Lessons from the months of Improvement and Hidden Vitality; January/February, Tevet/Shvat
During the previous month of January, Tevet, we burrowed in; and immersed ourselves in the cold temperatures and the darkness of winter. Like a butterfly in the chrysalis, we are not sure when or if life will reappear. In the middle of January, the cottony white snow wilted to grey slush and as February emerges, there is a longing for the cloudy days to disappear. As always, the wisdom of Judaism, assures us that change is life on the horizon.
It seems like the secular New Year, is a distant memory. I can attest that in my own life there has been a struggle to get all my aspirations for the new year going; but the climate of our world is still cloudy and chills me. For those of us who believe in surviving, striving and thriving; we tapped into the energy of the month of Shvat, which is to trust our vitality and to reflect and improve our strategize towards achieving our goals. As we begin the month of Adar, reflect on the lessons these months have given us.
On a spiritual level, there is another New Year upon us, the ‘Jewish New Year of Trees.’ Another New Year??? the ancient calendars have so many New Years!!! I believe the construct of starting anew exists to help individuals create manageable, and incremental progress, which ultimately leads to lasting changes to achieve one's yearly goals.
We can only digest a little at a time.
Allow me to diverge for a moment and split from the lens of this spiritual focus to our present world situation where there is a threatening overcast of powerlessness, burn out and fear. How will the “new year of trees,” and the “energy of the month,” help us here?
Our tradition gives us a helpful frame of mind, a perspective of how to handle these fears and challenges. That much we DO have control over. We can take time to metaphorically sit under the trees; so rich with the promise of new budding life to figure out how to ward off the overwhelm, economic instability, and antisemitism that is rising. The trees at this time of year can fool us, though, because they look dead and inactive, but that cannot be further from the truth. Their deep roots are garnering nutrition from the earth and preparing to blossom as always with the changing months.
The ancient teachings of Kabbalah use this same metaphor, except, our roots….(get this) …. are garnering their nutrition from heaven, and preparing strong branches of life force to reach down into the world to create goodness. The leaves of compassion help bring shade to the bubbling hatred for Israel and the Jewish people.
I don’t usually write about the cultural Jewish world, as I like to focus on the spiritual context that can be tapped into. But, as I was writing, last night, underneath the windows of my home, a rallying crowd, for the second time since October 7th, marched down Wilshire Blvd, filled with hatred and outrage against Israel. I was preparing to leave to officiate a Bat Mitzvah, and for the first time, I thought, what if the crowd blocks me? What if they see my Torah in the front seat, or yarmulke? Where are the police? Reports of vandalism are all over my neighborhood. Despite the saturation of with zoom meetings and webinars about what we can do, from my colleagues and experts from all over the world, I don’t feel like they are helping.
I don’t have answers, but our faith teaches us to move forward towards what we can do. At least I can shepherd this child through her Bat Mitzvah which connects her to mitzvah and repairing the world with goodness and love.
Tonight, I was substituting for a colleague, which I rarely do, but in light of what is happening in the world, I agreed to it.
I battle the traffic, and arrive at this Bat Mitzvah ceremony. I attempt to what I do, which is create a deeply meaningful, Jewish experience. As it happened, this child did not train with my program. I was shocked as I soon realized that these fellow Jewish people did not care about the ceremony, quite the contrary. They were only interested in the party. Everyone was talking and wanting to hurry through the service. I kept my cool, and watched like a reporter, what they were getting out of this experience. It was their chance to look good among their peers, and have an extravagant party. At least the child and family expressed their love for Israel. However, they missed the window of opportunity to have something meaningful, and my part is to keep finding those who want it.
As we packed and left, my dear friend who helped me said in a low tone, “Rabbi, I came tonight because your services always remind me of how much I love Judaism. Watching, your beautiful presentation fall on deaf ears, made me feel so alone. Is it just me?” I assured her, I felt the same and she was not alone. And I will assure you now, neither are you.
