Where do we go from here?
The month of the Jewish holidays was a truly uplifting month of community, conversations, prayer, events, celebrations, classes, and festivities and gatherings for all ages as hundreds came through our doors and were connected, inspired or celebrated and gained strength from each other.
The feedback has been tremendous, with so many beautiful notes, messages and voicenotes.
Now it is silence... the Sukkah is down (thank you Uri).. the dancing has stopped.... the High Holiday tent is down.... Oct 7th was just marked... and the regular rhythm of life is kicking in plus the never ending cycle of news, including continuous blood libels against Israel being celebrated and now even rewarded by the world.
In Chassidic theology we are taught that over the month of Tishrie which we are completing now, we are packing our bags and filling up on inspiration, motivation, faith, joy and resilience.
Now are bags are full, and it is time to start unpacking them into our day to day lives.
This week we read the first Torah reading of the entire Torah, the portion of Bereshit. One of the many items which we read about is the story of creation and the ten utterances that G-d used to create the Universe.
The very first utterance and act of creation is "Let there be Light"!
We do not look at that is being insignificant, rather we understand it be a message and guidance to us, to always remember that our job is to be creators of "light".
"Light" in Jewish thought has many connotations, but among the primary ideas, are the "Light" of G-d, the "Light" of Good Deeds and kindness, the "Light" of Truth, or as Isaiah the prophet stated our job is to be "לְאוֹר גּוֹיִים", a light unto the nations.
The Talmud quotes a sage named Rabbi Nachman Bar Yitzchak who stated that "ענן פועלי דיממא אנן", "we are day laborers", meaning our job is to be people who increase light in the world as build up the world.
So as we enter the regular rhythm and cycle of a new year and unpack our bags, let us remember to unpack some of the "light" wherever we go, so that the inspiration, reflections, joy, prayers, hope and more of the High Holidays are tools that we use to do our job as laborers of light, in a world that is still dealing with so much darkness.
Let us unpack some of the light, and bring some joy, a smile, and light, to every interaction we have, as we go about our lives.
Let us shine the light of truth and morality, even if at times the darkness of libels and lies seems increasingly dark.
Lastly, Jewish teachings state that a portion of the original light that G-d created in the first moment, is embedded in the teachings of the Torah.
Each time we study, reflect, and grapple with an idea or message, we enable some of this "light" to impact our thinking in regards to staying focused on our mission in the world, as individuals, spouses, parents, as part of a community, as Jewish people, and as part of a global society.
Let there be light!
Shabbat Shalom & Good Shabbos
Yisroel