Recognizing Our Greatest Miracles
This past weekend was the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana.
This was a bittersweet New Year.
We looked forward to the holiday, reminding ourselves of the old axiom… New Year: New Mazal (loosely translated as good fortune) …a welcome respite from this rather outlandish year.
The atmosphere in my synagogue was muffled by the stark contrast of only a few, masked voices in rooms that, only seven months ago, housed many hundreds of worshipers. Spread across tents and outdoor spaces, services were quiet and staid…utilitarian.
This atypical experience gave me much time to ponder the holiday and my place within it.
You see, Rosh Hashana celebrates the anniversary of the creation of humankind. During the services, we read about the birth of Isaac to the elderly and once infertile couple, Abraham and Sarah. Through the birth of this one child, an entire nation is born.
As we celebrate the birth of mankind, we recognize the God-like role WE play, when we bring children into our world…when we create individuals who have the freedom and will to forge their own life path. And the power each birth holds within it, to create not just one life, but the many lives to follow.
I can’t help but reflect on my own journey as a parent. I have been blessed the opportunity to usher seven extraordinary souls into this world (Mrs. Milobsky was gracious enough to help a little in this regard).
There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t appreciate the miracle of creation…as I watch my children grow and develop…and as I undertake, with a deep sense of privilege and honor, to help others navigate this journey, as their pediatrician.
We learn that the Infinite had to create a finite and limited space for His children to exist. We, as parents, withdraw from our self-centered romanticism to “make room” for children in our world. While our external environment becomes crowded and chaotic at times, the journey of parenthood builds internal resources that are far richer and more refined.
This year, as I read about our fore-parents, Abraham and Sarah, who recognized the miracle and gift of parenthood, I was reminded to show gratitude to my Creator for, in the words of a great scholar, the “small but wonderful universe He has helped [ME] fashion in [my] own home.”
