Ebb and Flow

Newsletter September 9, 2024 Together, we're #keepingitsacred...

“A time to be born, a time to die…. There is a season to every purpose under heaven.” 

These are the famous words of the book of Ecclesiastes, made popular by The Byrds in 1965, and they still move us today. They remind us of the cyclical nature of life. 

As a rabbi, I have an up-close view of these rhythms. One weekend a funeral, the next a baby naming. Add in b-mitzvahs and weddings and we have a full cycle. Some weekends feature multiple lifecycle events.

Personally, too, I feel these rhythms. Last week was the yahrzeit (anniversary of the death) for my stepfather, while today, my sister is due to give birth. Life is like the rising and falling of tides; the changing of seasons.

As we approach the High Holy Days, we notice that we are encouraged to contemplate life and death: we rejoice in the birth of the world on Rosh Hashanah, and seriously contemplate our own mortality, our own death, on Yom Kippur. It is a time when we ask ourselves:

What parts of our past year do we want to lay to rest?

And, what do we have yet to bring into this world?

These are the questions for this season. And they are questions for all seasons. Reflecting in this way is how we keep it sacred. 

Together, we’re #keepingitsacred….

Rabbi Heather Miller

Founder, Keeping It Sacred

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The above is an excerpt from a Keeping It Sacred newsletter. If you want to read the entire newsletter or any from our archives, please head over to: keepingitsacred.com/news 

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Thanks for your interest, and thanks for #keepingitsacred...