Rabbi Diana's Weekly Message

You get the sense that it’s possible simply to go through life noticing things and writing them down and that this is OK, it’s worth doing. That the seemingly insignificant things that most of us spend our days noticing are really significant, have meaning, and tell us something. – The Paris Review interview (2006) Joan Didion, z’l.

Dear Chevre,

These are difficult times. Many of us are worried about COVID. We have had to change plans; our kids’ schools have had to make adjustments; we worry about the cold weather and feeling isolated as winter is bringing another wave of the pandemic. We place our faith in science and a shift in government policies like making testing more available, hoping for the time the pandemic will end and/or that we will learn to live relatively safely with it. Each of us must find ways to deal with our anxieties and fears, and to cultivate gratitude for the parts of ourselves and our lives which are doing okay, perhaps even thriving.

In Parshat Shemot, Moses first encounters the Holy One by noticing a burning bush, an object unusual and unnatural enough to catch his attention. Moses soon becomes aware through this noticing that he is standing before God. Just before God spoke to Moses, Moses said, “I must turn aside to look at this marvelous sight; why doesn’t the bush burn up?”

How often do we really turn aside to notice what is in front of us? While I am not waiting for a supernatural miracle to notice, when I do take the time to notice, really pay attention, whether it’s to nature, to the Torah, to another person, to my own mind/thoughts, I can sense the divine presence permeating the encounter.

I hope for all of us that during these difficult times, we allow ourselves to become absorbed in and with subjects that invite us into contemplation, which give us perspective and which remind us that we are part of something bigger, and holy.

Stay safe, Shabbat shalom, Merry Christmas to those who family/extended family observe and Happy 2022!

Rabbi Diana

P. S. We do not have services this evening or next weekend. 

P.P.S. If you have the time, please watch this brief video by Rabbi Boris Dolan, a rabbi in Montreal who offers hope and faith from a Reconstructionist/Kaplanian worldview with beautiful visuals.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q53nKBsVGNA