Friday, March 21, 24 Adar 6:00 - 6:30 PM Kabbalat Shabbat Services Please join Rabbi Plumb and Cantor Elana Rozenfeld for a virtual "From Our Home to Yours"
Saturday, March 22, 25 Adar 9:30 - 10:30 AM Shabbat Morning Services Please join Rabbi Plumb and Cantor Ellen Band for a virtual "From Our Home to Yours"
Shabbat HaChodesh The Parasha is Vayakhel-Pekudei Exodus 35:1 - 40:38 Additional Reading for this Shabbat: Exodus 12:1-20 Haftarah I Kings 7:40 - 7:50
Shabbat has finally arrived! I open my arms wide to welcome the Shabbat bride. I am so grateful for the G!d-given opportunity to rest after this tumultuous week. For those among us who are feeling isolated, I hope that we will feel the Shabbat Queen entering and filling our homes.
I pray that Her Spirit will ease the loneliness and anxiety of us all. For those of us who are now unexpectedly sharing a home non-stop with partners or children, we may find other challenges in managing everyone’s needs.
The Covid-19 virus has within it a guide to help us navigate these times. It has its own Mussar middah (trait). The very name of the virus, Covid-19, is a middah. Let me explain, as I did to the Board last night.
If you add a Hebrew twist to the name Covid, it sounds like Kavod, which means Respect. The gematria (the system whereby each Hebrew letter has a numerical equivalent) of 18 is Chai, which we know means life. To make 19, we add an aleph to Chai. The aleph turns Chai into Achi, which means my brother. So, the Hebrew ‘translation’ of Covid-19 is Respect My Brother. (Please see the picture below.)
The Mussar middah for this virus is Kavod, Respect.
Kavod in these times means protecting each other by physical distance. It means respecting the needs of our parents, children, and partners with as much patience and good will as possible. Kavod includes respecting ourselves and taking good care of ourselves. We show kavod when we help each other access Zoom, and when we stay in touch with each other. This Shabbat, I invite us to show kavod to ourselves by embracing the opportunity Shabbat gives us to rest our souls. Take a break from the news. Turn to G!d instead of CNN. Instead of Covid-19, this Shabbat, let us find Kavod Achi.
May this be a Shabbat filled with healing, peace, hope and respect,
Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Marcia Plumb
Congregation Mishkan Tefila 384 Harvard St. Brookline, MA 02446
