Seasons (Onot)
עונות
The blossoms and buds of spring, the hot sun and cool water of summer, the colors of autumn and the chill of winter: each season has its treasures to offer.
The seasons and cycles of the year point to larger seasons and cycles in our lives. The Bible (Tanach) and the wisdom of our Sages emphasize timeliness, “a season and a time for every purpose under heaven.” Learning to live with wisdom is also learning to value and honor the seasons of our lives, the seasons of our relationships.
Seasons have a new and urgent significance today. The Bible describes unseasonable weather, such as rain or drought out of season, as a sign of divine displeasure with human sin. For modern people such notions once seemed naive. Now, in this age of Climate Change, they have new relevance, as we yearn to preserve the natural seasonal rhythms of God’s earth.
עֹ֖ד כָּל־יְמֵ֣י הָאָ֑רֶץ זֶ֡רַע וְ֠קָצִיר וְקֹ֨ר וָחֹ֜ם וְקַ֧יִץ וָחֹ֛רֶף וְי֥וֹם וָלַ֖יְלָה לֹ֥א יִשְׁבֹּֽתוּ׃
So long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall not cease.
Choose your favorite Pathway, or follow them in order:
Dirge for the earth and climate change
A haunting ancient Jewish melody with lyrics in Hebrew and English, chanted by the late Cantor Richard Kaplan. Dirges (kinot) of Tisha B'av, the summer fast to commemorate the destruction of the ancient Temples in Jerusalem, are here combined with visuals of our...
Sharing Circle: Seasons
Do you have a favorite season? What do you love about it? What about the season of life you are experiencing right now? What lessons and gifts does it offer? Please comment in this Sharing Circle to get the conversation started about the seasons of our lives. Featured...