Annnnnddd….We’re back! It’s been a meaningful season of holidays. Our services at Chevrei Tzedek were full of ruaḥ, joy, and connection. Our programs for youth engaged our children and teens in meaningful activities and conversations. The discussion groups on Yom Kippur afternoon stimulated our minds and spirits in the waning hours of the fast. The holidays set us up for a shanah tovah m’od, a very good new year.
We’ve now reached the period often referred to as aḥarei ha-ḥagim, after the holidays. In the weeks leading up to Rosh Hashanah, any number of new ideas or congregational priorities get put off until aḥarei ha-ḥagim. Even things that are on our community’s agenda but not happening imminently migrate off our radar screen. Now that the holidays are behind us, it’s time to give our attention to everything that’s coming up and everything that we’ve been saving for later. It’s an exciting time, but to be completely honest, it can be a little overwhelming. We’re still recovering from the intensity of the holidays. And there are already so many things to do, so many ways to strengthen our community, so many celebrations to look forward to. In my studies of Parashat Noaḥ this week, I came across a midrash that helped me reframe my sense of overwhelm and recapture my excitement for this period of our year. After the floodwaters abate, God commands Noah to exit the ark, taking with him his family and all of the animals who had weathered the flood with him. (Genesis 8:15-17). God’s instruction to Noah to bring everyone out of the ark uses an unusual pronunciation of the word, prompting the midrash to seek out a deeper interpretation of the text. Bereishit Rabbah 34:8 first explains that the unusual word in question indicates that Noah had to employ some coercive force to get everyone to leave. The ark had become everyone’s new normal, an all-encompassing experience from which it was difficult to emerge. They needed a little push to come back to regular life. The midrash goes on to open up God’s command in the same section that all the creatures on the ark, upon leaving, were to “teem upon the earth and be fruitful and multiply upon the earth” (Genesis 8:17). The phrase “upon the earth” is repeated to emphasize that they could not move about freely or reproduce while on the ark. Their time on the ark was a period of dormancy. Surrounded by the protecting walls of the ark and the security of each other’s presence, they hunkered down to prepare themselves for a new world. Only once back in the world could they resume their regular activities. The analogy to the juxtaposition of the holidays and aḥarei ha-ḥagim comes easily. Our holidays together were a time of intense connection, of feeling the fullness of our community, of being buoyed by each other’s presence. They were immersive and important. Now, as we prepare to welcome the month of Ḥeshvan in just a couple of days, we return to regularity, renewed by our celebrations and ready to focus our attention on all of the opportunities that lie ahead. I can’t wait to get started on it all together. Shabbat shalom.
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