Parashat Beshalach

A tree in winter appears lifeless. With the leaves gone, skeletal form bare against the elements, what was invisible in summer is now visible: the birds’ nests, the shape of the limbs, the knots and twists. During winter, we are uncertain. Will the tree survive? Will it bloom again? This week we celebrated the holiday of Tu BiShvat, often called the Jewish Arbor Day or the birthday of the trees. Tu BiShvat is an incredible holiday because, while we often focus on spring and being thankful for trees, it is also a reminder that we do not take life for granted. Each morning, we are thankful for waking up again from sleep, just as the trees “wake up” in  spring and seem to come back to life. 

This week’s parashah, Beshalach, also describes a moment of emerging from darkness. After leaving slavery and the only home we’d ever known, Bnai Yisrael arrived at the sea with the Egyptians quickly coming up behind. A dire and impossible situation. But God told Moshe he would split the sea, and to have faith. We cried, “did you take us from slavery just so we could die in the desert?” We were so immersed in our current misfortune, in this immediate darkness, we had already forgotten that God had miraculously carried us to this moment. And the sea did split, and we did cross. On the shore, Miriam led us in song, thanking and praising God for giving us the gift of life once again. The passing of this terrible and trying moment is marked with singing, reflection, and thankfulness. 

This winter is a particularly challenging winter. The shadow of Covid-19 is casting extra darkness on an already dark time of year. If we imagine that a community is a tree, then each branch and leaf is another member of that community. We connect with each other in different ways: some in synagogue, some by volunteering, having meals together, supporting each other in times of loss, or a myriad of other ways of creating connection.  

But Covid has made those connections challenging at best. Our communal tree is experiencing winter, when the harshest conditions test the strength that we have built during more gentle times. Though in-person gatherings are limited or canceled this year, we maintain our connections through virtual events, through school, through creativity and adaptability.  

This week, let’s learn the lessons from Tu BiShvat and from the crossing of the sea. We will be thankful for each day, each rising up, and each spring. Just as the trees wake from their winter rest to bloom and stretch toward the sun, we can imagine a time when we will emerge from this pandemic, to reach and connect — and sing — with each other again. Shabbat shalom.