Shabbat Shalom ~ Behar-Bechukotai 2026

Shalom WJC Family,

I’ve been thinking a lot this week about cycles.

A few days ago, I was outside and noticed that the same redbud tree I walk past every single day had, seemingly overnight, burst into bloom. I’d been walking past it the last few weeks – the same route, the same tree – and somehow I’d missed the moment it transformed. The world doesn’t always announce its turning points. Sometimes you look up, and something has changed.

This week’s double parsha, Behar-Behukotai, is full of cycles. The Sabbatical year, the Jubilee, land that must be allowed to rest, debts that must be forgiven, servants who must be freed. The Torah is insisting, with extraordinary specificity, that the world is not meant to keep accumulating without pause. Every fifty years, the shofar sounds, and what was lost is restored, what was broken is made whole, and what drifted away comes home.

The radical idea at the heart of Yovel (the Jubilee) is that nothing is permanent, and that’s actually good news. The Torah builds restoration right into the calendar itself. I find that deeply comforting.

Our synagogue community, too, is a place where people return: to tradition, to one another, to themselves. It is a place where something dormant or long-bubbling away inside of us can suddenly bloom.

This Shabbat, we will have the joy of celebrating Emma Bennett’s bat mitzvah, as one of our own stands before the Torah and claims her place in this ancient, living story. We wish a hearty Mazal Tov to the Bennett family and hope you’ll join us to share in the family’s joy! Services will begin at 9:15 am, followed by kiddush lunch.

We are also excited to be welcoming Rabbi Brianah Caplan this Shabbat as a candidate for our Assistant Rabbi position. Join us Friday at 6:30 pm for a Rhythm and Ruach service – a wonderful way to experience her presence and energy as she shares her kavannot. Then on Saturday from 2:00-3:30 pm, Rabbi Caplan will be delivering a sermon and sitting down for a Q&A with the community. Come with your questions, your curiosity, and your warmth. We hope to see as many of you there as possible.

And of course, this Sunday is Mother’s Day. To all the mothers, grandmothers, stepmothers, mother figures, and those who hold a mother’s love in their hearts: thank you. You are, in so many ways, the reason many of us know how to come home. For those in our community who find this day tender or difficult, know that you are not alone; we are here for you and are so glad you’re part of our WJC family.

Like the land in our parshiyot, and like that tree I walk past every morning, we are always in the middle of something – resting, growing, or blooming. The invitation is always the same: come be part of it.

See you in shul,
Rabbi Dalton