Shemot

Tradition sees these coming six weeks as Shovavim, days of scoundrels; demonic forces unleashed into the world. The danger requires the gentle response of modesty, introspection and a willingness to change. This dark framing of the winter weeks clashes with the actual Exodus story we read in the Torah: coming out of the land of contraction, tasting freedom, spiritual growth and forging a future. Can we let both these traditions echo into our lives? The days start to grow longer in the middle of winter. The model of God we relate to has the non-name Ehyeh, “I-will-become”. In the image of such a God, we can see danger as passing, problems as surmountable, relationships as growth, and certainty as impossible.

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[Try, if you wish, two new podcasts: 58th Century Judaisms is a collection of random Torah-related meditations; and Milah Shel Torah is a bunch of short weekly Torah thoughts in slow and simple Hebrew.]