As summer turns to fall, we are getting our classrooms ready to welcome our students to an exciting new year of Jewish Journeys. We spent time this summer organizing our library and kitchen. We prepared for the busy season ahead. Rabbi Rachel, cantorial soloist Ziva Larson, and our choir are hard at work preparing for the High Holidays.
One of my favorite things that I’m doing right now is co-teaching a class called “Repentance and Repair” with Rabbi David Markus. As some of you know, we started off by assigning a little bit of spiritual homework.
I’m always reluctant to face the reality that summer will eventually end. I love the slower pace of a season without the pressures of school days. I love the vibrant green of our hills at this time of year. I love the profusion of produce (yes, even the excess of zucchini). I love the long days and warm evening light. If I could freeze time right here and now, I might be tempted to do it! Maybe fortunately, that power hasn’t been offered to me, so days keep ticking by at their usual pace.
A month ago, I returned from a trip to Central Europe, traveling on the Danube River and visiting Budapest, Bratislava, Salzburg, Vienna, and Prague. It was my first time in this part of the world, and the trip made a huge impression on me, especially my visits to synagogues, most of whose members were wiped out by the Nazis in WWII or by the Russians following the war during the Communist era. I was moved by the sights and descriptions of these lost communities and the beauty of their synagogues and ritual objects. I realized anew how fortunate we are to live in a time where we are free to practice our faith and be part of a thriving Jewish community.
As I was sitting in the sanctuary last Saturday morning during Shabbat services, a rabbit was munching on a nice green blade of grass covered in morning dew and stared at me through the window… for a long time. Birds of various sizes landed on the grass near him. This beautiful sight reminded me that our property doesn’t belong solely to us – it is also part of the natural world, and we share it with many other creatures, who rely on it for food, protection, and water. Taking care of it in a responsible way is part of our mission.
Lately I’ve been humming the opening of the Simon and Garfunkel tune “The 59th Street Bridge Song.” Many of you probably know this one. It begins, “Slow down, you move too fast. Got to make the moment last!” It has an apt spiritual message for us at this time of year.
As the days get longer and summer beckons, CBI professional and lay leaders are busy planning for the summer and the year ahead.
Of all the holidays in the year, Shavuot often gets short shrift. Many Reform congregations hold Confirmation at this season, which is a lovely tradition, but doesn’t fully convey the depth of what this holiday can be. Shavuot isn’t just a graduation celebration for tenth graders; it’s one of the most profound anniversaries in the Jewish year. And this year, we’re celebrating it at CBI in a new way: with music, music, music!
As we move past Passover, I’d like to draw your attention to some of our upcoming events and programs. On Saturday, May 18 at 10am, you are all invited to a Jewish Journeys Shabbat morning service, during which we will celebrate Shabbat, our students and teachers, and will get a taste of what our students have learned over the course of the semester.
I know from speaking with y’all that the continuing conflict in Israel / Palestine is weighing heavy on many hearts. (Including my own.) Across our community we have many different relationships with that place and its peoples, and sometimes it is hard to know how to speak with each other given our range of views. This is true across the American Jewish community, and community divisions are emerging in many places. And yet, given rising antisemitism, now is a time when we need each other across Jewish community all the more.
