Randy Schoch, Para Rabinic Fellow
As we move through the cold dark days of January, our lit-tle shul has been keeping the warm glow of fellowship and love alive in our activities and services.
We did cancel out service for Jan.1st because so many of our members were out of town or otherwise occupied but our Torah service on the 9th was well attended and inspiring. It was good to see Alvin well enough to attend the service and he looks great with a beard although he has since shaved it off. The Friday evening service on the 22nd this week will no doubt bring us all back together and swing us into the rest of the winter.
Our Auction and Spaghetti Dinner on the 16th was a rous-ing success and will no doubt be reported on in another col-umn by those in charge. It was a lot of fun and very loud (so much for “silent”). After all, can you imagine a room full of Jews and their Christian friends together with food, wine, and beer being silent?
At the end of this month, we will be celebrating the holiday of Tu b’Shevat (The New Year for Trees). This holiday was not much heard about in the past but has taken new meaning and importance as we become more concerned about global warming, green house gasses, air pollution, polluted water, etc. The value of trees and plants are now emphasized in all our Jewish religious schools and most synagogues to the ex¬tent that there is now celebrated what is called the Tu b’Shevat Seder. During this Seder, the children and adults are reminded of how import plant life is to our planet earth and how good the various nuts, fruits, and wines taste.
You know we can’t have a Jewish celebration without some food and liquid libation.
A little bit of Kabbalah from the Rebbe, obm before clos-ing: When our universe as we know it first emerged, the soil of the earth was imbued with a wondrous power—the power to generate life.
Place a tiny seed in the ground and it converts the carbon of the air into a mighty redwood— a decomposing seed awa-kens the power of the infinite.
Yet another miracle, even more wondrous: A quiet act of kindness buried in humility ignites an explosion of G dly light.
Infinite power is hidden in the humblest of places.
ב׳שלום,
R. Schoch, PRF
Disclaimer – Anything written in this column is only my own impression of events, the way that I interpret them, and not meant to be factual and true. If confronted by a challenge, I will immediately claim senility and deny writing whatever is being challenged.