- Clergy
- Shabbat
At long last (at least from the perspective of those who live in Southern California), it is time to put away the winter coats and rain jackets and break out the short sleeves. Spring has returned to Los Angeles just in time for the start of Nissan, the first month of the spring season in the Jewish calendar, and the fast approach of Passover. Had we still been wearing sweaters and rain boots, I’m not sure any of us would feel ready for seder next Saturday night.
Though the most common text that we connect with Passover is the story of the Exodus from Egypt and journey to the Promised Land, Jewish tradition incorporates other sacred sources during the holiday as well. Jewish communities read the book of Shir Ha’Shirim, or Song of Songs, during Passover in addition to the story in Exodus. Written as an idyllic love poem, Song of Songs tells of two young lovers frolicking across the blossoming, springtime hills of the land of Israel. The beautiful imagery reminds us of the sprouting greenery and budding flowers that we see popping up around us now:
“See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me,” (Song of Songs 2: 11-13).
As the chill of winter blows away, we feel renewed and filled with hope for the season to come. Passover ushers in the spring planting season, which is symbolized in the seder through the parsley and egg, and so the imagery of the poem puts us in that seasonal mindset.
The Torah portion this week also speaks to this renewal. We begin the book of Leviticus with Parashat Vayikra, a book filled with the laws of purity and sacrifice. As strange and arcane as some of these rituals sound to us as modern Jews, the charge should still feel meaningful: cleanse and purify ourselves spiritually and emotionally as we go through the cycles of life. Just as Passover cleans out and starts fresh after the cold of winter, purifying rituals keep our souls renewed and whole.
Here in Los Angeles in particular, this has not been an easy winter. The fires in January brought immense destruction, loss, heartbreak, and city-altering change. Once the winter rains finally arrived, we felt both relief and fear for the additional havoc they might wreak. But, as Song of Songs tells us, the winter rains have passed and now is the time for the beauty of the earth to blossom again, and for our own hopes and passions to blossom as well.
On this Shabbat and leading into this Passover season, may it be a time of renewal and renewed hope, of beauty and love and fresh starts. I hope you and your families enjoy the gifts of the season and the holiday just around the corner.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Hannah Elkin