Erev Shabbos 3/27/90 - Mizmor Shir L' Yom Shabbat - A Song For the Sabbbath Day

          Well, today we all prepare for our second Shabbat living a life of Shelter in Place.  It is also the first day of the Month of Nisan. In terms of time, the week is drawing to a conclusion and culminating in Shabbat.  Among the rituals that occur at our Shabbat Dinner table includes blessing the children. With our eldest in Boston, my Bracha for her usually occurs by sending a WhatsApp message right before Shabbat, blessing her and reminding her how proud I am of her. For the children who are home with us,  I offer them a blessing, kiss them and then they walk over to Mom who kisses them as well. At the conclusion of the ritual, we ask our children to reflect upon the week that passed and share an example of something good that they experienced or something they are proud of.  We instituted this little ritual as a way of getting our children to reflect on the past and to "count their blessing".  However today is also Rosh Chodesh, The theme of prayer for Rosh Chodesh is all about looking forward to the month, hoping that the month will one for blessing, one for goodness and happiness. The outlook at the beginning of the new month or the beginning of anything for that matter is future-oriented.  The orientation is to look forward, to look ahead. But what do we do if the past week has been difficult, anxiety-ridden, in quarantine or waiting for a test result? What if the outlook for the month seems bleak? What if Shelter in Place becomes more restrictive? What do we do if we don't sense blessings from the previous week? What do when our outlook on Rosh Chodesh appears more bleak than hopeful? I think that we are supposed to focus upon the moment we are in, upon "Now". So today, our moment, our "Now" is to prepare for Shabbat. Our moment, our "Now' is to smell my wife's soup cooking. Our moment, our "Now" is to take a walk and hear birds chirping. Our moment, our "Now" is to see friends and family via Facetime, WhatsApp, Zoom or some other platform. Our moment, our "Now" occurs when we smell the fragrant aroma of Shabbos in our home. Our moment, our "Now" is to turn everything off and watch my wife and daughters light Shabbos candles.  Our moment, our "Now" is to breathe deeply and treasure the "Now", find the blessing in "Now".  So, as we bless our children, I hope that we can all find a blessing in "Now", in Shabbos itself.
Shabbat Shalom U'Mevorach - Have a Peaceful and Blessed Shabbat
Rav Yitz

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