Shabbat morning, Saturday, March 1. This morning it was biting cold, too cold for much quiet contemplation – snow on the ground, and it felt as if we had made no progress out of this winter since last month. As always at the end of the season, our patience grows short. But wait: there are birds. And a patch of blue sky shows through. And there is Purim, our joyful holiday, to look forward to. And next month will be Nisan, and spring truly will be upon us. There are all of these good things to celebrate.
It has been a tough month for several of us in our family lives, and there are the larger issues hovering over us ominously as well. How on earth to be joyful, as we are commanded, in Adar?
Abraham Joshua Heschel, in speaking of the Sabbath, writes of Shabbat holiness, which is present every Friday night and Saturday from sundown to sundown, whether we acknowledge it or not. “Even when men forsake the Sabbath, its holiness remains.”[1] It is just up to us to tap into it. Similarly, our sages say that Adar’s joy is present, flowing throughout the month,– we just need to allow ourselves to be part of it. As we walked in meditation, we noticed the blue sky faintly visible through the clouds – the brightness is up there, all day, no matter the weather here below . May we all find ways to tap into holiness, and joy, and the blue sky this month. Chodesh tov! – K. Miriam
Our next walking meditation will honor the month of Nissan, Sunday, March 30, 2025, 8:30 am. Contact us for location!
[1] Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Sabbath, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1951.p. 82
Rosh Chodesh Cleveland 