On my walk, I found a speckled yellow mushroom. An app on my phone told me this mushroom only grows in association with the Eastern White pine. The mushroom is just a hint, a temporary manifestation, of the massive web of tiny filaments that invisibly bound themselves to the roots of that Eastern White pine to help it grow. This is how I imagine the great love all around us: it steadfastly sustains our world, operates invisibly, except at rare moments when it shows itself to us.
Read MoreAt the beginning of our Torah portion, the image we have of Abraham is a sad one: Having banished Hagar and Ishmael, he returns home without Isaac, only to receive the news that his wife Sarah has died. In a few pages, the tribal patriarch, the leader of his clan, loses all those closest and most dear to him. As he mourns everyone he has lost, we wonder, is it too late for Abraham? is this what he has to look forward to? A life of isolation, cut off from his own family and the promise of the future?
Read MoreOne hineini, Abraham packs for a journey, gets ready to fulfil the terrible mission he has unwittingly accepted. Another hineini, Abraham’s journey ends, he is relieved of his awful burden. One hineini: Abraham accepts the painful fate he has been given. Another hineini: he responds, with joy, to a totally different truth. One hineini, Abraham’s life path seems set. Another hineini, he opens up to a totally different destiny.
Read MoreAs we cross from 5774 to 5775, the Akeida (the Binding of Isaac, which is traditionally read on Rosh Hashanah) tells us to look both ways so we can perceive the fullness of our reality.
As he looked up, Abraham saw the place from afar (Genesis 22:4)—three days before, God commanded Abraham to offer his son as a burnt offering on a mountain. Even though he is still far away, the moment Abraham sees the mountain he begins to anticipate his grief. He doesn’t raise his eyes again for a long time.
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