As I finish this column, we are almost halfway through the period of the Omer, on day 22 of 49 days (we count the Omer during the seven weeks between Passover and Shavuot.)

It is customary to study Pirke Avot (Portions of our Fathers), which is a book contained in the Mishneh, part of Jewish oral tradition, during this period.

One of my favorite sayings from the book–also lyrics from a song I learned while a camper at URJ Greene Family Camp in Bruceville, Texas, many years ago–is a quote from Rabbi Hillel: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And, if not now, when?” (Avot 1:14).

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Although we have much to be happy about as Spring approaches and the natural world is coming back to life, the news about a new war between the U.S. (and Israel) and Iran is alarming.

Last year, we included in our UHC community seder an optional reading from Rabbi Shoshana Cohen of the Shalom Hartman Center in Jerusalem. She wrote the following passage about how the broken matzah that we eat during the Passover seder teaches us to work toward redemption in real time.

I share it with you in the hope that even in the midst of war, we continue to seek meaning in doing mitzvahs and spreading the Eternal Flame, even at times of duress.

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