Love is a Fingerprint

Does Jewish tradition celebrate love? YES!

Romantic love is celebrated tomorrow night with the holiday of Tu B’Av. It was a day when couples would pair up and the community would celebrate. Fitting, then, that I officiated a great celebration of love with a wedding yesterday, and will marry another wonderful couple Friday.

But in Judaism, love is also celebrated as the love of family and the joy of gathering in community. That’s why we often begin services with the singing of the Hinei Ma Tov song which celebrates “how good and pleasant it is when siblings dwell together!” And how the love of God for us is lauded in the prayer appreciating the gift of Torah, followed by the prayer that articulates our love for the Divine in the V’ahavta.

Love is an amazing emotion. Or maybe it’s more of a vibe? Love is a verb more than a noun, isn’t it? It’s how you show up in another person’s life. How you honor and respect and show that you cherish them.

Today, I went on Spotify and listened to a bunch of playlists other people compiled about love—for their wedding days, and to celebrate their friendships. Unsurprisingly, there were also a bunch of playlists dedicated to break-ups and heartache.

Love is such a deep human experience and all of it is honored in Jewish tradition. Including the deep sadness of grief, which, in many ways, is a reflection of love that once was alive, isn’t it? For instance, there’s a famous story about Rabbi Yochanan who was inconsolable after his study partner and dear friend Reish Lakish passed. Or, there’s also Aaron’s example of grief. The text says that after his sons died, “he was silent.”

So, this week, we contemplate this unique experience of being human, with hearts capable of love in all of its ins and outs, pure simplicity and complicated patterns. The love in every heart is, I imagine, as unique as a fingerprint, but also ever changing.

Wherever you find yourself on the various spectrums of love at this moment, may your heart know love in some form, and have compassion upon itself for any feeling of lack. And may we all support one another on our unique love journey. That’s how we’re keeping it sacred.

Together, we’re #keepingitsacred…

Rabbi Heather Miller

Founder, Keeping It Sacred

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