The first instinct the Israelites have after crossing over the Red Sea in this week’s Torah portion, Beshalach, is not to get as far away from Egypt as possible, or even to seek out shelter or water, it is to celebrate. And, not just any celebration, but a stylized, orchestrated celebration, involving poetry, and then purposeful dance and song. While it is highly unlikely that this could have been their actual first response, the Torah is teaching us an incredibly important lesson in the beautiful “Song of the Sea” that Moses is supposed to have composed for the occasion – the necessity of focusing on the now. Despite all the incredibly difficult challenges that lie ahead for these newly freed slaves, challenges that will test every fiber of their being, they still have to find time to properly appreciate the magnitude of what has just happened to them. This is their “I’m going to Disney World” moment, you may be familiar with from post Super Bowl commercials, the time to let out air and relax, not worrying about the future.
The holiday of Tu B’Shevat, our Jewish New Year for the Trees, that we will also be celebrating this Shabbat, marks the exact opposite response, reminding us of the necessity to wait and have patience even as it may take years for events to come to fruition. After all, why celebrate plants, here, in the middle of winter, when despite the fact the days are starting to get a little longer, warm weather is still far away? The Talmud recounts the famous story of Honi the Circle Maker, a hero in the story of Tu B’Shevat, who famously encountered a man planting a carob tree shortly after the destruction of the second Temple. “How long will it take to bear fruit?” Honi asks the man. Seventy years, he is told, to which Honi responds, “How can you be certain that you will live another seventy years?” The man replies back, “I found already blooming carob trees left to me by my forbearers, so leave these for my children.”
In this way, Judaism teaches us both the short and the long view, asking us to live in the moment, even as prepare for the future. How beautiful that these two messages come together on the same Shabbat. I hope to see you this Friday at our “Shabbat in Liverpool” celebration.
Shabbat Shalom,
Last Updated on 02/10/2017 by wpadm