Homework

Greetings from quarantine! It was 12/25 when the 2nd line quickly showed up on my test (Sharona also tested positive shortly thereafter), and one of the well-known lessons … you know, the one about people making plans and God laughing… smacked me upside the head. Great line within Psalm 30, part of the daily prayers: “I had said, while at ease, nothing will shake my sense of security.” I mean, I took each booster, I haven’t exactly mixed and mingled amidst the throngs, so … I just won’t catch the crud. Hah! So, lots of tissue boxes later, no complaints, really. Paxlovid definitely leaves a pretty crummy metallic aftertaste, but it sure has helped mitigate the symptoms. I’m grateful. Also, many thanks to the CSI leadership that held down the fort.

A bit of actual torah as we finish Genesis and are now moving into Exodus. In yesterday’s parasha, Jacob addresses his children just before he passes on. Sad to say – and not really surprising- Jacob is presented with a huge opportunity, and he fails. His children are gathered around his bed awaiting, hoping for a blessing from their father. The three oldest receive words of anger and doom. Did they deserve censure? Maybe so. Jacob settled scores and shared some crystal ball talk (cue Sinatra crooning ‘I did it my way’), but think about it. Your vulnerable kids hang on your closing words. Is this the best you can do? Is it Always about you? Jacob would probably launch into another installment of ‘these things always happen to me.’ At a certain point it has to be about what you can do and say that will help another person cross the river, get through the day, mend the break.

Here’s to 2024! Sure, 2023 was a raging storm. And what might each of us do to make 2024 better? Go to the pantry. The item you’re searching for cannot be rush ordered or even located at any local shops. But you surely have it. It’s an extra cup of kindness. You’ll find it. It never goes bad. This is how we’ll craft a compassionate, loving, blessed 2024.