» to rah

por tion

The Dove
And The
Empty Nest

I

’ve always been bothered by the
term “empty nester.” I’ll admit that
the idea is a coherent one: The eggs
of the family have all hatched, and
the baby birds have flown off to make
nests of their own, leaving the parents
with space and time on their hands.
But this language also carries with it
a sense of finality, of sadness, of being
for her feet,” (Genesis 8:9) returns to
stuck in place.
the ark with solace and with solace
I suppose the term confuses me
and hope.
because the empty nest-
Seven days later, she flies
ers I know don’t fit into this
off again; and this time, she
paradigm. They are strong,
does not return. Her nest lies
independent, and in love with
empty on an ark that will
the newness of a perpetually
soon be of no use; and the
changing and evolving life. To
world, in all its newness, is
them, the departure of their
spreading out before her with
children does not necessitate
every ray of sun that dries the
a static existence; it inspires
Rabbi
remaining puddles left upon
growth and new forms of
Yonatan
the Earth.
courage.
And so she flies on her own
How then can we reimagine Dahlen
to places near and far, the first
the metaphor of the empty
to see God’s reformed cre-
nest? How can we transform
ation, to behold it in all of its wonder;
it from an image of longing and lone-
and she does so with courage and with
liness to one of empowerment and
peace, rather than with longing and
encouragement?
I suggest that we look in an unlikely nostalgia.
On Shabbat, one of our zemirot
place, in the story of Noah. It is per-
(Shabbat songs) contains the words,
haps the best-known story in our
“yonah matzah vo menoach,” “The
Torah. Children and adults alike can
dove finds within it (the day of
draw up images of a gigantic wooden
ark sailing over the tumultuous waters Shabbat) a place for her to rest.” But
of God’s eschatological flood while the as the same dove from our story sug-
gests, rest does not mean staying still
heads of animal pairs peek out from
or keeping ourselves from moving
portholes to watch the rain fall into
forward. The dove of Noah is the true
the sea.
paradigm for the empty nester, for
But one of these pairs amidst the
those who move forward to experience
menagerie of Noah’s cargo plays a
all of life’s beauty and do so with grace,
different role in our story. While
with appreciation and with wonder.
all of Noah’s animals are saved and
This Shabbat, may we rest while
preserved two by two, a strategy, we
assume, of breeding and repopulation, celebrating the work that brought us
our rest. May we look at our lives with
Noah intentionally separates a dove
pride and thanks, and may we contin-
from her partner and sends her out to
ue to soar across the drying seas that
sea.
lie before us. And may we do so while
Every seven days she flies off, and
carrying with us an olive branch, a
time after time she comes back to rest
symbol of peace, a symbol of redemp-
her feet. Until one day, she returns
tion and a symbol of hope.
with an olive branch in her mouth, a
symbol of land and redemption, but
Yonatan Dahlen is a rabbi at Congregation
also a symbol of peace. At last, the
Shaarey Zedek in Southfield.
dove that could “find no resting place

Parshat Noach:
Genesis 6:9-11:32;
Isaiah 54:1-55:5.

2128660

JEWELS & TIMEPIECES AUCTION

DATE & TIME

November 17th, 2016
11:00am

PREVIEW

251 E. Merrill St., Ste, 236
Birmingham, Michigan
November 10th – 12th

Top: Platinum and approx. 6.16ct
Marquise Diamond Ring
Estimate: $40,000/60,000

Right: Diamond Pendant
with ﬁve D, Flawless Round
Brilliant Cut Diamonds
Estimate: $50,000/75,000

Lotte Palace
455 Madison Avenue
New York, NY
November 14th – 16th

For additional preview information,
and to sell items please call
(248) 200-9402 or email us at
info@josephdumouchelle.com

*

251 MERRILL ST., SUITE 236, BIRMINGHAM, MI 48009

2482009402 | 800475GEMS 4367 | josephdumouchelle.com
MONDAY  FRIDAY 10 AM TO 5 PM

November 3 • 2016

41

