Shabbat Blast

I spoke to Cantor Yavneh today and he sounded like his normal self. Over the last few months, he has been juggling treatments for ongoing health issues along with the teaching of our students and his work during the week. He had planned to take time during the summer to address his health, but as they say in Yiddush, “Der Mench trackht, un Got lakht,” “man plans and God laughs. So, Cantor Yavneh is taking time now for his health and will rejoin us in the middle of the summer.

He shared the following note with everyone: “Enjoy the summer! Thanks for the calls, messages and wishes for refuah shlayma (full healing);- but mostly for your many hearts that have beat as one with mine for so long.”

Cantor Yavneh expresses his gratitude for all the love he has felt from our messages. As you can imagine, he has a huge number of them as he has touched the lives of so many. He may not be able to respond to all of them, but is so grateful for the support.

Faith and despair are the main themes of this week's Torah portion, Shelach Lecha. Twelve spies go to scout out the land of Israel. Only two come back with feelings of hope even in the reality of great obstacles. They are rewarded for their positive thinking, reminding us that faith can be enriching, whether you believe that the reward is from God or from your own self fulfilling prophecy and determination. Many allow faith to be their anchor during the toughest of times, through illness, loss, and confusion. May each of us give ourselves up to faith to propel us forward and explore our destiny.

Shabbat shalom,

Rabbi Bernstein