Dear all,

The kids and I went on a quick adventure last weekend鈥攆lying up to San Francisco and back to see their cousin in a community theater musical.

On the plane, I sat in the middle seat.

Between them.

Their elbows claimed the armrests without apology. Their legs leaned against mine. Their shoulders pressed against me as if squeezing me were the most natural thing in the world.

I contorted myself, searching for space

And then I stopped.

I took a breath and realized: this is the space.

This鈥攂eing crowded, needed, leaned on鈥攊s not an inconvenience. It鈥檚 a moment in time.

Someday, there will be no elbows fighting for armrests.

Someday, there will be empty seats where they once pressed in close.

Someday, I will wish I could feel this again鈥攋ust for a moment.

Kohelet teaches:聽鈥淭here is no moment that does not have its hour, and no hour that does not have its moment.鈥澛�Every moment carries something that cannot be repeated. Once it passes, it is gone.

So the question isn鈥檛 how to hold onto a moment.

It鈥檚 whether we notice it while we鈥檙e in it.

What would change this week if you paused鈥攋ust long enough鈥攖o recognize: am I experiencing one of those moments? How can I capture it before it is gone?

With love and Shalom,

Rabbi Zachary R. Shapiro