The Oregon Trail

Newsletter September 14, 2023 Together, we're #keepingitsacred...

In the '80s a video game called The Oregon Trail became wildly popular. It had been written by an 8th grade history teacher to teach kids about "the realities of 19th-century pioneer life on the Oregon Trail." The built in challenge of the game was that players' video game characters would often die along their travels to the coast, usually of some tragic disease. The trail became legendary especially to folks of Gen X, like me. You can understand my excitement then, when last week, I traversed the Oregon Trail clear across Oregon from Portland, and back. And while I may not have gotten dysentery, I did catch Covid-19.

And at once, I was again reminded of how fragile life is. How delicate the human body is. Whether in the 1800s or 2000s, that truth has not changed. And at this time of year, especially. We are encouraged to be in touch with the fragility of life. With the thought that we do not know what the new year will bring. Great prosperity, or grueling disease. This is not meant to scare or shame us. Rather, it is just a statement of fact. And a way to wake us up to the beauty of each moment we are alive. Every heartbeat, every lung full of air is a gift.

One of my favorite ideas in Judaism is that God's name, which is YHVH, actually sounds like breath. Breathing in "Yah" and breathing out "veh" we tap into the Mystery that gives us life. That gives us consciousness. That gives us meaning. So while our lives are infinitely fragile, we also become aware that each moment is a gift. Some say that is why it is called the "present." This High Holy Day season, we will emphasize being grateful and connected. To be awake to the present.

May this center our experience of these Days of Awe.

AND: services will continue as planned completely on Zoom. That means that there will not be an in-person Tashlich option this year. Please RSVP for all programs here: keepingitsacred.com/holidays.

Together, we're keeping it safe. 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...