蜜芽传媒

A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Rabbi Charley Baginsky

Good morning.

In The Great Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan asks: 鈥淒o you always watch for the longest day of the year and then miss it?鈥�

I will admit, I am Daisy. The phrase 鈥渢his too shall pass鈥� is one I return to often. It reminds me that pain and illness will end, and there is a better future ahead. But most of all, it reminds me to pause and be present, because moments pass too quickly.

Last night I came home late, exhausted. The house looked like the chaos only three teenagers, one dog, and two cats can cause. I was tempted to leave it all for the morning, but my son had been hinting all week that he fancied a particular dinner. So, clearing a space in the kitchen, I sweated and swore my way through the recipe he鈥檇 requested.

I wondered at my own madness, indulging the whims of a teenager, but then this boy who now towers over me threw his arms around me and said, 鈥淢um, you are the very, very best.鈥� Suddenly he was six months old again, asleep on my lap.

In Judaism, for these moments, we say the Shehecheyanu: 鈥淏lessed are you鈥� who has given us life, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this season.鈥� It is said for firsts, but also for private moments no one else will notice.

Imagine if we lived as though every day contained a once-in-a-lifetime moment, one that too will pass and made sure to catch it before it slips away.

May we notice them. May we bless them. And may we treasure them before they鈥檙e gone.

Amen.

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