Holidays

I am awestruck at how much change has been happening for our United Hebrew Congregation community since my last visit to Terre Haute.

Moving from one home to another is never easy, but moving an entire congregation from the place where it worshipped, celebrated lifecycle events and welcomed visitors to a new (and smaller) home was a huge undertaking — oy! Mazel tov for making it this far, and let us pray for wisdom and understanding as we navigate our new beginnings in a new location.

My family and I have treasured these summer days, together and apart. For one week in July, my 17-year-old daughter and I went on a weeklong travel adventure to meet with a college friend of mine and her (now grown) daughters.

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This month, we celebrate the minor festival of Tu B’shvat — the 15th day of the Hebrew calendar month of Shevat. We call Tu B’shvat the “birthday” of trees, because it is a marker of time from which we count whether a tree is old enough to bear tithe-worthy fruit.

That is, is this tree mature enough, strong enough, to bear fruit from which we must dedicate a portion to others?

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Hanukkah reminds us of our longing for light, and the Torah portions traditionally read at this time of year reflect upon the building of the mikdash — a dwelling place for God on earth, literally, a “place for the holy,” which we often translate as “the Temple.”

Our synagogues are sometimes called a mikdash me’at, or a “miniature Temple.”

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