Thursday, March 26, 2020.  Well what a lot has happened since Rosh Chodesh Adar, only 30 days ago!  Here in the Great Lakes, as all over the world, we are struggling to establish a “new normal”, sequestering ourselves at home and trying to maintain family and work routines under very different circumstances.  This month we experimented with meeting – the only in-person meet-up of our congregations right now – because we are a very small group (rarely more than six or eight people), meet outdoors, do walking meditation individually (walk alone), and have agreed to drive separately, and maintain at least six feet between us.  As an outdoor activity, as well as a religious one, we are justified in at least giving it a try.  We haven’t missed a month in 12-1/2 years; can we continue in the face even of this?  – As it turns out, Yes. We met in the safety of wide open space, and honored the coming of Passover and spring, remembering those who are in isolation while living alone, or who have lost their livelihoods this month, or who are caring for the sick. The birds were singing this morning, the buds are opening, and the still water reflected the bright-lit sky.  We will persevere within the ongoing cycle of nature.

I struggled with the topic of this month’s blog, feeling the need to respond to the sudden, overwhelming world of concern in which we live – and yet also aware that we are constantly bombarded with news and accounts of the pandemic, and perhaps need a little break from that.  Is there anything we can learn from nature, and from our sages, about the month of Nissan – that can guide us, in the midst of this crisis?

During Nissan, at the full moon, comes Passover, our holiday which is strongly associated with the beginning of spring.  Two major themes emerge:  the greening of the world, arriving in full force in the Middle East, and soon to come in the Great Lakes.  And freedom, escape from oppression both spiritual and personal, as it was experienced by our ancestors when they left Egypt at the first Passover.  There is another theme which is not often discussed, cited by our source Jill Hammer.  This is the “Indwelling”, the descending of the Shekhinah, the feminine and immanent aspect of G-d, the Divine Presence, into the tabernacle in the desert.  Our sages tell us this first happened on the first of Nissan.  According to Hammer, “as the air grows fragrant and the trees blossom, the Shekhinah, the tangible glory of G-d, descends into the shrine the Israelites have made – just as the presence of life descends into the earth and makes it green again.  Within the Mishkan, the Shekhinah is like a bird in a nest, nestling at the center of the world to warm and shelter it.”

I can’t help but think of all of us, nesting in our homes, following new rhythms within small spaces, alone or with our immediate family units.  It is a chance to re-create our internal worlds – a chance to seek the greening of spring, and the expansion of freedom, within our confinement.  What will a little quiet, disconnection from the calendar and clock, a little extra reading, looking out our windows at the same old garden, daily meals at our kitchen tables, a Passover observed in limited company – do for our inner lives this season? Is there time for contemplation, for deeper conversations and thoughts, for celebrating the small changes of the trees? Can we feel ourselves warmed and sheltered here by the Shekhinah’s presence?

May we all be healthy, and find freedom and renewal in our small worlds, this year – and may next month bring us hope for the return of in-person connections with friends and family and community. –Kirby

Since we are a very small group, meeting outdoors only once a month, doing our walking meditation alone, and agreeing to keep the rules of social distancing by driving separately and keeping at least six feet between us, we are continuing to meet during this time of “sheltering at home”. However anyone should feel supported in deciding not to join us – we will say the blessings for you in your absence! The next Rosh Chodesh walking meditation will take place on the first day of the month of Iyyar, Saturday, April 25, 7:30 am. Rain or snow or shine!  Contact us for location.

Wednesday, February 26, 2020.  Now that Tu B’Shvat is past, we can visualize the trees awakening for a new season of growth.  In Israel, it is a time for planting – vegetables, chickpeas, and millet, in the moist soil, as the rainy season continues.  Here in the Great Lakes, the light is returning to the gray woods, and we’re beginning to hear birdsong.  It will not be long before the sap rises here as well – in fact the willow twigs are looking distinctly greenish yellow.  Spring will emerge.

Adar of course is the month of the upcoming holiday Purim, which will take place in two weeks, just before the full moon.  The “Jewish Mardi Gras”, Purim is a celebration of an unlikely victory over arbitrary evil.  After wicked Haman drew lots to determine a day for annihilation of the Jews of Shushan, our heroine Esther saved the day by beguiling and telling truth to the king, resulting in Haman’s fall and the elevation of Mordechai.  We celebrate the holiday with masks and disguises, jokes and carnivals, stories of the absurd and illogical – as if the world is turned upside down.

Our source Jill Hammer draws a parallel between the rising of sap in the trees and shoots in the ground, and the rising of truth in the story of Esther.  She notes that “in the book of Esther…nothing is what it seems to be.  Queen Esther, for example, is a Jew pretending not to be a Jew, married to a gentile, King Ahasuerus, who dislikes Jews and then learns to love them.  Haman, the villain, seems invulnerable, yet is defeated with a single word.  Jew flows into non-Jew, male flows into female, friend flows into enemy…. Purim transforms us into something we thought we weren’t – but it turns out we are!”

Carnival evil, the world turned upside down.  I can’t help but think of the current public discourse and the absurdity of “fake news” and invented facts, the denial of events and scientific realities.  Denied, the truth is made false, and it seems the world is topsy turvy.  However, like shoots that spring from the earth this time of year, the truth must ultimately prevail, and we will find out we are stronger than we thought.  In our reflections we noted the resilience of the trees, twigs and birds, and the reassuring rhythm of walking among them. May we all find ways to help the truth emerge, this month – and do so with joy and faith in the good.  – Kirby

The next Rosh Chodesh walking meditation will take place on the first day of the month of Nisan, Thursday, March 26, 7:30 am. Rain or snow or shine!  Contact us for location.

Monday, January 27, 2020.  Once again we are out in the snow, bundled against the cold, thinking of sap rising in the trees, and olive and almond buds, in far-away middle eastern lands.  Here in the Great Lakes we’re having a warmish winter, and are perhaps a little better situated to appreciate Shvat, whose name refers to the driving, lashing rain characteristic of this season in Israel.  In biblical times, warming soil and plentiful rain provided good conditions for planting of the first vegetables and legumes.  And of course, our holiday in this month, Tu B’Shvat, celebrates the budding of trees, and hope for the cycle of winter turning once again toward spring. We’ve made it through the darkest months of the year, and now the light is slowly returning. The area of energy for the month of Shvat is “inner renewal”.  As the sap rises in the trees, and inhabitants of the earth become aware of the growing light – so we grow in our spirits and bodies, from the inside out, nourished by the divine and benevolent universe, which brings us rain and light.

In our daily prayerbook, we start the morning with a wonderful prayer which reminds us of the bounty of the universe and its sustaining role in our lives:

ירויון מדשן ביתך, ונחל עדניך תשקם.

כי עמך מקור חיים, באורך נראה אור.

Yirv’yun mideshen beitecha; v’nachal adaneicha tashkem.

Ki imcha m’kor chaim;  b’orcha nir’eh or.

 [We] are nourished from the riches of Your house; Give drink to [us] from Your Edenic stream.

For with You is the fountain of life; by Your light we see light. – from Psalm 36*

As we are walking in the woods this month, and at Tu B’Shvat, celebrating the trees among which we live, may we be reminded that, like the trees and all other inhabitants of the world, we are nourished by Earth’s water, air and fertile soil.  May this New Year for Trees bring renewed energy to care for the World that sustains us, and inspires us as the light of spring grows. –Kirby

We will celebrate Tu B’Shvat with a walking meditation on the morning of Monday, February 10.  The next Rosh Chodesh walking meditation will be the first of Adar, Wednesday, February 26. Both meetings will be at 7:30 am.  Contact us for location.  Rain or snow or shine!

 *Note that in the original Psalm, these verses are written in the third person, referring to humans (literally “children of Adam”) as “they” and “them”.  I have changed to the first person (“we” and “us”) in this brief excerpt.

Sunday, December 29.  It was cold, dark and rainy this morning – unseasonably warm for the end of the year, 46 degrees! – but the snow is headed our way again later in the week.  Welcome to winter on the Great Lakes!  We were blessed to meet under the gazebo, a great place to share a little shelter from the weather, before and after heading out for walking meditation in our rain gear.

Tevet marks one of the two darkest months of the year, its beginning roughly coinciding with the winter solstice.  We talked about the darkness and the negativity that comes with it – and the transformational quality of light – the kindling of the Hanukah lights, rising to a blaze with the eighth night this evening, and the slow return of the light of the sun.   The days will lengthen now, about a minute a day, until spring and summer return to us.

The negativity we feel in the darkness of Tevet often comes in the form of anger, either our own or that of others. We are like the ornery goats of this month’s zodiac symbol Capricorn, fighting our situation and those around us.  Our source Mindy Ribner notes that last month, in Kislev, we kindled our dreams, and “in Tevet, we uproot the remaining negative forces that keep us from realizing them.” She has some suggestions for managing the negativity of Tevet, and transforming it into light:

• Explore the nature of your anger, understand what drives it
• Assume responsibility for your own feelings and practice humility
• Be mindful of your speech, often the weapon we use when we are feeling negative
• Dilute your anger – through writing, talking with trusted others
• Protect yourself from the anger and negativity of others through learning to detach and be objective
• Be happy for what you have, practice gratitude and try to see the good in everything, and nurture yourself in the light of love

In the coming month, may we experience the transformation of negativity and darkness into love and light.  Chodesh tov, and happy Hanukah! – Kirby

The next walking meditation will be Rosh Chodesh Shevat, Monday, January 27, 2020, 7:30 am.  Contact us for location information.

Friday, November 29, 2019.  It was a bit of a celebration this month, with a new boardwalk open and sporting a beautiful artist-designed gazebo and landscaping.  As winter arrives in the Great Lakes, the wildlife is still frequenting the park, four pairs of mallard ducks among them.

In my absence, co-leaders Linda and Stephen prepared some lovely thoughts.  Kislev is of course the darkest month of the year, containing both the winter solstice, the shortest day of the solar year, and the beginning of Chanukah, our appropriately designated festival of light. As Linda notes, it is a month of sleeping, dreaming, and learning to interpret our dreams.  Dreaming of light, and meditating on the light, is a way we can weather the darkest of times – and especially consider those in need of healing, who may not be able to dream or to act on their dreams.

Stephen conjured the image of Jacob, whose stories in the Torah readings this month feature two nights sleeping alone and dreaming in the desert, on his way to visit Laban, and returning to meet Esau.  On the first night, his dream was of angels ascending the ladder to heaven.  On the second, he woke, or dreamed, to find himself wrestling with an angel.  Our physicist friend Stephen recognizes in these stories the quest for understanding of the universe – reaching ever higher for inspiration and knowledge, and wrestling with difficult problems outside our comfort zone.  We are reminded that science and spirituality are entwined, and not at all opposed.

May the coming Chanukah lights, and the slow return of the light to the universe after the solstice, bring healing and inspiration to all of us, and brighten the days when the wrestling is difficult.  Chodesh tov! — Kirby

The next walking meditation will be Rosh Chodesh Tevet, Sunday, December 29, 2019, 7:30 am. Contact us for location.  Rain or snow or shine!

Friday, November 1, 2019.  Wednesday morning we met in the dark, amid falling leaves, and welcomed the new month of Cheshvan. What a whirlwind holiday season it’s been – almost a month of special dinners, extra days at synagogue, building and enjoying and taking down the Sukkah – and working hard to see the truth of our own flawed inner selves. It is a blessing to enter Cheshvan, the quiet month when we settle into the year, and consolidate all the change and intensity of the past few weeks.  Called Mar-Cheshvan in ancient times, or “bitter Cheshvan”, due to its lack of holidays, it is nevertheless a welcome time to return to the routine of daily life, and try to live it better this time around.

In the ancient middle east, Cheshvan was planting time:  wheat, barley, oats, and vetch were all sown in this month.  Harvest was done, with only a few olives left for gathering.  Just as we planted new seeds in this season, so in Cheshvan we are planting new seeds of thought and action in our lives.  Our source Mindy Ribner notes that Cheshvan is a time “of review, reflection, and integration.  As we begin to translate into reality the visions we received in Tishrei, we need to let go of the old, of what is not essential, and purify ourselves so that we are really able to contain the new.”

How might we go about doing this?  Ms. Ribner has some ideas:  Engage in self-inquiry, especially about negative thoughts that might defeat our resolve to change long-held patterns. Own our own projections onto other people (otherwise known as blame) of difficulties that might arise.  Try to develop greater trust and faith, in ourselves and our own ability to effect the change we want, and in others.  And in so doing, love ourselves unconditionally.

In our reflections we talked a bit about slowing down, letting go, as we begin to live our commitments for the year. One of our participants offered a lovely quote from Ajahn Chah, Thai Forest Buddhist monk: “If you let go a little you a will have a little peace; if you let go a lot you will have a lot of peace; if you let go completely you will have complete peace.”[1]

And so we enter a new year… may it be a good one for each one of us, and may we all accomplish the change, and enjoy the peace, that we desire. –Kirby

The next walking meditation will be Rosh Chodesh Kislev, Friday, November 29, 2019, 7:30 am. Contact us for location information. Rain or snow or shine!

[1] Ajahn Chah, Food for the Heart: The Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, Wisdom Publications, 2002.

Monday, September 30, 2019.  Today, we celebrate not only the Birthday of the World and the beginning of a new Lunar Jewish year, but the 12^th anniversary of the start of Rosh Chodesh Cleveland.  We are glad to continue our tradition yet another year, in the company of friends, the trees, the lakes, and the birds.

While it is still mild and warm in the Great Lakes, our minds are turning to fall.  Summer’s greens are darkening and yellowing, a few early leaves are falling, and the cicadas are humming.  In the Middle East of course, in ancient times as now, it’s still hot, and yet, it is the time of ripe fruits – grapes, figs, pomegranates, and olives – while the time of rain is beginning, soon to cool the soil and ready it for planting.  In two weeks, at the full moon, we will celebrate with gratitude the season’s harvest in our sukkahs, with cedar boughs over our heads.  (and in the Midwest, corn stalks!)

For now though, we focus on the work of the coming week, the ten days of introspection between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.  This morning we blew the shofar, the ancient ram’s horn, and woke ourselves to a New Year, and to the truths of our faults, our frailty, our futile (it seems) attempts to be better people than the year before.  Judaism, however, makes the radical statement that change is not only inevitable – we are partners in it.  We are all innately holy, and so we can change ourselves, with intention, and with daily attention to removing the obstacles that might obscure our holiness[1].  And so the annual cycle of transformation begins – what is required is that we face our true selves, envision a changed future, and make a daily plan for getting there.

Some of us may be entering the holidays deeply feeling the pull of the divine, ready for transformation; others may wonder if it will ever come; yet others may be so caught up in a continuing whirlwind of change that the spiritual seems far away.  Whatever our situation or frame of mind, the trees, lakes, and birds remind us that we are holy in our essence, held in the arms of the divine world, beneath the shelter of its wings, among our friends and our families.  L’Shanah Tovah, a good, sweet and wonderful year! — Kirby

[1] Alan Morinis, Every Day, Holy Day. Boston and London: Trumpeter, 2010.

The next Rosh Chodesh Walking Meditation will be Wednesday, October 30, 2019, 7:30 am.  Contact us for location.  

Sunday, September 1, 2019.  It was a rainy morning at the Nature Center – wet and green.  What a contrast with the hot, dry weather in the middle east, now and in ancient times!

As we greet the New Moon of the month of Elul, we begin the preparation for the coming High Holy Days. Elul is a month of introspection, of review of our Selves and our behavior, of seeking forgiveness, of making things right, of anticipation.  Our source Alan Lew notes that the seventh month, which held the High Holy Days, was a time of heightened anxiety in the ancient Middle East. Unlike nearby civilizations, which had the bounty of ever-returning rivers to rely on – Egypt on the Nile, and Mesopotamia on the Tigris and Euphrates – Israel was wholly dependent on rain. By the sixth and seventh months, fields and pastures were parched, and the winter rains had not yet begun.  How vulnerable farmers and shepherds alike must have felt, wondering if the rain would come again, and whether it would be robust enough to sustain the coming year’s life.  Lew speculates that it might just have been this vulnerability that turned Israel to intense awareness of one G-d, pleading with one great Power on behalf of life itself.

It makes sense that this time of anxiety, of pleading with G-d, would have become over time the season for improving ourselves, and our relationships within our families and community. On a deep level, we hope that this work will bring a positive response — harmony in our world, and sustenance for the coming year. Elul is traditionally the month of forgiveness: asking forgiveness of those we have hurt, and granting forgiveness to those who have hurt us.  In giving and receiving forgiveness, we restore trust and harmony to our relationships.  And yet, how fraught with anxiety is the task.  Our vulnerability is exposed.  We might just call on the universe for support. And the only way forward is to plunge in, not knowing the outcome.

Entering the month of Elul, may we recognize our vulnerability — and charge forward anyway, relying on the deep benevolence of the universe, and of each other.  May Elul be a fruitful month of reflection and awakening. Chodesh Tov, a good month! — Kirby

Next month’s walking meditation will be Rosh Hashanah morning, Monday, September 30, 7:30 am.  Contact us for location.  Join us to welcome the month of Tishrei, and celebrate the birthday of the world!

Hello friends, just a reminder that Rosh Chodesh Elul will be this Sunday, September 1, 7:30 am, at a new location.  Contact us for meeting place.  It’s a great way to start preparation for the High Holy Days!  Rain or shine, see you there!

Friday, August 2. A small group met this quiet morning out at the lake, which is more a mudflat now, due to construction.  When we planned to meet one last time at Horseshoe Lake, we knew it was the beginning of a transition to a better future for this small piece of the Great Lakes biosphere.  It also parallels the destruction of the temple, in preparation for the restoration that is available to us during the coming High Holy Days, not too far off.

Our source Mindy Ribner writes, ‘The month of Av is about tears of loss and tears of joy’.  On Tisha b’Av, the 9^th day of Av, we mourn the loss of the 1st Temple in 586 BCE, and the 2nd Temple in 70 CE. There are many tragic events that befell the Jews on that date in other years.

There is a crying that comes from deep within our soul. We need to remember that when we feel broken and vulnerable, those are the times that we are most open to healing.  By feeling our brokenness we can begin to heal and become more whole.  Spiritual crying is an important practice. When we cry for G-d we can be healed and heal ourselves. The Talmud tells us there is nothing more complete than a broken heart.

This is a month of the greatest heat – even our emotional and spiritual lives are ‘heated up’  its and intense time and we have to be careful not to be too reactive. At the same time, Tu b’Av, the 15^th of Av, is the Jewish Valentine’s day – the joyous moment in Av when couples meet, dance and marry.  In all we must listen deeply and be especially careful with our speech.

Today and throughout this month, it can help us to remember as we walk and meditate, that  we need to take deep breaths and center ourselves. Observe where we are right now. Note the sensations and tensions in any part of our bodies. Then use our breath to relax our bodies. We listen, and we cry from within, tears of joy and tears of sadness.

Beginning next month, we will meet at a new location to allow Horseshoe Lake its time of restoration.  There are places there to walk among the trees and streams, and along the marsh.  May we all be aware of the destruction and tears that must precede reconstruction.  Chodesh Tov!

—- Linda and Stephen