First Steps to Freedom and Friendship

“What time is it?” is a fun question to answer in terms of Jewish time.

There are so many time cycles (the moon, Torah, shabbat, holidays) often happening simultaneously that can shine light and provide answers that will inform you about something thoughtful, meaningful, guiding, and possibly even inspiring. Right now - in Jewish time - is the watershed moment when we (but really you) begin the first steps towards this year’s new freedom journey. So where and how do you start?

First:

Identify what is oppressing you right now. In Sunday school this may have sounded like: “How are you in slavery like the Israelites in the story?” Answers may range from the big external stuff like systemic racism and anti-Semitism, to the big internal stuff like internalized doubt or lack of clarity. Whatever it is, trust it’s a right and good place to start.

Second:

Acknowledge that this thing you identified is complex, and like the simultaneous multiple layers of Jewish time happening all at once, you can really only tackle one at a time. Pick one (or two or three or four) things, and be done. That’s all you have to do with the first step.

And for now:

Remember that your advantage to walking this journey this year is that you’ve read this story before. We know that God calls Moses twice, that he can’t do it alone and needs his brother Aaron’s help, and before that he needed his sister Miriam to navigate the world! We know that Pharoah will continue to oppress through 10 plagues, that there will be a mixed multitude of diverse, fed-up, and marginalized groups who will march out of Egypt together. We know that Pharaoh’s heart will turn again and chase the Israelites to the water’s edge, and that spectacular things happen before liberation arrives and a new journey begins. This is an advantage because while we cannot predict how our own journey will unfold, we are equipped with wisdom and guideposts to help guide our path to a place we promise ourselves we will eventually arrive.

This week a Jewish time cycle is starting, and it will end in mid-April with a piece of bread or a dance with the Torah depending on how you pay attention to Jewish time. Between now and then, you get to walk a journey - have an adventure - from wherever you are right now to a more spacious and liberated open place of more freedom and friendship.

Looking forward to the journey together,
Rabbi Jeff