Every Ending Is Also a Beginning
This week we mark the conclusion of the Book of Genesis. Jacob dies. His body is carried back to the land of Israel from Egypt. Joseph dies. His body remains in Egypt where the Jewish people now reside, only to be carried to the Promised Land after the people’s freedom from slavery. Genesis ends with the words, “Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years; and he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.” (Genesis 50)
Genesis concludes in the wrong place. We are trapped in Egypt. The anticipation of our return hangs in the air. And then, as we know, from our Passover seders, the journey begins (again) when we are freed from slavery. Joseph accompanies them. “And Moses took with him the bones of Joseph, who had exacted an oath from the children of Israel, saying, ‘God will be sure to take notice of you: then you shall carry up my bones from here with you.’” (Exodus 13)
Every ending is also a beginning.
Such is the theme of our upcoming New Year celebrations. Goodbye 2023! May 2024 be better and brighter. May it be filled with peace and harmony.
These days, these sentiments feel like empty hopes and prayers. We are at war with our enemies. And with ourselves. The words of the poet, Peter Cole, come to mind:
Either the world is coming together,
or else the world is falling apart —
here — now — along these letters,
against the walls of every heart.
Today, tomorrow, within its weather,
the end or beginning’s about to start —
the world impossibly coming together
or very possibly falling apart….
That’s the nightmare, that’s the terror,
that’s the Isaac of this art —
which sees that the world might come together
if only we’re willing to take it apart.
The dream, the lure, is the prayer’s answer,
which can’t be plotted on any chart —
as we know the world that’s coming together
without our knowing is falling apart. (Song of the Shattering Vessels)
Every ending contains the seeds and promise of new beginnings.
When we conclude the reading of one of the Torah’s five books, we say, “Chazak! Chazak! V’nitchazek!—Strength! Strength! May we be strengthened!”
The world is falling apart. Can we see glimmers that it might also be coming together?
Every ending is also a beginning! Chazak! Chazak! V’nitchazek!