With Passover behind us and Shavuot next, we are left with a new schedule.  Pharoah is no longer in charge.  You are, with God's blessing.  The blessing is in wishing you well in how you handle your schedule, especially when you choose to do it on your own, i.e. without God as part of the equation.   

     Left to ourselves, we do some nasty things with time: we kill it, lose it, waste it, spend it, squander it, steal it, pass it, buy it, and so much more.  Left to ourselves, time is a commodity to buy and sell.  If we are not diligent, Time, i.e. the schedule, replaces Pharoah as Taskmaster.  

     Paradoxically, the four letter name of God, starting with Yud and Heh, is of the root of "Time", of Eternal Being; accordingly, all Jewish ritual commemorates or celebrates time, the uniqueness of each moment, and its relationship to other moments and bigger pictures.  Most Jews don't have enough time to discover this truth: Judaism is a time management system.   

     It is one thing to not attend a Sabbath service because it is boring, or of little interest, but what if you aren't attending, yet, when you do, you find it time well "spent"?  What other worthy endeavors have you put off due to time constraints, or its partner, fatigue?  

     God, assigning Moses responsibility for the calendar, in gazing at the new moon, marking Nisan, the month of Passover, as the first month of the year, put forth a new approach to time and scheduling.  In Partnership with Yud Heh, our mandate would be "to Do...and to Stop periodically" to see that our doings are worthy.  Pausing, when we can, as in Shabbat, gives "time" for Kadosh, Holy, to emerge: appreciation and evaluation of all our doings, that we may choose next courses, being sure to include what and who we value.  

     Meanwhile, the Jewish world is marking time, counting the days (called the Omer) until freedom from slavery becomes freedom to choose a system to vouchsafe our freedom and ensure that it extends to all facets of our lives.  That is what is so exciting about Day 50 of getting out of Mitzrayim: The gift of Torah and the holiday of Shavuot celebrating the details and blueprint for living.  You could partake of that celebration on Sunday, June 8, at 8PM.  

     The hard part is finding time to engage all these questions and possibilities and meet up with friends to explore them at services and other B'nai Israel gatherings.  Find a moment and check out the calendar.  It will be wonderful to see you.

     Oh, yes, if boredom, not schedule, is keeping you away, please find a moment and give me a call 707-592-4711 or e-mail davidewh@comcast.net.  I would be grateful for the input and the opportunity to exchange ideas.