Va-eira

With Tu B’Shevat coming up we look forward to our Spring festivals, Purim, Pesach and Shavuot not far behind.  Special readings, special customs and, of course, special foods accompany each celebration. I’m looking forward to that taste of dried fruits, that first hamantaschen, that sharp bite of a Hillel sandwich. Our taste buds are our storehouses of memories.

Our Tu B’Shevat Seder will be the first in-person Seder we have had since before Covid – and we are greatly looking forward to being together. We aren’t seeing too many blossoms yet, but there are sure to be a few bulbs peeking through the ground very soon. I often think of those seeds and roots and bulbs beneath the earth’s surface; they are storehouses of energy and growth and bloom, and I think how alike so much of life really is.

Our bodies too store energy – and we replenish that energy as we eat, and as we drink. As we move through these chapters in Shemot, reading about the plagues, the difficulties the Israelites struggled with, we might be reading about our lives today. How do we take heart? Where do we find hope? How do we best bloom? We all need to reach out and reach within our little kehillah to make sure we are doing well. Just a conversation can make such a difference. So, if you are feeling the greys, please be in touch. Let’s talk, all of us.

With love,Rabbi Lynn