In the Mekhilta d’Rabbi Yishmael, a 2nd-century halakhic midrash on the book of Exodus, Rabbi Yishmael writes, “All beginnings are difficult.” This aphorism resonates deeply as I sit down to compose my first Before Shabbat essay of 2025. Where does one begin?
The year opens like a vast river, its banks invisible in the distance. Through the hull of our fragile vessel, we feel its unmistakable rhythm. The current pulls us along – sometimes cradling us in gentle waters, other times tossing us through towering waves that leave us clutching the gunwales, wondering if the storm will ever break.
Yet here’s the paradox: it’s the same water, the same river, the same vessel. As the old saying goes, “Sometimes you eat the bear, sometimes the bear eats you.” There are moments when we’re prepared – life jackets secured, vigilant, and ready. Then there are times when the squall line appears without warning, and we’re thrown about, battered by forces beyond our control.
Despite our sophisticated technology and careful predictions, we remain uncertain creatures navigating uncharted waters. We craft models and devise plans, yet reality constantly reminds us of our limited foresight. This not-knowing isn’t a flaw – it’s intrinsic to our journey, built into the very design of our fragile vessel.
Maria Popova, the brilliant Bulgarian artist and philosopher behind The Marginalian, recently reflected on this mystery. She wrote: “We forget that none of this had to exist — that we weren’t owed mountains and music by the Universe. And maybe we have to forget — or we would be too stupefied with gratitude for every raindrop and every eyelash to get through the daily tasks punctuating the unbidden wonder of our lives. But it is good, every once in a while, to let ourselves be stupefied by gratitude, to cast upon ourselves a spell against indifference by moving through the world with an inner bow at every littlest thing that prevailed over the odds of otherwise in order to exist.”
This is where 2025 begins—in noticing, in wonder, in gratitude, and in awe. We face the world wide-eyed and peeking through trembling fingers. Joy and grief, laughter and despair, mystery and majesty, madness and magnificence—all flow together in the river of life.
Despite the bloodstains and fear already marking this year’s beginning, I feel an unexpected calm. We have each other to share the best and worst of times. Together, we sing and pray, warmed by the currents of history as our vessels drift downstream. We study as one, gaining insights that will guide us through this absurdly infinite Universe. As 2025 pours forward, come let us bless each other as we float. It’s the ride of a lifetime.
Before Shabbat 