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There is a beautiful Simon & Garfunkel song I always think of at this time of year.  “April, Come She Will” in just a few lines, conveys the beauty of spring spinning into summer, summer slowing into fall.  “August, die she must/ The autumn winds blow chilly and cold.”  We may not be bundled up quite yet, but following some genuinely scary storms, cool breezes are replacing cloying humidity, kids are getting haircuts and school supplies, and new beginnings are in the air.

The other morning as I was leaving the house, I noticed that the flowers in front of our mailbox, while still beautiful, have become sparse.  The lush hydrangeas spilling over themselves are gone, as if to reinforce the truth that we can only look behind from where we came.  (Thank you, Joni Mitchell!)  August die she must indeed.

There is also plenty of looking back in Eikev, our Torah portion this week.  As the Israelites stand at the ultimate border about to enter the land of Canaan, Moses is on hand to remind them of who they and their forbears have been over the forty years they wandered to the place they are now.  He speaks of all the times they slipped, disobeyed and rebelled, as well as the times they experienced harmony and transcendence together.  Always together.

God also warns the Israelites against becoming jaded or complacent once they become a settled people, perhaps understanding that it's a very human tendency to grow so used to what is that we forget about all that can be.

As the yearly cycle brings us closer to our time of deep renewal and contemplation, I hope each of us will find ways of enhancing our appreciation for all that is comforting and familiar in our lives, while readying ourselves new opportunities and growth – sometimes exhilarating, other times painful.  The hydrangeas may be leaving us in their proper season, but the beauty and the astonishment goes on through the years!

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Rebecca Gutterman