Let Freedom Ring

Dear Friends,

In just ten days, some of us will sit down at our Passover tables and recount our journey from slavery to freedom. We will tell our compelling story which includes a heart stopping narrative of courage, doubt, horrible plagues, miracles, personal sacrifice and utimitately, leaving everything we know behind to seek our destiny in a free land. Along the way we experience an incredible Revelation and receive the laws of Torah at Mt. Sinai which changes us forever. We then wander as nomads in the desert for forty years which solidifies our peoplehood. Ultimately we make it to the promised land and begin the work of creating a safe haven. That colorful journey seems so very long ago and yet, it seems that we are reliving those same struggles today. Creating a safe haven and peaceful world for ourselves and our children is a daunting goal, seemingly out of reach and yet, just as our ancestors did, we carry on!

As part of the Deep Ecumenism class I’m taking with Reb Victor Gross, I’ve been reading several books about Eastern Religions. One theme that they all have in common is the practice of mindfulness and meditation to clear out thoughts which cause us suffering. Spending time in quiet solitude, free from noise and the constant chatter and self doubt can help make us healthier, happier and less stressed. It can also free us from the chains of our own mind, the constraints of our own making. This type of mindfulness, I believe, is what compelled our ancestors to seek out a new life in a new land, free from tyranny and injustice. They wanted what we want: happiness, freedom and time to enjoy life!

My prayer for all of us during this season of Redemption and Rebirth is that we take time every day to dwell on the many blessings of our lives! May our struggle and our suffering be lessened by the knowledge that our journey will ultimately lead us to create a better world for our selves and our families.

Namaste,

Lisa