SHABBAT SHALOM -- VAYECHI -- A NEW NORMAL As we finish the Book of Genesis and as we begin the New Year 2015, many of us may feel rejuvenated and hopeful, filled with fresh promise and resolve. Yet, we may also feel at odds or distant -- at remove from our traditions, and even from our community -- feeling that things have moved too fast or that we dont belong as we used to -- that our home has somehow shifted and that we are afflicted with a spiritual loneliness. At the close of this first Book of the Torah, after the deaths of Jacob and Joseph, we find a new generation taking over -- one that does not have the same values and reference points that were previously shared -- people who do not remember the stories and the sagas of the great leadership and reunion of their ancestors -- people who did not live through the great sacrifices and hardships of the years of famine and who did not enjoy close relationships with the Pharaoh. How do we continue a succession that brings blessing, safety, and stability? How do we have our ideas and our efforts still valued, through the passage of time? As one generation gives way to another -- as culture and priorities shift, how do things continue as they shift? As we end and as we seek to begin again, may we involve ourselves in our given stories, renewed -- may we stake a claim in a tradition that has mattered to us -- and may our community thrive with the fruits of our efforts -- as we open our hearts and offer our voice for compassionate effort and for forbearance born of wisdom. As we prepare for whats next, may we enjoy this meditative and inspiring mystical poem from our Friday night liturgy -- Yedid Nefesh, performed in Moroccan style in Jerusalem at the Invitation to Piyyut Festival (2005) -- https://youtube/watch?v=-RQvcc-LvO0 Shabbat Shalom.
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 15:39:02 +0000