CBI Blogs

בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃

When God began to create (or “In the beginning God created.”) heaven and earth— Genesis 1:1

Here we stand at the beginning of a new cycle of Torah. On Monday evening Rabbi Folberg read the end of Devarim (Deuteronomy) and Rabbi Levy read from the beginning of B’reishit (Genesis). When the sun set on Tuesday evening of this week, we bid farewell to the joyful holiday of Sukkot and brought our high holy day season to its official close. It is now time for us to redress our Torahs in their ‘regular’ clothes (covers) and remove the beautiful white covers from our podiums.

As we take deep breaths at this pivotal time in our calendar, I invite all of us to breath in the endless possibility of the new year that lies ahead and exhale those parts of the past year that don’t benefit us. Think, for a few minutes, about these first words of Torah: “When God began to create…” and apply them to yourself. The beginning of this new Hebrew year and cycle of Torah is nothing but an invitation for us to tap into our creative selves.

Now, I understand if you are feeling tired. We have now survived a year and a half of pivoting, living with fear, questioning decisions, the list is truly endless. But maybe taking our beings – that are made b’tzelim Elohim, in the image of God (Gen. 1:27) and allowing time and space for creative energy is exactly what we need.

For myself, I hope this coming year is one of being creative in my living spaces. I look forward to getting my hands dirty by working in our yard and creating outdoor spaces that we would like to spend more time in. I also have ideas for re-imagining some of our indoor spaces as we continue our journey as empty nesters. Maybe you have always wanted to take a drawing class, write in a journal, or take a creative writing class? Maybe learning how to sew or digging out your old cross-stitch materials has been on your mind?

May this new cycle of Torah allow all of us to be creative, even as we return to our 'regular' clothes, bringing us renewed energy and strength.