Rabbi Janine's Messages

Here is the first of several Shabbat messages written by our KHN Student Rabbi Miriam Ginsberg. Student Rabbi Miriam will be writing a Shabbat message once a month from now until the end of her internship with us. We are so fortunate to learn from her. I wish you a sweet and joyful Shabbas.

Shabbat Shalom!
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Rabbi Janine Jankovitz 
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Dear Community,

As we enter this Shabbat, we are entering into a new month: Adar.  Adar is the month of joy, with the full moon of Purim at its center. 

During times that feel heavy and hard, though, it can feel dissonant – or even inappropriate – to be told that we are in a season of joy. There is much pain and suffering right now, in the world, in this country, and in our own lives. So how do we orient toward joy? How do we meet this Adar?

To answer this question, I’d like to explore what joy really means. I often use joy as a synonym for happiness, but I think there is actually a big difference between the two. Happiness is a simple emotion, a state of feeling good. Joy has depth. There are many times in my life when I have felt joy even when things are hard. For me those moments were joyful not because I felt happy, but because I felt alive. For whatever reason, in those moments, I was able to really be in touch with myself and with others and with what was happening. I wasn’t hiding or escaping; I was facing pain, and I was also experiencing delight in the world around me. I was feeling alignment in my being, alignment with my values, and a sense of purpose. For me all of this is what feeling joy means. It means being alive, being present, and integrating the good with the bad. 

It is not always easy to do this. In fact, it’s really hard. We are up against so much, and we have been for a long time. The pull of overwhelm, of despair, of chasing temporary feel-good moments, is real, and it is not a failing to succumb to that pull. We get to be gentle with ourselves and know that whatever we’re able to do is ok.

I offer this framing only to share a different definition for joy, and a potential way to orient to it during this Adar. If it feels possible for you, I invite you to try on the kavana or intention of cultivating joy this month – a joy that is about being present and alive. You don’t need to be happy or feel happy as a result, even though you might! Instead, it’s about noticing the good that is all around, at the same time as we let in the bad. It’s about feeling it all, facing it all, and allowing ourselves to be moved by it. 

To guide us in this kavana, I’d like to share this song with you, which truly embodies what I think of as joy. I've included the link in the title. Listen to it if you like, or sing it, or meditate on it, or read it each morning when you wake up, or ignore it altogether. Whatever it means for you, and however you get there, may we all move toward more joy and expansiveness this month. 

Gonna Let Life Move Me By Scott Kalechstein Grace
I’m gonna let life move me
I’m gonna let life stir me deep
I’m gonna let life wake me up 
from an ancient sleep
I’m gonna laugh all my laughter
I’m gonna cry all my tears
I’m gonna love the rain as deeply as 
the sun when it clears


Shabbat Shalom,

Student Rabbi Miriam