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Once or twice in a lifetime
A man or a woman may choose radical leaving-
having heard
Lech L'cha- Go forth
God disturbs us toward our destiny
by hard events and by freedom's now urgent voice-
which explodes and confirms who we are.
We don't like leaving
but God loves becoming.
-Mishkan T'filah
We come to the Torah portion Lech L'cha this week, in which Avram, called by God, is asked to leave everything he knows to trust in the journey that he is about to undertake. Avram's courage and vulnerability, his faith in the unknown and in the hoped for blessings, are all part of our own human experience as well. The moments when events in our lives or in the world demand our brave response. The times when we are pushed out of our comfort zone by a nagging in our soul or by a crisis of the spirit. The flashes of illumination (wherever they come from) that remind us of what we believe we are meant to do in the world. Lech L'cha - how do we find the courage to go forth, to take a step in a new direction?
This Friday evening, join Cantor Harrison and me as we begin our Shabbat celebration with Tot Shabbat at 6:15 pm in the Sanctuary, followed at 8:00 pm with Erev Shabbat service in the Chapel. Shabbat morning, Rabbi Hirsh will lead Torah Study (9:00 am) and then our Spice Up Your Judaism session will be led by Scott Kushner.
And, there are two adult education opportunities this coming week:
Sunday (10/21) at 9:30 am, Rabbi Hirsh will teach "(Almost) Everything You Wanted To Know About Praying for Those Who Are Ill: Liturgy and Theology."
And Wednesday (10/24) at 10:30am, I will be teaching the second of two sessions on "Reform Judaism: Tradition and Change."
L'shalom,
Rabbi Jennifer L. Frenkel
If you wish to have a Mi Shebeirach said during our Shabbat services, please let us know by noon each Friday so we can give the names to the rabbis.
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