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 think it’s probably human nature to look past our reminders. How often do we stop at a door where there’s a mezuzah and touch it and kiss our fingers, reaffirming our commitment to the ethical covenant of mitzvot that is our inheritance? I’ll admit: I forget most of the time. And I forget mitzvot. And I forget the work of teshuvah. Which is why when we hit Tisha b’Av and start this seven-week runway to the high holidays, I start to feel a deep sense of urgency….”
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.
This guest post is from Drew Zuckerman, who gave this teaching at our Second Night Community Passover Seder on Tuesday, April 23, 2024.
July is upon us. All winter long I anticipate summer’s long daylight: the luscious green curves of our hillsides, how the pollinator garden behind the synagogue becomes a riot of color and leaf. And we’re here! We made it! This place where we are blessed to live is beautiful in all seasons, but this is the season I love the most. And… spiritual life never stands still. The wheel is always already turning toward the holidays to come.
This year, the b-mitzvah students and I are studying Jewish values. At the start of the school year we focused on teshuvah, repentance or return — the value at the heart of the Days of Awe. After that, we began a unit on b’tzelem Elohim: the idea that we are all made in the image of God.
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