House Sparrow : Forgotten Batteries
This is a House Sparrow. He’s one of hundreds of millions in the United States, ubiquitous in urban areas. But I very nearly didn’t receive this photo. It wasn’t because the bird was elusive or the conditions were challenging but for the very simple reason that I had forgotten my spare camera batteries. I had already started walking along the trail. Fortunately I was only a quarter of a mile from the car when I realized that I was without my needed supplies. It was a short enough distance, and I could easily retrace my steps. I wonder, though, if I had already walked 2 miles or 5 miles, would I have gone all the way back and replenished? Or would I have simply closed up my camera and conceded that today was a good day for a hike instead.
Leading a rich and full Jewish life requires quite an infrastructure. Even with Internet Judaica stores and airfreighted kosher food, there’s still something important about having access to a community, about having institutions, from schools to cemeteries. And there is a certain warm comfort that comes simply from living amongst a group of people who experience the world in the same way that you do. These community institutions, the same as ritual items or food, are also necessary “supplies.” As new Jewish communities have been established around the world and over time, they have always fully contemplated these foundations and endeavored to establish them at the very earliest stages of a community’s development.
But what about spiritually? What is the “forgotten battery” of our inner life? At what point do we say, “I haven’t gone to synagogue in x years, so I guess I’m just done?” At what point do we say, “It’s been so long since I observed Shabbat that I won’t do it any more?” How far along (off?) the path must we be, deprived of needed supplies, before we return to replenish and simply concede? Despite our own doubts, our tradition remains welcoming and fully encourages our return. We are always granted the opportunity. The message of the Prophets is welcome return. Retracing my physical steps meant I could receive this Sparrow’s photo. Retracing our spiritual steps allows us to appreciate always its beauty and meaning.