We recently moved our head office to the other side of the city.  As with any move, you never imagined you had accumulated so much stuff in so many corners of places you forgot existed in your office.  I actually found myself feeling depressed at the amount of work needed to unpack a few boxes.  I was determined not to unpack useless papers back into so many corners of places I didn’t realize existed in my new office.  So I feel obligated to go through every box, every folder, every page…(I feel like an insane person desperately seeking light and reason – order amidst the chaos).  Is it really as bad as I’m describing? – Yes it is.

Okay, maybe not really that bad but I can’t help but sit in absolute awe of God who could organize a universe of chaos into something that resembled order.  We spend so much time complaining about the world as it is and how God could allow natural disasters and other kinds of seeming injustices but (and now I’m going to get a bit corny), how often do we stop and realize we can’t even unpack an office without blood, sweat and tears, let alone organize a universe.

And the sad part of it all is that the Sages teach us that chaos is a thin green line surrounding the world, waiting to come back in.   In other words, imposing order onto my office is a zero sum game – I’ll never win…oh good, another box is staring at me.  I think I’ll cover it with a pretty scarf and put a vase on it.  Nothing said I can’t redefine my chaos … and when the sun sets tonight, as it did yesterday and will tomorrow and will continue to set in its ordered way, I will be watching it and marvelling at what I’ve taken for granted.  Oh look – I found the paperclips.

Watch a YouTube I put together about this topic.

Valentines Day is coming up and people always ask, “what is the Jewish take on this holiday?” Here is the answer.

Happy Tu Bishvat everyone!!  It’s the birthday of the trees – the day we celebrate and contemplate the trees and growing things around us…Yes, we have a day for that.  It’s one of the few days that has no controversy surrounding it – there’s no historical issue – no revisionist propaganda –  no one who could argue that this is hurting someone or based in a racist philosophy or demands archeological proof that there were really trees in the ancient world.  We simply celebrate trees and the fruit or nuts they produce… oh oh, I said it…the word that brings shakes and quivers to the culinary industry…the word that makes every parent pale when it’s mentioned and causes stressful conversations before play dates…yes, the dreaded word – NUTS.

So to be politically correct, let’s agree to have a nut free Tu Bishvat.  But can we sing songs about nuts?  The first Tu Bishvat song I ever learned was ‘Hashkaidiyah Porachat’ (The Almond Tree is Blooming) and I made hand motions and pretended to be an almond tree.  Maybe all the kids who want to sing the almond song should be allowed to do so in the school office.

Though I understand that there are growing fruit allergies present in children as well.  Now we’re going to have to celebrate Tu Bishvat without fruit and nuts.  Um, gee, I think the only politically correct way to celebrate the birthday of the trees is with cake (nutfree of course).

Oh well, it’s tough being a Jew.

:0)

Texting on rachaels phone