A few years ago, a group of folks from my congregation planned a trip to Israel. We worked together for many months - created a whole itinerary, met several times to get everyone excited, discussed logistics, and ironed out all the details - and then, a few, short weeks before the trip was going to take place, fighting broke out in Israel (more than usual), and we had to cancel everything.
We were all devastated and heart-broken, and it was a very painful defeat. However, one year later, almost the entire group was back together, and THIS TIME we made it to the Holy Land!! Not only that, but the experience was perhaps heightened, and that much more special BECAUSE we had to start all over again and overcome adversity. It felt so incredibly devastating at the time, yet all the more meaningful and empowering twelve months later. I am feeling similar emotions to that Israel trip right now, in preparation for tomorrow's Shabbat morning service.
In January of 2019 - 16 months ago - I started meeting with a group of congregants to learn (or relearn, for some) the Aleph-Bet-basics of Hebrew. An impressive group of people kept meeting for months, and then eventually transitioned to an Adult B'nai
(or actually "B'not," since they're all women) Mitzvah class. A few people had to drop out along the way, and a couple of new people joined in, and for the past year, I've been working with an absolutely phenomenal group of ten women. They've been studying, discussing, learning, arguing, laughing (and sometimes crying), supporting, and committing 110% to the monumental task of chanting from the Torah scroll & leading parts of the service. And some will also be speaking in front of the congregation about their/our shared experience. As if the task wasn't daunting enough - having to fit study time into "regular" life and delving into some way-outside-their-comfort-zone skills - a pandemic was suddenly thrown into the mix! Obviously, our service would need to be postponed... possibly even canceled... right?
Nope! Not this group. Tomorrow morning, the service will continue as planned, but over Zoom, and with a few necessary modifications.
In addition, similar to our thwarted Israel adventure, the whole class has resolved to learn yet ANOTHER Torah reading in the future, so that they too can enjoy the gratifying feeling of both doing the service in-person AND proving that we will not be defeated by adversity. Some individuals have postponed their sharing of reflections, until such time as they can be done in our Main Sanctuary... because they WILL be back! (You're welcome, Tammy...) I am so impressed with their resolve and commitment, just as I was inspired by the participants on that Israel trip, several years ago. And even though our Torah portion is about something TOTALLY different, that has nothing to do with traveling or Torah reading or perseverance, I actually still found a section that reminded me of these two fabulous and undeterred groups.
In Leviticus, 19:23-25, the Torah talks about practices and commandments for when the wandering Israelites eventually enter the Land of Israel. (They too had to wait to get there, though slightly longer than our tour group...) This particular passage talks about
when you plant new crops, and how you cannot partake of the fruit for THREE years after they've started to grow! Then, when three years are finally up... you have to wait yet ANOTHER year, as the Torah declares: "In the fourth year all its fruit shall be set aside for jubilation before Adonai." Only in Year Five may you begin to enjoy the produce... that YOU planted!! Whatever agricultural, theological, or
halachic (legal) reasons the text may have for these laws, one thing that you and I may learn from this is patience. There is value in delayed gratification, and even a sense of HEIGHTENED joy when you finally get to have that coveted experience! Often, in life, we want what we want when we want it. And we believe that getting it *right away* would without-a-doubt be the ideal. But whether it's travel abroad, a delicious looking apple, or a hard-earned rite of passage, sometimes waiting makes the fulfillment that much sweeter.
Mazal Tov to our wonderful, fabulous, phenomenal, inspiring, talented class!! This post is dedicated to all of you; Bev, Hope, Inge, Jodi, Joy, Lisa, Sherry, Tammy, Vicky... and maybe just SLIGHTLY more to Cathy, who was my partner-in-crime on that Israel trip too! :-)
Images in this blog post courtesy of my iPhone:
1. Our brave Israel travelers in August of 2015!
2. A dreaded page from the trope/cantillation portion of our learning :-)
3. B'not Mitzvah class, hard at work last summer
4. The whole crew, ready for a Zoom-stravaganza!!!
(or actually "B'not," since they're all women) Mitzvah class. A few people had to drop out along the way, and a couple of new people joined in, and for the past year, I've been working with an absolutely phenomenal group of ten women. They've been studying, discussing, learning, arguing, laughing (and sometimes crying), supporting, and committing 110% to the monumental task of chanting from the Torah scroll & leading parts of the service. And some will also be speaking in front of the congregation about their/our shared experience. As if the task wasn't daunting enough - having to fit study time into "regular" life and delving into some way-outside-their-comfort-zone skills - a pandemic was suddenly thrown into the mix! Obviously, our service would need to be postponed... possibly even canceled... right?
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