Tevet Week 1 – Treasures of the Dark

Coming through the lights of Chanukah and approaching the winter solstice, we continue traveling with Joseph and the treasures the darkness reveals.

Joseph says to us:
Our lives unfold in mystery
And how we arrive in each moment
Is hidden in a web of interconnection
That is Infinite.

Sometimes we can see threads of connection
And discern patterns of meaning.
Other times
It is impossible
To have any idea
How anything comes to be.

Joseph discovers that
Our task,
Our gift,
Is to decide how we will tell our stories,
How we will weave the narrative of our lives.

We can tell our stories in ways that encourage blame and guilt
Anger, resentment and pain.
And we can tell our stories in ways
That seek connection, that encourage love
And turn us toward forgiveness.

Our lives unfold in mystery
And our task is to bow to all we do not know
And then take the threads of our experiences,
The frayed edges of our joys and sorrows
And weave the narratives of our lives
Into tapestries of beauty and love.

–Rabbi Yael Levy

5 Tevet 5779