Rabbi Jaech's Blog

My dear Temple family:  I miss seeing you.

Yet it has been a comfort to see many of your faces in Zoom sessions, to hear your voices on the phone, and to know that so many are watching our Shabbat services stream live from the sanctuary.

Many of us are suffering now.  We miss the presence of friends and family. We worry about our health and the health of our loved ones.  We are grieving for those we have lost.  And the uncertainty about our future is a daily burden. 

I am here to remind you:  You are not alone.  Generations of our people have walked through times of danger and distress before.  They did this because they were strengthened by their faith and by their community.  We have their wisdom and their example to guide us.  And we have our sacred community to uphold us. 

In this days of Passover, I am reminded of a reading from our prayer book, paraphrased below:

Wherever we go, it is eternally Egypt…
Yet there is a better place, a promised land.
The winding way to that promise passes through the wilderness.
And there is no way to get from here to there 
except by joining hands, 
marching together.

With my whole heart, I wish you strength and shalom.