Temple was destroyed in Jerusalem in 70 CE, ten percent of all produce was set aside for the priests and the poor.  When the Temple was destroyed, this tithing ceased.  Yet, the principles are still relevant today and it is why we continue to observe Tu B’Shevat by planting trees, sharing the bounty of the land with those in need, and allowing fields to lie fallow during the sabbatical year (every seventh year), and taking care of the earth so it will sustain future generations.

The early chalutzim (pioneers) in Israel celebrated Tu B’Shevat by planting trees.  This practice continues today.  Jewish communities around the world also celebrate Tu B’Shevat as a kind of Jewish earth day, organizing events that express a Jewish commitment to protecting the earth.

In the early 1600s, The Kabbalists, the Jewish mystics of Tzfat created a new tradition.  They saw Tu B’Shevat as a holiday which connected the revival of nature after the long winter and the revival of the Jewish people.  They created a seder which included readings about trees, planting and nature, the ingathering of the Jewish exiles and the covenant of the people of Israel with God; and the eating of fruits and nuts. So, the birthday of the trees is also the birthday of the tree of life, a moment when God needs our human presence to witness the annual renewal of life. As we eat fruits and nuts, drink wine or grape juice and read from a special Tu B'Shevat Haggadah, we celebrate the new year of the trees, rejoicing in the abundant gifts of nature which give our senses delight and our bodies life.

Send-Off Shabbat

My sabbatical renewal started with a really lovely send-off Shabbat service and dinner. It was a very special evening. And I was especially touched to see so many members of our Temple family there and to hear so many heartfelt well wishes for our family! I feel blessed to have a supportive group who have helped to plan this renewal time for our congregation while I’m on sabbatical and to have this great opportunity. The last few weeks have had a very rushed and busy feel as I’ve been trying to get everything taken care of, and remember what details others might need to know. Even though I have been looking forward to this time, I was surprised by the challenge of letting go. In one of my books I used to prepare for my sabbatical leave is a list of “The Top Reasons for Not Taking A Sabbatical”. Among the reasons are:

• You can’t stand all the free time with family and friends
• The congregation might be able to function without me
• You don’t have anything to wear except work clothes
• Maybe people in the congregation will forget my name
• I might forget how to lead services
• Too much rest, prayer, travel and renewal
• Won’t be able to use burn-out as an excuse anymore

So I read this list and I had a good laugh, and then serendipitously into my mailbox popped a message that said “Trusting the Process” . I didn’t really need to read further – like, whoa, there’s a message! And I realized this was a message for me –it said “take some time for meditation and reflection, the moments of introspection are important because they allow me to see my life in a broader context. The activities then take on greater meaning because I feel more conscious and aware of WHY I am doing them.”

That’s after all what a sabbatical is about. In the Torah portion for that Shabbat it even says “On six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there shall be a Shabbat of complete rest, a sacred occasion. You shall do not work; it shall be a Sabbath of God throughout your settlements” (Lev. 23:3) And next week’s portion tells us about the sabbatical year: “When you enter the land that I assign to you, the land shall observe a Sabbath of Adonai. Six years you may sow your field and six years you may prune your vineyard and gather in the yield. But in the seventh year, the land shall have a Sabbath of complete rest, a Sabbath of the Eternal.” Leviticus 25:2-4

So, sabbatical is sacred time, time for rest, renewal and reJEWvenation. I look forward to returning, renewed and refreshed.

I am deeply grateful to Temple Israel’s lay leadership for their willingness to grant us this time away. And my great thanks to all who have worked hard on planning our renewal programs, and have volunteered to provide coverage for Shabbat services. Thank you so much for making this possible! And second, I am especially grateful to have received a Lilly grant, which makes it possible for me to take this sabbatical. So, thank you to the Lilly Foundation.

So, at the onset of this journey, I pray for all of you that God’s blessing be upon you while I am gone from you, that you may experience growth and learning, a renewal of spirit, of new connections to one another and to our Jewish tradition, through study, music, and community.

In the words that we as Jews pray at the beginning of every journey, the words of Tefilat Haderech, the Traveler’s Prayer (this is the setting by Debbie Friedman):

May we be blessed as we go on our way
May we be guided in peace.
May we be blessed with health and joy.
May we be sheltered by the wings of peace.
May we be kept in safety and in love.
May grace and compassion find their way to every soul.
May this be our blessing. Amen