Dear all,
The kids turned six-and-a-half this week. I suppose they take after me; I’ve always marked my own half-birthday with a bit of celebration.
Still, I couldn’t help but feel wistful. Six-and-a-half means they are already halfway to their B Mitzvah at thirteen. Time moves quietly but relentlessly. It reminds me how important it is to savor each stage as it arrives—so none of it slips by unnoticed.
As we were driving in the car and debating how to celebrate the occasion, one of them suddenly asked, “When is God’s birthday?”
Before I could respond, the other declared with great confidence, “God’s birthday is every day!”
They both paused, then agreed enthusiastically: “Then we should celebrate and make it special!”
Whatever your theology may be, there is something grounding in that idea. To imagine that every day carries within it the possibility of celebration:
A birthday.
A half-birthday.
A quiet moment that reminds us to notice the life unfolding around us.
Even in a world where wars rage and uncertainty fills the headlines, there is always something—someone—a moment in time worth celebrating.
The challenge, of course, is simply to notice it.
With love and Shalom,
Rabbi Zachary R. Shapiro
