Dear Haverim,
The poet Zilpha Keatley Snyder has written:
“Here, right here at the edge,
At the edge of land and sea,
The World is alive,
And the wrinkling sand is only a skin,
A thin, thin skin,
Between the world and me.
At home,
In my yard are earth and stone.
Far down beneath,
And, dark and deep, the earth lies still,
As if asleep.
It sends up grass and one thin tree,
But fence and wall make it hard to see,
That the world is anywhere close to me.
But here,
Right here, where all around,
There’s only sky and sea and ground,
The world is everywhere and near,
The sound of it is rush and beat,
And there’s a pull beneath my feet,
Between the world and me.”
That’s where we’re going to be – “at the edge of land and sea,” where human nature and the natural world intersect, where the water that fills our bodies meets the water that fills the planet. How fortunate we are to meld Judaism, nature, and ourselves in one Shabbat experience!
An article in yesterday’s New York Times begins:
“Are there Americans who don’t have fantasies about a better life in
California? About gold in the rivers, giant fruit in the yards and
hard-core neon sunsets every single night?”
That’s why, in part, so many of us moved here and why so many, who grew up here, have stayed. It’s a beautiful place to live, especially for those of us who love the “great outdoors” and want to savor it with all of our senses year-round.
That’s what we try to experience at our monthly Beach Services during the summer. Through song, prayer, poetry, fellowship, meditation, and playfulness, we deepen our senses of sight, sound, taste, smell and touch, connecting the spirituality of the natural world with the spirituality within ourselves.
So many of us find our most profound selves in nature, a place for us to experience joy and exaltation as well as humility, when we realize that all of us are part of something much greater and more eternal.
So, please be with us for our “Last Beach Shabbat Service of the Year” this Friday evening. At 6:15 p.m., bring your own dairy dinner and at 7:00 p.m., share our joyful, aesthetic and fun Shabbat service on a cliff overlooking the ocean at Crescent Bay Point Park in Laguna Beach. (Click here to RSVP; since this service will be outside, Livestream will not be available.)
There’s an amphitheater for the service, but we usually run out of space, so please bring beach chairs. (Directions: From Irvine/Newport Beach, drive south on PCH to North Laguna Beach; pass Emerald Bay to Crescent Bay Drive. Make a right and go to the end of the street to Crescent Bay Point Park. You can park on Crescent or PCH or one block north on McKnight.)
Also, as I wrote in my July Beach Service letter, please bring friends, dogs and wandering Jews and non-Jews, and celebrate nature and Shabbat by the ocean. It’ll be an opportunity not only to recall memories, but to create some new ones, as well. We’ll also celebrate August birthdays and anniversaries and we’ll have fun opportunities for children.
Let’s celebrate our love of nature and Judaism together for our “Last Beach Service” this Shabbat! As it says in our tradition: “Acharon, acharon, chaviv/the last is the most beloved.”
Shavua Tov/Have a wonderful week in nature,
Rabbi Arnie Rachlis
