Shabbat Chukat 2024

“We have to also look for those opportunities to find that balance, to find those moments of holiness when we’re exposed to the other. To find those times of ordinariness, when we feel like we’ve delved into something so deeply. I know this community has been that for so many people. And as we launch into summer months, which are often a time of restoration, I want to encourage us tonight not just to find that physical rest, but to find that emotional and spiritual calm. A calm that comes from thoughtful use of our time. A calm that comes from community. Calm that may come from changing our perspective. And when all else fails, a calm that comes from observing Shabbat, week after week, and just trusting the tradition.” 

This Shabbat, Rabbi Klein reflected on the overwhelming nature of news media and the challenge of getting off the “couch” of inertia and overwhelm. Focusing on the ritual of the red cow in the week’s parsha Chukat and its paradoxical and collective purification process, we can understand that purity is not a binary state but rather a sense of balance or equilibrium that helps us to rely on each other.

Drawing parallels to extremes like Purim and Yom Kippur, Rabbi Klein suggested that balance in life can be achieved through changing perspectives and seeking moments of calm and connection, especially through Shabbat observance, whatever that might look like. In his wishes for a peaceful Shabbat, Rabbi Klein shared wishes for emotional and spiritual rest in community and tradition.