A Letter to My Newborn Child
Welcome to this amazing world.
We are so glad you are here.
I want to show you the orange color of the sun as it hits ancient desert mountains at sunrise
The beauty and simplicity of the half-moon as it hangs in the light-blue, clean sky, preparing for its exit as the day begins
The sweet smell of honeysuckle sprinkled in green bushes
The roar of a waterfall as it pours over the rocks and begins its descent to the pool below
The loving gaze of one human being to another, a hand caressing the other’s cheek in a moment of comfort and understanding
The girth and dignity of a redwood tree along the northern California coast
The aromatic taste of nana1 in a warm glass of tea, drunk in the cool evening desert air
The ecstatic release of the heart at the beginning of Beethoven’s Ode to Joy
The grandeur of the snow-capped peaks of the Rocky Mountains as you approach from the Central Plains2
The warm embrace of another human
The silverback gorillas of Eastern Africa
The depth and majesty of our ancient Jewish tradition
The satisfaction of overcoming what you thought you couldn’t do only to reveal ever deeper levels of your own power
The thrill of riding waves3 at sunset
The sweet hour when the sky turns from full of stars to the light of day as the sun pops over the horizon
The ecstatic joy of play
The power of using your body
The joy of glimpsing divinity in a Tosafot,4 and gazing upon a palace in a Rashi5
The vulnerability of your heart, open in love for another
The diversity of the many human cultures on this planet
The confidence that comes from knowing that you have yourself completely.
Sharon, Massachusetts, USA
1 Nana is a mint-like herb found in desert areas in Israel.
2 Of the United States
3 "Riding waves" is another term for body surfing.
4 Tosafot is the name of a group of Jewish scholars from Medieval Europe. "A Tosafot" refers to one of their commentaries on Jewish law.
5 Rashi is Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, a Medieval Jewish scholar. "A Rashi" refers to one of his comments on the Bible or Jewish law.