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June 3, 2022 (4 Sivan 5782) Bemidbar in the Kootenays! Dear Holy Friends, I hope this correspondence finds you well and in good health. In addition to our regular Shabbat morning hybrid services, which will take place at 10:30am, this weekend offers a host of other events. On both Sunday and Monday mornings, for the holiday of Shavuoth, we will stand together to celebrate the receiving of the Torah, with services taking place at 10:15am. (The recitation of Yizkor will take place on Monday morning.) Additionally, on Sunday afternoon, we will gather outdoors at 301 Bridge Plaza North in Fort Lee, at 3:00pm, for People of the Book. This program will include reviews of Jewish-themed books by members of our community while we all enjoy eating Divine Cheesecake! As I write this Reflection, I have just returned from a lengthy, yet meaningful trip to the inlands of British Columbia, in Western Canada. Prior to leaving, I had joked with some friends that it would take longer to get to my destination for my nephew’s wedding, than it took me to get to Israel a month ago. I was correct! Nelson, British Columbia, is a quaint and eclectic town nestled amid the Kootenay Mountains, in a remote region of southeastern British Columbia. The mountains themselves take their name from the Kootenay River, which in turn was named for the Kutenai First Nations people. Ironically, this Shabbat, we read the beginning of the Book of Bemidbar, often translated as, “in the wilderness.” For our ancestors, the forty years of wandering in the wilderness represented dislocation and uncertainty. Many biblical scholars refer to these wanderings as a period of discipline, purification, teaching, and ultimately, an attempt to train the Israelites to recognize the Oneness of HaShem in the world. While not religiously observant, my sister (z.l.) and her children learned these lessons of spirituality through years of living, if you will, an alternate lifestyle. Picture if you will, the following: A life void of traffic jams; a town with but a smattering of traffic lights; a residence surrounded by the majesty of God’s glory in the form of magnificent views of creation, snow-capped mountains, gorgeous lakes and rolling hills; a palpably calm pace of life; and intermittent cell phone service (such that people can carry on face-to-face conversations uninterrupted by the relentless notifications of digital technology). As farmers situated in a remote area, they have all come to embrace the acceptance of God’s hand in the world, God’s gifts of nature, and God’s ultimate power over the world in which they live. What we would likely refer to as a wilderness of scarcity, isolation, and paucity, they would likely describe as a life of existential value, deep-meaning, acceptance of the sacredness of life, and a life drenched in the experience of radical amazement by simply opening their eyes. They have passed Bemidbar’s test of seeing HaShem in almost everything they do. As we enter Shabbat, I pray that whether we live in a rural or urban setting, whether our life today is confronted by triumph or tribulation, that we can all gain insight to the guiding and shepherding hand of God, which leads the people of Israel, both you and me, each day, on a quest towards perfect holiness. Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Eric Wasser, EdD, Hon.DM
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