For the past few days, I have been in the Catskills, hiking, swimming, visiting historic sites... As I look out the window of the storied resort where I am staying, there is green as far as the eye can see: warmer, brighter tones in the foreground and cooler, more minty ones from the mountains in the distance. Families are playing tennis, that friendly elderly couple will probably be sitting on the front porch rocking chairs should I want a chat after lunch, and my friend and I are already planning an afternoon swim, a visit to a cidery, and a bowling rematch for this evening, before the bonfire, in the ancient activity building across the path from the main building. If I’m lucky, the friendly bartender who used to be a studio drummer and even toured with Styx might be willing to open the Escarpment Bar a little early this evening, so that I can enjoy some reading or Trivial Pursuit with a glass in hand… Life is good.
This feeling couldn’t be farther from the ones I have been fighting off for almost a year now, the despair, anxiety, confusion, and anger that world events have brought to my doorstep. Like most of us, I don’t want any of this. I want love and good times, the freedom to sit back and enjoy the sunsets with an old friend and a glass of wine. If my neck were long enough, I would love nothing more than to take my best ostrich pose and tune out the tales of war, murder, rape, and torture. Wouldn’t it be lovely if we could all tune out all of this heartbreak and horror from time to time
This week’s Torah portion, Matot/Ma’asei, is chock full of war and its spoils, broken vows, the commandment to fight for the Promised Land, the injunction to only spare the female prisoners “who [have] not had carnal relations with a man,” and… you know what? I hear they have a shuffleboard set up in the activity room across the way, and I’ve always wondered how to play shuffleboard. And Jennifer Grey’s memoir, Out of the Corner, is sitting on my bedside table. It is not going to read itself!
I hope that each of you is enjoying your summer, taking some time away from the headlines, and appreciating the little joys that make our life on Earth such a gift. I hope that you can turn your attention to those that you love and to make room for yourself on that list. There will be time to fight, time to worry, time to pick up where we left off. But, for now, I wish you a very warm (and sunny!) Shabbat Shalom!
Rebecca Abbate
