Shalom!

My wish for us all, especially at this time of year, is Shalom. In fact, Shalom is my favorite word. I became interested in it 15 years ago and began to explore its meaning by calling a local rabbi. I asked him to talk to me about Shalom - and he was delighted to do so. He told me Shalom is commonly translated as peace but that it has a larger meaning. It is a word about abundance, healing, delight. It is used in community and points to our interconnection. It is, he said, perhaps best translated as "harmony and delight in all our relationships." With ourselves, our famlies, our wider world, God - all these are part of our relationship of harmony and delight.

When I think about cancer, the first word that comes to mind is not Shalom. We often experience, during traumatic periods, an absence of harmony and delight. Even our relationships can become clouded and strained - with our bodies, with others, with God. But I am learning that even in its absence, Shalom is something I can yearn for and expect to return. And I can find it in small ways. There are always pieces of Shalom around us - a smile from a neighbor, a piece of music that uplifts, a tomato from the garden. In difficult times, we still look for and find Shalom while we long for its fuller experience.

Yearning for Shalom in a violent and disappointing and sick world may be a large part of what Shalom really is, now that I think about it. When I long for something, I'm straining towards it. My senses are peeled for any sign, any encouragement, that Shalom can be experienced even now. Even now.

Shalom to us all this holiday season. May we all find abundance, health, prosperity, as we yearn for harmony and delight in all our relationships. May we all celebrate what Shalom we find each day.

Shalom!