Thursday, March 23. I was in Arizona last week, visiting family, so I honored the New Month of Nisan in a different place. I am also including a photo from our meditation walk here in Cleveland, taken by Stephen, who graciously held down the fort while I was away. The desert in Arizona was abloom, a once-in-two-decades occurrence, due to an unusual rainy and cool winter. It was truly a sight — everything green and full of wildflowers, where dry stone and arroyo are typical. It made me think of spring, as it might be in the Middle East in times of rain and abundance.
Nisan is our month signifying the newness of spring – and contains the Passover festival, a time of rebirth and renewal. I am reminded of the words of our source Jill Hammer:
Outside, this is the season of air, when fresh winds blow through the world. Yet inwardly we are in the season of earth, the season when we are most grounded. At Passover, Jews relearn who we are, what our task in the world is. We remember we are part of a people. Looking around us in the spring, we remember we are part of the tribe of life. This is a different kind of rebirth than the one at Rosh Hashanah; this is a birth that draws us out of ourselves.[1]
In our modern life, we are reminded daily of how far we are from our beginnings, from nature and our ancient festivals. Alarming news about artificial intelligence, gun violence, climate change havoc, and expanding threats to political peace and harmony, bring us increasing anxiety and stress. It can be helpful in such a world to remember who we are – to allow ourselves for a moment to be dressed in flax linen, carrying goatskin, readying our families for the journey out of Egypt, toward the green hills of Judea. We walk in the natural world wherever we are, praising Yah, and doing what we can to help each other and our neighbors. May all of us experience this promise of Nisan this month, and emerge with renewed hope and faith in what we can do to repair the world. – K. Miriam
Our next Rosh Chodesh walking meditation will welcome the month of Iyyar, Shabbat, April 22, 7:30 am. Contact us for location.
[1] Jill Hammer, The Jewish Book of Days, a Companion for All Seasons, Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2006, p. 223.
Rosh Chodesh Cleveland 