Earlier this week I had the honor of delivering a hot lunch along with grocery gift cards to fifty or so TSA agents at our Bozeman Airport. It wasn’t my idea. A generous Jewish couple in town called me and said, “what can we do for the TSA agents?” and a plan was conceived. The genuine gratitude expressed by the TSA team was beautiful, and because “kindness breeds kindness”, another couple just reached out and asked me to do the same again next week. We can choose to be numb to the woes of others, but it’s not the Jewish way, not the Torah way.

We are inching closer to Passover, a holiday on which we celebrate our exodus from Egypt. It’s an historical era that reminds us constantly that all people should be free to worship their Creator. The Egyptian experience taught us that enslavement, human trafficking, and tyranny isn’t natural, and we must do everything in our power to show up for those who are struggling, individually or collectively, under harsh circumstances. The entire Seder is infused with this message: Let’s contemplate and feel the pain of those who suffered, let’s envision redemption for humanity, and let’s ensure that we don’t leave it to the “theoretical” but actualize this idea by inviting and hosting all those who are hungry to join us in the journey towards a freer world.

In a world that is plagued with so much suffering, numbness is almost natural. It overwhelms us to hear all the news and internalize it. The brutalized people of Iran, the Uyghurs in China, the Ukrainians on the run. We hear about those effected by fire like Captain McDaniel and his family near Helena, those who deal with floods like the families at Texas’ Camp Mystic this past summer, and we of course follow with horror the daily barrage of cluster bombs that Iran is dropping on our brothers and sisters in Israel, our Jewish homeland that is home to many millions of Jews including my Aba and his wife Leah who live in Jerusalem. Yet Judaism demands that we remain sensitive and responsive to the pain around us and that we do everything in our power to celebrate all that we do have and show up for those depending on our kindness in their time of need. Passover isn’t just about the past; it’s about experiencing personal redemption which includes remaining attentive to all those who aren’t yet free.

Next year we will be free!

May G-d guard our brethren in Israel and the world over from harm and send us Mashiach speedily. May G-d protect the armed forces of Israel and the United States wherever they may be!

It’s spring break for the kids, and instead of flying, we decided to visit Northwest Montana. Wanting to see Kootenai Falls in Libby, we arrived at the trail only to see many downed trees resulting from last week’s wild wind/snowstorm, observing active “controlled burnings” operated by the forest service employees. Yet, despite the iffy weather and questionable terrain, we persevered. We climbed over, and under, branches and trunks, kept an eye on unstable trees that were wobbling in the wind, trudged through mud and ice, went over the bridge, and made it to the falls. It was worth the effort. Nature is soothing for the soul, comforting, inspiring, calming and gives us an opportunity to peek into Hashem’s wonders, which is something our family enjoys immensely.

In this week’s Torah portion, Vayikra, the first in the Book of Leviticus, we read about the Korbanos, sacrificial offerings, in the Tabernacle. Rav Chaim Chaykl of Amdur (1730-1787) in Chaim V’Chessed explains that each offering contains components of all four categories of creations, which are Domem (Inanimate), Tzomeach (Vegetation), Chai (Animal), Medaber (Human). The salt on the offering represents the inanimate world, the wine, oil and flour utilized on various offerings represents the world of vegetation, the animal represents his/her kingdom, and the human who brings the offering, making a devotional declaration, is the human. We put the package together and ask the Kohen to act as our agent to deliver the final offering to Hashem, elevating to holiness all aspects of creation.

Spending time in the mountains, near rivers and lakes, seeing the kids ski at Big Mountain, experiencing mountain goat traffic on the road outside of Fernie, British Columbia, overlooking the Libby Dam, and even making it to The Yaak, considered the most remote town in Montana, all of it serves as a vital reminder that every aspect of creation is inspirational and ready for us to spiritually elevate and refine. It’s not enough to serve G-d with heart and soul, but we must internalize the art of bringing all our “stuff” together and utilize them towards a meaningful life. The town of Libby was hurt and devastated due to corporations who cared more about profits than they did about nature, not seeing it as G-dly. Our response to that must be to acknowledge pristine nature as a gift from Hashem, thus acting as proper custodians of the gift.

It’s all One!

May G-d guard our brethren in Israel and the world over from harm and send us Mashiach speedily. May G-d protect the armed forces of Israel and the United States wherever they may be!