My summer vacation is now part of special memories. Last June, I was mentally and physically ready for a rest and diversion from a full and meaningful year. My time away began with a week devoted to solitude to read and write. Though I love the company of family and friends, I found the week to be refreshing and purposeful. I finished books that have long been on my desk to read. I wrote notes and pieces of essays for use in blogs, sermons, articles, and another book that, one day, might also be published. Then, after a week of being alone, I was ready to rejoin my family.

Our four grown children bring us nothing but “naches,” real joy. We also have three grandchildren who live in two cities, Durham, North Carolina, and Albany, New York. They are absolute joy and fun. So Lisa and I do what grandparents do and we spent most of our summer in Durham and Albany. I miss the mountains, but the greenery and relatively milder weather in both cities was also a diversion from Houston’s storms and heat.

I admit that I was away, but not out of touch with the synagogue, during Hurricane Beryl. The category 1 hurricane, so early in the season, upended what we usually handle very well. But lack of power, uneven responses, and underlying fear founded on recent experiences compounded the storm’s effects. Even as I returned just this past week, signs of the storm still litter the curbs and neighborhoods where we live. We do overcome, but do we have to keep doing it? The obvious truth is that the season has only just begun. Let’s find our way through it, together.

A highlight of our time with grandchildren was watching them in their elements. In Albany, Ronen, nearly six years old, performed with his camp group on their final day of day camp. It was a sweet and haphazard display of colors, songs, and dances. Sitting on benches outside, we watched him in his role. He was so proud of his part in the routine, which the camp leader admitted was rehearsed only once. On the side she said to us, don’t have high expectations. We loved it all, anyway. His sister, Anabelle, now two years old, knows just how to play her part at home. Her father attends to her sweetly and Ronen knows just how to make a little trouble and then back away. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before, but it’s better to watch as their grandparents in the background.

In Durham, where we spent more time, Henry, now 18 months old, grew before our eyes. His vocabulary grew, his understanding grew, and, like his father, who’s 6’6”, Henry grew, too. He’s constantly in motion and fearless for his age. But when he’s ready, he sits in my lap with a book, knows where to find my nose, ears, and eyes, and always gives me a hug when I leave the house. It means that my next flight to Durham is already booked. Lisa gets a few more days with them all and will return home soon.

Between visits with grandchildren, my dear mother celebrated her 88th birthday with her children, some of her 12 grandchildren, and Henry. Joyce is a model of persistence and energy. Once a great golfer and ping-pong player, she still reads avidly, plays a great game of Scrabble and Rummy Cube, and remains the family’s enduring peace-maker and friend. She lives near my sister who is in Silver Spring, Maryland. Happy and comfortable there, after 86 years in Chicagoland, it’s a great source of comfort to her family, too.

On the plane home, I thought about how grateful I am for the time that Congregation Beth Israel provides me to step away for the month, to spend uninterrupted time with family, and to reflect on them, my rabbinate, and the blessings that persist around us despite a world of conflict. They’re all reasons to come home and to begin the new year, together, again. We are older, a bit weather-worn, and surprised by how soon schools will open in August, but we’re also hopeful, encouraged by our community’s strength, and inspired by what we can still do about the future we all wish to see and share.

I’m eager to be on the bimah this Shabbat, again, and soon with the whole clergy team, including Rabbi Sam Rheins, whom you are beginning to know. His presence is already a gift to us and no doubt for many more as the year gets underway. So don’t be a stranger to Temple. See you on Shabbat, at programs that start soon, and especially on August 23-25, 2024, for our opening programs with special musical guests for inspiration and new beginnings.

There’s a time for rest and a time for work. Though it’s time to return to work, let’s remember to reserve time for reflection that comes with Sabbath rest, each week.

L’Shalom,