From the Cantor - February 2005

"Rise up, go out from among the people…Children of Israel go and serve Adonai." ( Shemot/Exodus 12:31)

(It would be appropriate for me to write a response to the wonderful Installation weekend we celebrated just a week ago, but since I am writing this article due on January 1, my official remarks will have to wait until the March Bulletin.)

I have studied the Torah verse quoted above from Parsha Bo every year for as long as I can remember, yet this year it has new meaning for me.

It seems I have been moving for the last year.

Over a year ago, as I began the interview process, I knew we would be moving. From January through May we were packing. In the beginning of June we moved out of our house of twenty-four years and into David's parent's house for a short time. We moved our daughter Elizabeth to Denver and we moved ourselves to an apartment here in Albuquerque. On the first of July, I officially began my new position at Congregation Albert, only to move out of the office space to allow for remodeling. In August, we moved our son Daniel to his dorm at the University of Kansas. In September, I moved into my office space at Congregation Albert. In October, we moved out of our apartment and into our home. In December, I once again moved briefly from my office space to allow for the furniture to arrive. The packing and unpacking seemed to be endless. Moving is traumatic, no matter how joyful the end result. Our ancestors knew this, as Torah teaches us. We could not just leave the land of Egypt and go directly to Eretz Yisrael. We had to prepare both physically and spiritually. In my study of this Torah portion I have unknowingly been preparing for this move. All of the physical preparations for moving give us the chance to prepare emotionally and spiritually for what lies ahead.

May all our moves give us strength to serve God.
B'shira,
Cantor Barbara R. Finn

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