When we take the time to take in the rainbow, to pause and remember that the covenant God made comes with expectations of humanity to treat one another with kavod, respect, we renew our covenant with God and create a kehillah kedosha, a holy community.
How often do you take the time to take a step back, zoom out, and just marvel at a moment in time? What about a project or event? After each part of creation, the text teaches us that God “saw that it was good.” This action models presence and gratitude in a way we might not be accustomed to.
As we begin Sukkot with a variety of blessings to usher in the holiday, from leisheiv basukkah (sitting in the sukkah) to al n'tilat lulav (shaking the lulav) to the Shehecheyanu, may we use these blessings as opportunities to find and recognize other blessings in our lives and hopefully tap into some much-needed joy along the way.
As we enter the new year, may we strive to embody the call given to Abram: “You shall be a blessing.” May we bless others with our actions, with our compassion, and with our presence. May we find the courage to say amen to the challenges we face, trusting that even in our struggles, there is an opportunity for growth and connection.
We as Jews are the people of the book, which means we’re the people of stories. There are stories we tell ourselves, sometimes hold us back, and stories we hear that teach us and allow us to grow.
May we be for ourselves, recognizing our worth and advocating for our needs. May we look beyond ourselves, finding our true purpose in our connections and contributions to the world. And may we seize the present moment, nurturing our souls and finding joy in the here and now.
As God is giving the final instructions for Moshe to relay to the people, we are instructed that the Torah is to be read out loud so that those who did not stand at Sinai can still hear and learn its laws. We are the “People of the Book” for good reason, and the way our story lives on is by us telling it over and over again, and in every possible way.
