Nisan 5785      ניסן

Sunday morning, March 30, 2025.  After a blustery couple of weeks, we were rewarded this morning with warm, if wet, weather.  The air was fresh and there were green tips and buds, and birds singing a symphony.  Yes, spring is actually coming, we are sure of it now!  We can see the end of the long winter ahead of us. We talked about the weather in the middle east, where spring is in full swing – trees are in bloom – olive, pear, apple, and cherry – and the almonds are setting fruit.  The first crops of the year – barley, peas, lentils and vetch — are actually being harvested, and millet, sesame, and vegetables are being sown. 

Nisan marks the turning of the year – according to our sages, from Rosh Hashanah onward we have six months of material and earthliness – and starting in Nisan, we have a second New Year as we turn over into transcendence.  There is an energy of renewal and pending freedom, as we head toward Passover in just two weeks. 

This morning, we noticed a family of deer, the young male’s head heavy with antlers, striding through the marsh. We noticed faint stretch marks in some trees’ bark, as they wake from winter slumber and begin their year’s growth.  And we noticed the breath of the world, as the warm breeze filled our lungs and reminded us of the Breath of the Divine Name, yud-hey-vav-hey.  As we walk together toward Passover freedom, may we overcome the constrictions that bind us, bear well the stretch marks that we may experience as we grow, and sense the breath of the Source of Life as we move into freedom. Chodesh tov, and Chag Sameach! — K. Miriam

Our next Rosh Chodesh Walking Meditation will honor the month of Iyyar, Tuesday, April 29, 8:30 am.  Contact us for location.

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!

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[1] Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Sabbath, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1951.p. 82

Thursday, January 30, 2025.  It was cold this morning, but still warmer than the last couple of weeks.  The sun lit the snow and the morning golden and pink, and we felt the hope that increasing light brings to this time of year – spring will return! In the middle east, other kinds of hope are happening – in agriculture, seeds are being planted, and in human affairs, hostages are redeemed and there is the possibility of peace.  We have a lot to hope for, even as we continue to pray for the continuation of this progress.

Last month, in Tevet, we acknowledged the emotion of anger and the opportunity to transform it into positivity.  This movement is confirmed in Shevat, which our sages identify as a month of redemption, or achieving freedom:  from negativity and sin, or from physical constriction, as our ancestors were freed from slavery in Egypt so long ago.  Redemption follows from the historic and civil release of slaves and captives – and it also originates in our own hearts.  Before it is possible, we must have a vision of a brighter future, and put in the work.  It is not possible without partnership – our work and the grace of the Divine.

At the full moon of Shevat, we celebrate the holiday of Tu B’Shvat, – the sap rises in the trees, and we feel a sense of hope as the light begins to return post-solstice.  The promise of spring is before us, even if it is many weeks away yet. We begin the journey toward Passover and our redemption from slavery. Leaving Tevet and the deep darkness of winter, we turn toward the light – and continue our work.  From the slavery of anger and resentment, revenge and warfare, we build hope and a future of freedom.  May it be so. —K. Miriam

Our Next Rosh Chodesh walking meditation will honor the month of Iyyar, Shabbat, March 1, 8:30 am.  Rain or snow or shine!  Contact us for location.

Monday, December 2, 2024.  This week we felt the change of seasons abruptly – after a long, warm autumn, snow has fallen throughout our region, in some places heavily, and the temperatures have dropped.  Winter is upon us!  It can feel like we’re just beginning a 5-month journey of cold and ice.  And yet, the snow brings its own light, welcome after the descending darkness of November and Cheshvan. Some of us eagerly anticipate this time of year, looking forward to firelight, warm cuddles with blankets and books, and cocooning with friends and family.

Kislev is the month of dreams, and in Europe and the northern US, a month of snow’s light.  Our source Jill Hammer recalls advice from our sage Rabbi Judah Loew of Prague, who saw winter snow as a “vessel of spiritual light…reminding us of G-d’s ‘colorless’ presence in the world at this season.”[1] After the darkness and quietness of November and Cheshvan, we enter deeper into the interior, spiritual realm, and consolidate our dreams for the year to come.  We are headed toward the lights of Hanukah – like the candles in a cabin window at night, beckoning us forward.  May we all have a meaningful month, as we begin our winter journey! — K. Miriam

Our next Rosh Chodesh walking meditation will honor the month of Tevet, Tuesday, December 31, 2025, at 8:30 am.  Rain or snow or shine!  Contact us for location.

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[1] Rabbi Jill Hammer, The Jewish Book of Days, p. 110.  See “Sources” tab for full citation.

Shabbat morning, November 2, 2024.  This month we all found ourselves in different places, and crowdsourced our blessings and photos from wherever we were.  In the Great Lakes, autumn is in full swing, with leaves coloring and falling, and clear blue skies.  In Arizona, where I was, similar to the middle east, occasional rain is most welcome, and the desert responds with flowers, and hope for more rain in winter.

Cheshvan is also known as “MarCheshvan”, or “bitter Cheshvan” in English. Originally referring to the emptiness of the month, which has no holidays, it is also, for some of us, a time of bitterness following a contentious election season.  In either case, our sages advise us to slow down, appreciate the quietness, deepen our relationship with G-d and the Universe, and plan for action to come.  May we all find Cheshvan fruitful, and a time to reconnect with ourselves, our natural world, and our communities. Chodesh tov! —K. Miriam

Thanks to Stephen, Ann, Julie and Louise for the Great Lakes photos!

Our next walking meditation will honor the month of Kislev, Monday, December 2, 8:30 am.  Rain or snow or shine!  Contact us for location.

Thursday, October 3, Rosh Hashanah morning. We blessed the day with admiration for the cycles of the seasons, and appreciation for the constancy of nature amid all the changes around us. With apples and honey we wished each other a good year – as we wish our readers here. L’Shana Tovah! — Kirby

Our next Rosh Chodesh walking meditation will honor the month of Cheshvan, Shabbat morning, November 2, 8:30 am. Rain or snow or shine! Contact us for location.

Wednesday, September 4. Our group met on a perfect day to welcome Elul and begin the journey toward the High Holy Days.  Flowers were blooming, and hummingbirds and deer graced our presence as we walked in honor of the month[1].

In reflection, we acknowledged that this is a time of introspection and teshuvah, returning, when we assess our behavior and spirit during the past year, and ask for forgiveness from those we have harmed – and grant it to those who have harmed us. In so doing we return to a sense of our better selves.

As Rabbi Alan Lew teaches us[2], the journey actually begins at Tisha B’Av, the observance in the month of Av when we commemorate the fall of Jerusalem to the Romans over 2,000 years ago.  As the walls fall, so do we break down our Selves, weeping and mourning.  Stephen reminded us that the seven weeks between Tisha B’Av and Rosh Hashanah – another 7-week journey reminiscent of the Omer of the spring – are known as the Weeks of Consolation, when we read in Isaiah words of consolation for our sorrow:

54:7 For a brief moment I forsook you, but I will gather you with great compassion.

54:8 In an outburst of wrath, for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you, says God, your Redeemer. 

54:10 For the mountains may depart, and the hills may be removed, but my kindness will not depart from you, nor will my covenant of peace be withdrawn, says God, who has compassion on you.[3]

We marvel that we are moved by these words written so long ago – and remember that the Universe in nature is enduring over thousands of years, like the redwoods in the forests of California.  In breaking our souls and being consoled, we travel to Rosh Hashanah – rebuilding ourselves as we return in Teshuvah.  In closing, Linda blew the shofar long and loud. May each of us experience a meaningful Elul – and, consoled, look forward to a joyful Rosh Hashanah, not so far away! – K. Miriam

Our next Rosh Chodesh walking meditation will honor the month of Tishrei and the New Year! – Thursday, October 3, 7:30 AM. NOTE EARLIER TIME in observance of the holiday!  Contact us for location.

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[1] I note that I was out of town, and thank Linda and Stephen and the group for a moving observance!  This is written from their notes.  Photos were taken that morning, and include both the group’s walk, and my travel spot in northern Michigan. – K. Miriam

[2] Rabbi Alan Lew, This is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared: The Days of Awe as a Journey of Transformation. See Resources tab for full citation.

[3] Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, The Living Torah: A new Translation, 3^rd Edition; 1981, Moznaim Publishing Corp.

Monday, August 5, 2024.  Apologies for the delayed post – it’s been quite a month. Tisha B’Av is past, and we are in the seven weeks of consolation that lead us to Rosh Hashanah. Summer is in its final days, still warm and flowering. We have one more week of Av, and so a few thoughts worth considering.

On the 17^th of Tammuz, we began our way down into the depths of despair, intensifying on the first day of Av, and culminating on the 9^th of Av, or Tisha B’Av, the nadir of of our journey of loss and alienation from G-d.  This is the saddest day of the Jewish year, commemorating the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the first and second Temples. The Temple represents the Divine presence in our world – and so the loss of it becomes a representation of all of our personal and communal losses, and we experience a sense of alienation and aloneness in the face of tragedy. We sit on the floor and weep.

Rabbi Waskow, in his book “Seasons of Our Joy”[1], draws parallels to Adam/Eve story, and their banishment from Eden and the divine presence.  There is a sense of profound loss, and an awareness of our complicity in banishment from divine.  “Adam’s was the first exile, the first alienation, the archetype of all loss ever since:  the separation of the human psyche from G-d, the loss of utterly harmonious love.” 

What was the complicity that caused the destruction? What causes any destruction? – our sages say: hatred toward one another, conflict and judgment.

So we are advised to find ways to root that out:  forgiveness, making peace, becoming more giving and finding ways to love unconditionally.  According to Waskow, we experience this alienation from the Divine as a burning thirst,  so fiercely that we “learn the way to the wellsprings”.  And so, we will spend the next 7 weeks, leading up to Rosh Hashana, the wellspring from which was created the world, finding our way.  May we be comforted in our journey, and may it be fruitful! Chodesh tov! – K. Miriam

Our next walking meditation will honor the month of Elul, Wednesday, September 4, 8:30 am.  Contact us for location.

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[1] See Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Seasons of Our Joy, A Modern Guide to the Jewish Holidays; Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 1982, paperback edition 2012; p. 209.

Sunday, July 7, 2024.  A warm, beautiful morning greeted us today, flush with green leaves, the setting of fruits,  and even a pair of deer fawns with their spotted backs.  Summer is in full swing here in the Great Lakes.

As we have reported here many times before, the themes of the month of Tammuz stem from the unbearable searing heat and light of summer in the Middle East.  In ancient myth, the Sumerian god Tamuz descended this month into the underworld, leaving the people desolate for half the year, until he returned again in the fall.  The growth and creativity of spring are replaced by blinding reality and truth, illuminated by the summer sun, and negative emotions of anger and guilt.  In Jewish tradition, the month includes the start of the three weeks of mourning, marking the breaching of the walls of Jerusalem by the Romans. 

Many other Jewish stories are associated with the month.  One of them about the waters of Moses, which rush out of the rock when he hits it with his staff, saving the wandering Israelites from drought and thirst. According to our source Rabbi Jill Hammer, this miracle is supposed to have happened on the first of Tamuz.  In spite of Moses’ anger, the water appears.  Hammer associates the source of the water with Miriam’s Well, which follows the Israelites on their journey, sustaining them and enabling them to reach the Promised Land.[1] We reflected on all the things that are underground and yet sustain us – the hiddenness of the Divine Presence, rain that falls and becomes groundwater, love and joy when a loved one passes away, even hope in times of challenge.  The story of Moses and Miriam’s water reminds us that the cycle of life continues, even when hidden, and abundance and peace will inevitably return with the seasons.  May it be so for all of us.  Chodesh tov! – K. Miriam

Our next Rosh Chodesh walking meditation will honor the month of Av, Monday morning, August 5, 8:30 am.  Rain or shine! – Contact us for location.

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[1] See https://telshemesh.org/tammuz/