Summer is the Shabbat of the Year

Summer is
for opening our minds and our hearts
into the stillness of just being.

Plunging your whole self
into the refreshing waters of the lake,
into an underwater world
where the fish, and the turtles, and the lake grasses
support each other
in a finely balanced ecosystem.
You break the surface for air,
feel the warmth
of the summer sun on your wet hair,
mingling with the sounds
of the birds flying overhead.

Summer is
for listening
to the hum of crickets
for gazing
at the deep dark
midnight blue of the night sky,
twinkling stars
spread out across
the vastness of the universe.

Gazing upward
you are reminded
of the Oneness
that connects everyone and everything.
Oceans, and air,
canopies of trees,
their roots sinking down
into the deep moist earth that feeds
the plants, the vegetables and grains and fruits
that we harvest to sustain us.

Summer is
for eating ripe peaches
that drip sweet juices on our fingers,
for spitting watermelon seeds,
for chasing fireflies across the lawn.

Summer is
the Shabbat of the year
a spiritual reconnect
to all that is holy
that makes us whole.
בְּרוּכָה אַתְּ יָהּ מַעְיַן הַחַיִּים
Brucha Aht Yah, Ma’ayan HaHayyim
Blessed is God, Wellspring of All Life

L’shalom,
Rabbi Audrey S. Pollack

Filed under: Rabbi's Message

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