Shabbat Gathering: I'm stuffed.

Dear Chevrei, as is our custom, we will gather tonight at 5.45p ct to welcome Shabbat. These are the coordinates:

Zoom
Meeting ID: 883 8469 4181
Password: 822665
Phone: +1 312 626 6799

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Here we go.

So far this year, I’ve attended two seders and there’s a third one I’m attending this Shabbat. I feel grateful for a community that will come together around a table, pass the asparagus, exchange ideas, and observe gratitude for those in every generation working for what's right.

But I still need to work on my gratitude. I’ve mentioned before how I feel enslaved by the constant barrage of awful news. Now, I’ve noticed an unspoken agreement in my group of friends that we won’t bring up the horrors unless the other person in the conversation goes first. This has noticeably dialed down some of my anxiety. And some is better than none at all. Sometimes, that’s as good as it gets.

I’ve begun to be grateful when things go right:

- Two green lights in a row
- Vegetables in season
- Getting through a meal without anything falling onto my shirt

I try to be a simple fellow and we simple fellows are touched by ordinary, simple pleasures. Then imagine our intense delight when something happens to us that is well beyond the ordinary:

- A new job
- Insanely great concert
- Love

So...

That’s all I’ve got this week. As I wrote at the outset, life is blessedly hectic this year. So, because we’re all sitting at the same table right now, I’ll tell you something special: seeing you and being with you at our synagogue events is such a joy for me. Maybe I’ll see you too.

And may it be for all of us a blessing.

See you tonight!
Gut Shabbes!

All my love,
brian.

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