Temple Newsletter for July 14

Maybe clouds aren’t so bad. The Torah relates that there was a protective cloud that accompanied the Israelites during their forty-year journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. We’re told that the cloud gave the sign when it was time for the Israelites to go forth from one place to another, and that the “name” of God could be seen within the cloud.

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So often we speak of a person “having a cloud over his life,” and we mean it in a negative way. There is the “cloud” of bad luck, or the one that seems to bring pain and struggle in an excessive way. We’ve all known such people who endure so much unfairness as life is so hard and challenging.

But for the Torah, and for our Jewish tradition, the cloud was sign of Divine protection and blessing. And yes, we all need such a “protective cloud” as we face the harsh challenges and ordeals of life. And for me, the cloud that comes first to mind are those people in our lives who have nurtured and cared for us. Our parents, our spouses, our friends, our teachers who inspired us and who believed in us and who have supported us along this journey that is life.

My family has recently been blessed with the birth of another grandchild. Little Olivia is beautiful and embodies so much potential for love and goodness. But those qualities do not happen by themselves. Olivia will need the “cloud” of her parents’ love and devotion, as she will need it from all to whom she is dear. Yes, I’m speaking of a little baby, but isn’t there some truth here for all of us? And don’t we all have such a beautiful “cloud” in our lives, if only we would behold it often.

One of my teachers inspired me when he said that “the purpose of prayer is not so much to ask for what we lack, as it is to call us to notice the wonders that are part of everyday life, if only we might see them.”

May we all be blessed with a full and abundant “cloud” that hovers over us. It calls us to go forward in this sometimes harsh and painful journey, even as it summons us to reveal the best that is within us.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi David Greenberg