Dear Readers,
When does something become antique, vintage or classic?
According to some, an item should be at least 100 years old to be defined as an antique. But when does the item start to become an antique? Really, from the moment it was made, it begins to age!
When does a young child learn how to speak? Children don’t suddenly start pronouncing words; acquiring language is a complex process. From the moment they are born, babies begin to learn this skill. First, they organize sensory information, disentangling sounds and categorizing them. Then they learn to recognize the meaning in all that noise and then babble away themselves. Eventually, they start learning the meaning of new words every day until they master a mind-boggling vocabulary.
You see, growth and change are continuous, even without us realizing it.
As you woke up this morning, did you sense the feeling that spring was in the air? Before long, the barren trees will be weighed down by bright-green leaves with the scent of budding flowers in the air tantalizing us.
When was the moment spring had sprung? While we may not have noticed, deep within the frozen soil throughout the barren desolate winter, the necessary rejuvenation was already taking place.
This week, we welcome the month of Nissan, which is a month of miracles, and the month that we celebrate Passover, our freedom from Egyptian bondage.
After Moses delivered a message of hope and freedom to his people, the tyranny and suffering of the Jewish slaves in Egypt became worse. But while externally their hardships were intensifying, the potential of their freedom was preparing to burst through the unyielding surface. Despite the desperation of their situation, after hundreds of years in exile, the Jewish people marched triumphantly out of Egypt.
Perhaps that’s why the month of Nissan is always in the spring. Spring signifies new beginnings, new opportunities. Nature has awakened from its long hibernation and is getting ready to surge into new life. So, too, each of us has an opportunity for new potential and growth. Just as the greenery breaks forth from its hiding place in the dark earth, we can break free from whatever was holding us back in our past, to embrace a future, replete with possibilities.
In just a few weeks, we will celebrate the holiday of Passover, whose Hebrew word, Pesach, means “to leap.” We were miraculously freed from Egypt, whose Hebrew word, Mitzrayim, means “restraints” and “constrictions.” From today onwards, let’s leap into the future, liberated from former restraints and brimming with new promises.
And perhaps this is the message of the Jewish people’s liberation in this season. Even in moments when we feel frozen over, impoverished, and stripped of our strength, we need to remember, growth and positive change are taking place deep within. Our situation may look bleak, but we canbreak free from our own restraints by realizing that G‑d has a good plan for us.
May this month of miracles finally bring us the long-awaited redemption, as all of humanity springs forth into an era of peace and prosperity!
Chana Weisberg
Editor, TJW
