For all of the creative souls who thrive on crafting clever packages and coordinating themes,  Purim is their time to shine! In the middle of Adar, these individuals take their place atop the pedestal of wonder, arranging gorgeous shalach manos, orchestrating a stunning seudah, and wearing the ultimate badge of creativity: a home-made costume.

Do-it-yourself costumes range from something simple, like running a ribbon through the top of a fabric curtain to make a cape, to such clever creations as tying a dozen men’s ties around your arms and claiming you are a tie rack. There are funny costumes, such as writing on a T-shirt “ERROR 404 – COSTUME NOT FOUND,” and “punny” costumes, like taping numbers to yourself and telling people that you are someone they can really “count on.”

One of the most difficult aspects of daily life in the winter is the darkness that quickly overwhelms. It seems like before we turn around, the sun is setting and we are driving home from work or school in the dark! Halfway through Shabbos dinner, we feel like it’s almost midnight, but the clock insists it’s only 7:15! During the winter months, people tend to lack energy and motivation, and fail to work on their long-term goals, “saving their strength” to just make it through the day, short as it is. And the night seems to paralyze us as we struggle to take shelter from the shadows.

TEVA TALK

 Finding ourselves in a similar spot to where we stood a year ago compels us to pause and take stock. After a full year of masking and quarantines, many people now find themselves repeating the mantra: “But we did this already.” If we shift our focus, however, to carefully examine events as they unfolded, we will discover moments of clarity, when we worked together within our community to make this year a little more manageable and a little less lonely. Taking an honest look at where we stand, we can clearly see that we are not merely “doing this again.” Rather, we have grown since Covid started and learned to stay safe, both physically and emotionally, during continued uncertainty.

The storm has been raging now for a full year, and some days I feel like I can barely keep my head above water. We are living life day-to-day, never knowing what text message we will find in the morning to tell us of another class closed or another name to have in mind in our prayers. Struggling against powerful currents that pull us farther and farther from shore, we search for a bubble of calm that we can use to steady ourselves like an anchor in rough seas.

A distinct memory from my childhood is the many long hours we spent in the car traveling between Connecticut and New York to visit my grandparents. In those days before cell phones, tablets, and other handheld devices – truly the dark ages – there was nothing to do during those long night drives but to...well...sit in the dark. The only entertainment was to look out the window, which, though it may sound dull, was actually magnificent. The sparkling lights of the bridges spanning the vast darkness of water, the other cars and trucks racing to their destinations –  the view was mesmerizing and ever changing. The only constant was the companionship of the moon, which followed me on each journey. I knew I could count on the moon from the minute I left one house to the moment I reached the other.

As the sun’s last rays cast long shadows along the ground, a graceful deer emerges from the forest to graze on tender grass. Moving cautiously away from the shelter of the trees, the white-tailed deer is alert, constantly testing the air for any sounds or smells that signify danger. Shy and skittish, the slightest disturbance in the evening’s calm atmosphere will send her bounding back to the safety of the forest.