The days are getting shorter again. The long blue nights turn dark, and we start thinking about a new year that we know nothing about.

More than ever we are aware this year that, as the old saying goes, humans make plans, and God laughs. It is not an evil laugh, but perhaps more of a surprised one, much like our laughter when we see a cat who keeps chasing a sun-spot. A motherly laughter, reminding us that the only funny thing to do is keep doing the same thing as we have always been doing without rethinking them, getting stuck in old patterns, and repetitive actions.

As we get closer to the high holidays and begin contemplating both our faults in the past year and our hopes for the new one, I turn to dogs for life lessons. If only I can be a  bit more doglike this year- full of anticipation, content with the simple joys of life, and wagging wildly with happiness and gratitude both when I fall into the river and when off the table a precious bone finally falls, then this will be a good year. As the days get shorter, through the long blue night, may we turn to the new year, of which we know nothing, with our tails held high.

Shabbat Shalom,

Student Rabbi Tali