Shabbat, April 21, 2023. Spring in the Great Lakes: cold and bluster, sleet and rain, amid the vibrant colors of cherry and redbud, new leaves, and the deep colors of tree bark and swollen streams. This morning was no exception. We remembered that in Israel, it is a time of earth and growth, the crops well along, burgeoning in the strength of soil.
As in every Iyyar, the first of the month is the 16th day of the Omer count, representing two weeks and two days of the Israelites’ travel in the wilderness, headed toward Sinai. The Kabbalistic theme for the 16th day is “gevurah within tiferet”, “strength within beauty/harmony”. The month of Iyyar is an earth month, its astrological sign Taurus, the bull, also signifying strength.
Abraham Joshua Heschel, in his book The Sabbath[1], talked about the ever-present holiness of the Sabbath; it is there every seventh day, year in and year out, throughout time. This holiness is not for us to create, only to acknowledge and tap into it. Whether or not we observe it, the day’s holiness shines through. I wonder also about the holiness, and strength, of the earth. Could it be that this is also here, day in and day out, and all we have to do is acknowledge and tap into it? Is this the definition of earth on this Earth Day, “strength within beauty and harmony”?
May we all find strength, resilience and beauty in the soil, the rain, the brilliance of blossoms, swollen streams, and the budding of leaf, this month. — K. Miriam
Our next Rosh Chodesh walking meditation will welcome the month of Sivan, Sunday, May 21, 7:30 am. Rain or shine! Contact us for location.
[1] Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Sabbath, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1951. p. 82.
Rosh Chodesh Cleveland 