The Journey: The Blues or Blue Skies (Shemini 5779)

Photo by Ramon Llorensi

We often are ambivalent about Sundays. Some Sundays leave us with dissonance and anxiety anticipating the week ahead. We feel helpless: those are Sunday blues. Other Sundays inspire us to carry optimism and hope into the coming week. We feel hopeful; those are blue sky Sundays. 

This Sunday every JCHS student will be adventuring far from home - to southern California, to Zion National Park, to New Orleans, and within Israel. These journeys empower our students by engaging them with others who think, live, and believe differently than they do. These journeys empower our students to see their own world from different points of view -- and to imagine shaping the world through their effort and labor. Still just as Sundays start each week, some journey encounters will generate dissonance or anxiety while others inspire optimism and hope.

The Torah portion this week hints at our inherent capacity to choose optimism over anxiety - seeing blue skies instead of feeling the blues. 

The Journey of Connection (Pekudei 5779)

It's been a remarkable year for JCHS athletics with three teams, so far, earning spots in state sectionals (Boys Soccer, Girls Volleyball, and Boys Basketball). The journey of this year's basketball team is especially remarkable leveraging exceptional  levels of teamwork to bring the school to a first-ever trip to the NorCal "Final Four." 

The basketball team played with tremendous heart and resilience. Their achievement can be measured in several ways. For instance, they won more games than any basketball team in school history. They scored 1,308 points and made 462 assists (another school record). With five players on the court at a time, they achieved 1,775 (that is, 5 + 1,308 + 462). The 1,775 represents not only their accomplishment but also the amazing connection they had with each other. 

Similarly, there are lots of numbers in this week’s Torah portion. Its name, Pekudei, could be translated as "audit" or “accounting.” In it, Moses accounts for and recounts the collection and donation of silver and other precious materials used to construct the Tabernacle in the wilderness.