(Image: Drawing of footprints leading to legs covered in stars taking a step into a vibrant red, orange, pink, and yellow circle of light with a rainstorm in the center and sun in the upper right corner. From the author’s 5783 Omer journal.)
I’m writing a lot of quotes and affirmations on post-it notes these days. One that came to mind in sitting down today was: “Never let the bastards get you down.” Greeting Passover this year amidst political chaos and the social and economic implications thereof, it seems absurd/counterintuitive/privileged to imagine celebrating freedom from tyranny. Each day the news is more alarming. Indeed, the institutions we hold dear are all under heavy attack. And still, we must find things to be grateful for, to keep our hope alive. I don’t mean this in some trite “thoughts and prayers” way. I mean it literally. If we let our light go out, the bastards win.
In times like this, Jewish rituals, blessings, study, and community can help us maintain hope and even celebrate moments of joy. Not because we have some right to be joyful, but because we need to experience joy in order to keep fighting for freedom, for ourselves and all our fellow Earthlings to whose lives we are tied in so many ways. What follows are three short offerings to carry you through Pesach and into the season of the Omer in hopes you find nourishment and build resilience as we are pushed back into some space between mitzrayim (the Hebrew name for Egypt, also translated as narrow space) and the wilderness.
USE YOUR VOICE & ASK QUESTIONS
In The Jewish Book of Days: A Companion for All Seasons, R’ Jill Hammer cites the mystical Sefer Yetzirah which identifies this month of Nisan as the month of speech. She writes: “In the Jewish calendar, not only flowers emerge in the spring but words begin to blossom.”
What will you use your voice for this month? To whom will you speak? About what? How? And in the spirit of the seder, what questions will you ask? And to whom?
SING OUT!
On a recent episode of Survival Guide for the Wilderness (a Judaism Unbound adjacent podcast), R’ Jericho Vincent draws on Miriam to implore us to “Shiru L’Adonai – Sing Right [the F*ck] Now.” They illuminate the difference between Moses’s plan to sing after he and Israelites make it to the other side of the wilderness and Miriam’s action of singing in the moment. R’ Vincent interprets Miriam’s spontaneous song as a reminder that “If you have a moment of joy, seize it…. Joy is sacred. It is our responsibility to foster joy in a spiritual wilderness. Joy is fuel for survival.”
Sometimes when I’m feeling really low, I turn on the radio, crank the volume up REALLY loud, and I sing. I sing until I’m crying, even if the song is a happy one. I sing until I feel better, reenergized. I find this works really well on a sunny day, driving in the car with the windows down, but you can try it any way and anywhere you like. What will you put on your “shiru adonai” playlist? I’m starting mine with Joshuah Campbell’s “Sing Out, March On.”
COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS
Finally, I’ve been called to think about gratitude practices a lot lately. I appreciate how Jewish tradition invites us to pause throughout the day to express our awe and gratitude for things large and small. While I’m not in the habit of formally practicing this practice, I know it’s there for me when I need it. And I need it now.
Similarly, I haven’t been great in recent years of remembering to count the Omer. But it’s that time again. Beginning tonight, Sunday, April 13th, and continuing for the next 49 days, we are invited to contemplate and cultivate our divine attributes. I see this as a form of cultivating ourselves as blessings to the world. As R’ Yael Levy (whom many of us join in this ritual each year) teaches, counting the Omer creates space for “giving thanks for earth’s abundance and engaging in a practice of awareness, reflection and action for the sake of healing and shalom.” You can find more from R’ Yael, including links for learning and joining her for Torah study and meditation this season, on her website. The first week of the Omer is dedicated to chesed, loving kindness. How could you say no to that?
We’re in this together. That’s a joy in and of itself. See you soon in our Sukkat Shalom.
Jodi Kushins
KSS Lay Leader & Past Chair