It’s springtime. And for many of us it is the time for planting. Whether it is a flower or vegetable garden, or maybe just a few new shrubs for the landscape that surrounds our home, we love to plant things and watch them grow. Once they are grown and bear fruit or flowers, we pause and give thanks for the bounty. Good rains, fresh air and lots of sunshine, all provided by God, make this garden beautiful.
Our Ancestors were an agricultural people. Planting, tending and harvesting gardens were not only for enjoyment, but a necessity. And many of our Jewish holidays are based on agricultural themes. So it is in our nature that we have an innate wish to see things flourish, to populate a barren piece of land with color and sustenance.
Temple Shirat Shalom began its short existence with just a handful of seeds. Like the seeds we plant in our garden, we watered and nurtured them. We watched the seeds multiply and branch out to bring a new life to an otherwise dry patch of land.
After many months of nurturing our garden, we pause and give thanks. Did we have rain? Of course we did. And we needed the rain to make our roots that much stronger. Did we have fresh air? Yes … a fresh new start enabling us to maintain our faith and strengthen our bonds. Did we have sunshine? There was lots of sunshine. The sunshine brought us warmth, light and laughter and showed us the path to a new way to worship. We were given all that we needed to grow our Temple. Where once there was a dry landscape, we now have a beautiful garden where God dwells.
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