This week we begin a new book of the Torah that shares the same name of our parsha, Bemidbar. Throughout this book of the Torah the Israelites complain about being in the wilderness, all the while longing for the regular routine of life in Egypt. Even though they worked as slaves, life there was predictable and they knew what to expect. Life in the wilderness was unknown and unpredictable. It was vast and open and presented challenges they did not expect yet God was with them during this time to help them find their way. Yet this is the time that the Israelite people were closest to God who dwelled with them in various different forms as they traveled. This situation that our people found themselves in bears a striking resemblance to the one we face now in this pandemic. We went from a world in which we knew what to expect. Where there was a clear routine for work, school, taking care of the family, etc. Then our whole world was turned upside down because of COVID-19, now the sense of routine is gone and a new routine has emerged. Yet there is this feeling of the unknown. We don’t know how long this will go on and what will come next. Our Israelite ancestors felt the same way as they wandered through the desert not knowing how long it would take them to reach the Promised Land.
During this pandemic we have been given an opportunity to connect with God like our ancestors in the wilderness. Before the pandemic life was fast and a hustle and bustle and we were always thinking about our next task. Now we have the time to be with our families, to call our friends and extended family members more often. We have the time to explore our relationship with God and let it grow and develop into this rich deep spiritual connection. During this time, I implore you to look for new ways you can develop and explore your own spirituality and spiritual practices. Let us open ourselves up in this time of unknown to God just as our ancestors did in the Wilderness. God is always with us even in these hard and difficult times just like God was with our ancestors as they experienced the vast unknown of the wilderness.
Shabbat Shalom,
Cantor Kowitz
NEW - UNDERSTANDING PRAYER ON YOUTUBE Want to explore new ways to connect to your spirituality? Tired of the traditional approaches to prayer? We will look at all different modalities of prayer and connecting with our spiritual bodies. Go to the CBO website and click on the Live Stream YouTube channel.
As a reminder, Rabbi Bernstein and Cantor Kowitz are available to speak with you about anything that is on your mind.
CELEBRATIONS AND GRATITUDE Mazel Tov to Ellie Jurmann, granddaughter of Elaine and Jesse Scharf, who will be attending Brown University this Fall.
Please let us know if you have any celebrations, including anniversaries, birthdays, college acceptances, honor society, etc. that we can announce in our weekly blast.
MINYAN REQUESTS Shiva Minyan - Monday, May 25 for the Reiner family The following families will also be observing yahrzeit:
Iris Astrof has yahrzeit for her father, Alfred Mindlin.
Debbie Ring has yahrzeit for her mother, Tanya Lipsky.
Please go to https://www.cbohr.org/events-general.html.
Congregation Beth Ohr 2550 South Centre Avenue Bellmore NY 11710 (516) 781-3072 officestaff@cbohr.org
Affiliated with United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism