Blog

It has been a rather challenging week to say the least. Many of us have expressed growing concerns related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Still others have been inundated with concerns related to acceptance and trust of the new CDC guidelines. Still others have experienced illness as some non-Covid virus passes through our communities, rendering people ill physically. To say nothing of the surgeries and passings that have touched our lives and broken our hearts.

Yet this has also been a week of blessing. Our Facebook feeds have captured wonderful scenes of graduations, of senior pictures, of family gatherings in celebration of seniors. Those with younger children are able to see the coming end to an academic year filled with Covid protocols, at home vs. in-person learning, and the navigation of boundaries associated with the social and emotional health of our children. The weather has been blissful, enabling longer walks, later time outdoors, and opportunities to wake with the chirping of birds.

In times of great trial, it is important not only to recognize those challenges but also to acknowledge the ways in which we are blessed.

It seems fitting that in this most…scattered…of weeks, we find nestled in our Torah reading words to offer uplift in our most trying times and words to frame our most joyous of moments. These words to which I refer, known as Birkat Kohanim, the Priestly Blessing, offer comfort in times of “oy” and gratitude in our times of “joy.”

May God bless you and keep you.
May you always draw comfort from a close relationship with God.
May a loving God lift you up, guide your journey, and bless you with peace.

Whatever our week…may this be our blessing. As we say: Amen.