*Tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m. we will make a Havdalah candle, study the enchanting Scroll of Ruth in English, nosh some ice cream or fruit and celebrate Shavuos.*
*Sunday morning, 10-11:00a.m. short study session in honor of Shavuot.*
** Monday, Noon- 1:00p.m. Memorial service for our loved ones and service women/men. **
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It has been two weeks and the high plains and mountain desert are still before my eyes, whether closed or open. Two weeks ago, after celebrating my niece’s college graduation, Manette, Jacob, Aaron and I left Boulder behind and entered magnificent country in western Colorado. Hills gave way to mountains and semi-arid desert gave way to green meadows. Cresting a mountain pass in Salida it began to snow, just 30 minutes after leaving expansive plains stretching from one horizon to another.
Gulches etched with intricate designs evidenced flash flooding. Trees changed before our eyes and boulders of reds, whites, grays and blacks dotted the roads’ shoulders. Occasional herds of cows grazed alongside. Jacob found it unfair that some cows needed to forage for provender beneath snow and yet other cows 20 minutes away enjoyed plenty of green grass. Separate from the cows which sporadically came into view, miles of emptiness ribboned away from our car in all four directions. It was wilderness.
As beauty surrounded us it was easy to recognize God’s handiwork and delight therein. Ever-changing scenery held our attention and captured our eyes and our hearts. A restful silence was repeatedly broken by “wow” and “look at that”.
Now we are home and we are vulnerable to losing the splendor of ‘the Great Outdoors’ which fostered an intense meditative high. Absent the wilderness, how do we maintain such a glow?
This week’s Parshah (B’meed-bar), which means “in the wilderness,” shares its name with the fourth volume of Torah. God is described as instructing Moses to communicate Divine mandates of holiness to the Israelites. In a glorious, heart-pounding display of beauty it is easy to appreciate God and to commit to follow Godly commands. But unlike Mt.Sinai where the best pyrotechnics in history occurred, B'Meed-bar opens with a voice emerging to Moses from a tent. Such a contrast! Is there a lesson to learn from the awesome experience of God’s coming out of a tent?
The tent was constructed by a community of people; each of whom shared personal gifts. Some brought artistic ability, others contributed materials and others were the construction managers. The group’s effort, shouldered by many cooperating individuals, generated a structure worthy of housing God and bringing God’s own voice to people.
We will not always find ourselves in a place of captivating beauty (unless we live in Colorado). Sometimes the wilderness will be unchanging and beauty will turn to monotony. There will be occasions when life is routine. The challenge for us is to feel that we are in God’s presence in ordinary surroundings.
Until we all make it to a Caribbean island, Sequoia National Forest or Jerusalem, we run the risk of living in an ordinary place and potentially losing a sense of the grandeur of nature which is awe-inspiring. How do we maintain the freshness of our sense of awe? By inviting God into our own beautiful Shul, made all the more enchanting by the sharing of each and every one of us.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Steve Silberman
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