 Dear Chevre,
Days
ago our calendars marked the Jewish holiday of Tu B'shvat, often known
as the Birthday of the Trees. In this era, we have a new understanding
of trees as the lungs of the world. If we imagine Self as World, these
are our very own lungs! Can you imagine a bigger sense of Self that
encompasses all of nature? We have been trained to think of ourselves as
isolated individuals, but really, we are truly interdependent with a
whole web of life. Judaism expresses this idea in our central Shema
prayer "God is one."
I
am also thinking of the wonderful story of Honi, an old man in ancient
Israel who was planting a tree one day when a young fellow approached
him. "Why are you planting that tree when you won't live to see it
grown?"
"Ah," said Honi, "I am planting this tree not for myself but for future generations."
At
the stages of life that many of us have reached, aren't we now planting
for future generations? We are sustaining life-giving spiritual
traditions, caring practices, teachings and congregation structures, not
just for ourselves but also for generations to come. In my own life I
feel more and more drawn to teaching, mentoring, training, planting
seeds in others who will carry on the work. So glad to be doing this
holy planting together.
Happy Tu B'shvat,
Rabbi Julie
|
|
|