Encounter the Beauty of Nature with Awe

ENCOUNTER THE BEAUTY OF NATURE WITH AWE

UPON SEEING THE OCEAN OR THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA

For the first time, or the first time in a long time (30+ days)

הוהי הָּתאַ ךוּרָּב ,םָלוֹעָה ךֶלֶמ וּניֵהֹלֱא .לוֹדָגַה םָיַה תֶא הָׂשָעֶׁש Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Majesty of the world, who has made the great sea.

UPON SEEING TREES IN BLOOM FOR THE FIRST TIME THAT SEASON

הוהי הָּתאַ ךוּרָּב ,םָלוֹעָה ךֶלֶמ וּניֵהֹלֱא וֹב אָרָבוּ םוּלְּכ וֹמָלוֹעְּב רַּסִח אֹלֶׁש םיבוֹט תוֹנָליִאְו תוֹבוֹט תוֹיִּרְּב .םָדאָ יֵנְּב םֶהָּב תוֹנָּהְל Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Majesty of the world, who has withheld nothing from the world, creating in it beautiful beings and good trees for humankind to enjoy.

UPON NOTICING BEAUTY IN NATURE

הוהי הָּתאַ ךוּרָּב ,םָלוֹעָה ךֶלֶמ וּניֵהֹלֱא .וֹמָלוֹעְּב וֹלּ הָכָּכֶׁש Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who has (created) such (things) in His world.

THINK

The Torah likens people to a tree multiple times, for example: “A person is like the tree of a field”11 and “One will be like a tree planted near water.”12 A person benefits from deep roots sunk into fertile ground. These roots not only help a person withstand the elements, but also nourish growth and bearing fruit of creativity, good citizenship, and proliferation.

REFLECT

Trees live according to seasons: times of dormancy and times of blooming. Like trees, we experience seasonal changes. We go through times of joy and times of sadness, times we feel on top of everything at work and times we feel adrift, times of feeling solid in our relationships and times of feeling brittle. What have been some seasons in your life? What season are you in now?

CONNECT

“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature, and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be, and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As long as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be.”13

—Anne Frank (1929–1945), Amsterdam, Netherlands, February 1944

PERSONAL PRAYER

God, take my words as eternal gratitude for the unconditional beauty around me. For a world of wonder and diversity. You’ve placed me in a flourishing Eden, even when my eyes cannot see. You choose not to hide from me, especially when I need to see You most. I thank You for creating the ocean and trees, the world’s abundance, and creatures big and small.

— Priya Weiman,

Sarasota, Florida

11 Deuteronomy 20:19. 12 Jeremiah 17:8. 13 Anne Frank, The Diary of Anne Frank; The Revised Critical Edition (New York: Doubleday, 2003), p. 712.