It's been far too long since I've updated this blog - heaven knows it's not that I've had nothing to say! But I have been feeling somewhat disconnected, and so very recently, I came up with an idea that I think might help me get back to the place I'd like to be. It started with a birthday gift given to me by my friend Catherine....
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| I could get into some fun trouble with this! |
As soon as I opened the present, I had to open the book, of course, and right away my imagination got to work. It felt serendipitous - I had been thinking that I needed some way to reconnecting with my Judaism, to nurture my spirituality in a way that synagogue simply has not been doing. I had considered that at least I might do something to honour Rosh Chodesh - that's the beginning of the Jewish month. And it's traditionally held to be a women's holiday, for a number of reasons:
- from Torah, we learn that women were accorded this festival as our own, because it was women who didn't lose faith in God, and who refused to contribute to the building of the golden calf (which is first introduced in Ki Tisa, Exodus 32). You can read an interesting article about it here: https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-women-did-not-contribute-to-the-golden-calf/ And there's also this one: https://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/2879677/jewish/The-Golden-Calf.htm
- Tradition goes on to tell us that our reward (not that one was asked for or promised) for righteousness in the face of those who turned away from God was a festival of our own, on which we might refrain from much of our ordinary work. Now, that's an interesting idea - on the one hand, I kind of like it; on the other hand, sometimes Rosh Chodesh falls on Shabbat, which is wen many (many, many) women are busy ensuring that the home is ready, and preparing meals that will keep from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset. Shabbat and most other holidays tend to be pretty busy times for women.
- A bit more recently, it's been proposed that Rosh Chodesh should be considered a festival for women because our bodies, like the Jewish calendar, follow a lunar cycle. I kind of like this one, because not only does it honour the new month, but it also honours creation, in which woman participate intimately.
So then, what I decided to do to mark Rosh Chodesh was to hike. I like hiking, anyhow, and although I much prefer to do it with friends, sometimes I am on my own. Catherine, who gave me the book, is not Jewish, but she loves the idea of doing a Rosh Chodesh hike with me. Right now, though, she's away, so I decided that I would have this hike anyhow, to see how it feels. My best friends in Quebec, Fabiana & Daniel, joined me - we hiked virtually this morning. They tromped through snow in a park, and I marched around the barrens at Polly's Cove. It doesn't look like winter here...
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| Looking towards Peggy's Cove |
Look at that blue sky! It's glorious. And truly, although the weather told me that it was 2 C, with a wind chill meaning it felt more like -2 C, it wasn't cold. I was perfectly comfortable in a sweater that my mum had knit, with a very light hoodie. The ground isn't frozen yet at Polly's Cove, though there's some ice there - much of the ground is damp and marshy. The lichen and ground cover there are spongy and soft, all of which encourages you to step off the trail from time to time.
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| Fraternal twins |
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| A sentry |
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| Path in the woods |
Mostly as I walked, I was alone, so I was paying closer attention to the sounds around me than I might have ordinarily - I heard my footsteps squelching over damp areas, crunching through undergrowth, padding along huge rocks as I sought a view from higher up, or whispering across tiny paths composed of tiny stones. There were birds - the tits were flying much too fast for me to do more than smile at their presence. They work harder than I do on Shabbat, for sure! There were some birds that reminded me of Australia's kookaburras. I didn't see them, so I cannot say what they were, but certainly, they were laughing - and on such a beautiful day, why not? The kingfisher is the official bird of Halifax, and also cousin to the kookaburra, so maybe they were kingfishers. They made for a nice soundtrack, though.
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| New growth resting for spring? |
There was hardly any ice there, just in a couple of spots that were on or very close to the trail. I wondered whether the tiny shoots poking up through the ice would stay the course during winter and grow into something beautiful in the spring.
The image below, in which there are trees reflected in what is nothing more than a puddle, struck me in two ways: the obvious reflection, of course, got me to thinking how we reflect each other, how we might reflect God, and how we can reflect
upon things. And realising that this puddle will be gone on the first dry spring day reminds me that we are just about as impermanent as a puddle - so it's important to be mindful about reflecting goodness, I think.
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| Reflections seem appropriate today. |
When I got as far as I would go today (it started to sprinkle, and I wasn't dressed for rain!), the view that met me was one so familiar to people in this part of Canada - or really, any people who live near any ocean. Here is where I stopped and said a blessing for the new month of Tevet, which starts today. Here is where I said a blessing over wine to sanctify the new month. It's perhaps not unusual that the act of doing these two simple things offers me hope of many good things: when we honour the month and all its potential, we remind ourselves that we have the power to realise potential.
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| Rosh Chodesh View |
It didn't translate so well to the photo, but there's a fishing boat out there, kind of between the bigger island on the left and the 2 rocky outcroppings that are on the right. Going out on a boat like this for a day when the sun is shining, and the day is pleasant, is lovely - you might even imagine that you could make your living at this. At least, that's how I've often thought. It's hard, hard work, though, and even though today was a beautiful and not very cold day, it's colder out there on the sea - so it's unlikely I'd ever seriously consider doing this. But today I also thought that further out on the ocean, where they cannot hear people or cars, perhaps they are closer to God than I am standing on the shore. It's not that God isn't to be found on the shore, of course - but if you have the opportunity to be out there, there are fewer things to distract you. And fishing, like much of life, involves waiting... so it might be a time on which one could focus with more intent on these deep thoughts.
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| Me and the sea |
Here is where I greeted the new month of Tevet. My prayer was
"Y'hi ratzon sheyitchadesh aleynu chodesh Tevet: l'tova, v'livrakhah, l'sason ul'simchah, le shalom v'achavah, rey'ut v'ahavah, la'avodah vitzirah, parnasah vekhalkalah, l'shalvat hanefesh uvri'ut haguf, l'chayim shel derech eretz v'ahavat Torah, l'chayim sheyimal'u bam, mish'a lot libeynu l'tovah, keyn y'hi ratzon."
And here's what it means
"May the month of Tevet be a month of blessings: blessings of goodness, blessing of joy, peace, and kindness, friendship and love, creativity, strength, serenity, fulfilling work and dignity, satisfaction, success, and sustenance, physical health and radiance. May truth and justice guide our acts and compassion temper our lives that we may blossom as we age and become our sweetest selves."
Can you imagine? Becoming your sweetest self. Now that's something to which I think I should aspire.
Chodesh tov, reader - may all these blessings attend you.
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