Finding Miracles

Newsletter December 12, 2022 Together, we're #keepingitsacred...

At summer camp, a friend of mine had a terrible crush on a guy named Ness. If he had been Scottish, his name might have hinted at the lake where the monster lives. But he was Israeli, and so his name, Ness, meant “miracle.”  

I love that this regular guy was just out there roaming the world with the name of “Miracle.” And he took it everywhere we went- on the bus to Disneyland, at the drive thru, on the ropes course. This Miracle was so close to us. And that teenage excitement my friend felt at seeing him, a walking, talking miracle, has stayed with me. 

What if we all looked for miracles the way she looked for him- with hope and joy and a little bit of fear but a lot of hope and longing? We might begin to get excited about life all around us. At the drive thru, at the post office, at the grocery store. 

I can’t be sure if this is accurate, but the internet says that rocker Jon Bon Jovi once said:

Miracles happen everyday, change your perception of what a miracle is and you'll see them all around you.

And it is true. If we hone in to the miracles around us we will feel excitement for human creativity, ingenuity, and dedication all around us. 

Hanukkah is the holiday honoring at least two miracles: the miracle of the underdog/ the Maccabees overcoming the Assyrian army. And the miracle of the small cruse of oil lasting 8 nights- long enough to rededicate the defiled temple. To make it holy and sacred once again. 

Hanukkah will be here in less than a week! Here’s our carefully curated playlist to move your spirit. 

To bring miracles to light, how lucky are we that we don’t need to defeat an Assyrian army- or scour the internet to find my friend’s crush? All we need to do is shift our perception to acknowledge the miracles all around us. 

This is how we are #keepingitsacred…

Rabbi Heather Miller

Founder, Keeping It Sacred

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…