I am REALLY looking forward to spring.
Every year, when things start warming up, I delight in seeing the new flowers peeking up from the soil. I get to see friends, too, as people start emerging from their winter hibernations, and if I walk the streets my neighborhood on Shabbat, I know I’ll run into people out in the sun.
And then…
It’s always a shock. Just as I take a deep breath, relishing the warm, spring air:
Ah-CHOO!
Ah-choo, Ah-choo, Ah-choo.
Now I remember.
Spring is also allergy season. Time to stock up on the Zyrtec.
For some reason, this always surprises me and feels terribly unjust. Why, oh why, just as things are getting so beautiful do I also have to feel goopy and miserable?
Somewhere in there is a lesson about life, that there are often dual realities. Spring is goopy and miserable. Spring is joyful and life affirming.
Passover, whose very name is the “holiday of Spring,” surfaces this beautifully: at the same Seder where we drink the wine of redemption, we also crunch the bread of our affliction. The same moment that we joyfully recount the miracles of our Exodus, we spill drops from our cups to recall what was lost.
Life is never just one thing. So, enjoy the flowers… but make sure to go get some Zyrtec.
And whether you are feeling goopy or exhilarated by the new season, make sure to embrace the warmth of friends as you enjoy a Shabbat walk.
