From the Rabbi

I am finding delight in the craziest little things. Or, more accurately, I’m allowing myself to seek, find, and relish such delight.

Here’s one. The plastic bottle with the dish washing soap was almost empty, so I went downstairs to pull out the large jug for a refill. As I was spinning the top back on to the large jug, it popped out of my hand and spun out behind the laundry machines. Oof, that’s an awkward spot, I thought, mindful of my back. So as I went to the far side of the machines to look, I was utterly tickled to find the lonesome cap practically at my feet; it had rolled all the way to a perfectly reachable spot. Utterly unremarkable, utterly delightful.

What if? What if, at any given moment, in these times, we were to allow ourselves to discover in this utterly remarkable time something utterly … different? By different, I mean different for you. A different approach to experiencing what we are facing, which includes so much that is mundane, as well as challenging.

What if?

What if every time you sit down to eat you said a motzi, or a blessing that expressed appreciation for what you are about to eat, or thought something like a blessing, or remembered after you started to eat that you feel grateful? What if gratitude found its way into your day, even in the midst of the upheaval, uncertainty, and fears?

What if you tried something hard, or complicated, or that takes having some time to set up, or that you have been putting off, or that you always thought you were not “good enough” to do? Like, um, learning to offer services, classes and programs online for your beloved community? Or, ah, sight reading the continuous part of a chamber music trio? [#truestoriesfromtherabbislife]

What if – amidst the barrage of information, heavy messaging, regulations, restrictions and limits -- something newly nourishing emerges in your life, in these times?

We know all about the nos. We can’t predict when we will regain the yesses. Let’s go for the What ifs.

- Rabbi Liz