This week was an unusually full week for us, all good things though. Just very full. I can already feel the shift from a relaxed, easy-breezy summer schedule kicking into the high gear of fall, and all that entails. Almost like the flip of the switch, and now BOOM! Fall Frenzy is here. Especially with Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot back to back to back. And while I’m so grateful God gives us this period of reflection, joy, and wiping our slates clean, it still entails a lot of preparation on the back end to ensure the holiday can be filled with joy. Does that make any sense?
Instead of getting completely overwhelmed and crushed by my to-do list that gets longer by the minute, I’m taking a moment to stop, and say thank you to God for each and every blessing that said to-do list represents. Thank you God, for gifting me the talent to bake round-homemade challah for our family’s table, using eggs from our very own chickens. Thank you God, that we have the financial resources to shop at the gourmet grocery stores for the upcoming holiday meals. Thank you God, for the talent to cook and bake from scratch to fill the bellies of our loved ones. Thank you God, for a beautifully set table, one which I can already envision: my grandmothers table cloth, my parents challah board, Alex’s fathers kiddish cup, the smells of a home-cooked gourmet meal, my children’s Rosh Hashanah school projects decorating the table, in addition to the beautiful candles burning, and the beautiful bouquet of flowers I’m going to splurge on. Thank you God, for each and every soul that will gather around our dining room table on Friday night, and ring in the New Year with us. This will be my mantra this week, as I methodically plow through my to-do list.
In Your Heart
Surely, this Instruction which I enjoin upon you this day is not too baffling for you, nor is it beyond reach. It is not in the heavens, that you should say, “Who among us can go up to the heavens and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?” Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, “Who among us can cross to the other side of the sea and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?” No, the thing is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart to observe it. (Deuteronomy 30:11-14)
God is telling us, as simply as he can, that what He’s asking from us, how to live and govern our lives, is… doable. It’s achievable. We should be able to achieve this, with relative ease. Therefore, it essentially becomes a choice. Do we walk in His ways, or do we not? God is also saying, that all we need is right here. We don’t need to send someone up to the heavens or into the depths of the sea to get it, impart it to us, and then observe it. No. It’s right here. Not too baffling, nor beyond reach. If anything, it’s right here. In our mouths and in our heart. Which implies, that when we’re ready, we can access it at anytime…
Although, and this may not come as a surprise, I’m curious… What exactly are we following? Which parts of the Torah? The whole thing? Or the second teaching that’s in Deuteronomy? But also the Ten Commandments of course. Can Torah be in my heart if I don’t observe every commandment perfectly? What does God actually mean when He says this teaching is accessible? Is a relationship with God contingent upon perfect observance? Or can I simply live, try my best, plow through my to-do list with grace and gratitude, and set a beautiful Rosh Hashanah table for my family and God?
In that way, am I accessing what is in my mouth and in my heart? Are you?