Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
But only he who sees, takes off his shoes —
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries,
And daub their natural faces unaware…
— Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Aurora Leigh
Each and every morning, our tradition guides us through the Nissim B’Chol Yom, the miracles of every day. These blessings encourage us to see, and acknowledge, the miracle of waking up, taking our first breath, moving our body—all of the small acts that start our day, and often go unnoticed (or sometimes, met with a groan).
Browning’s famous verse guides us to the same conclusion—miracles abound, even in—and maybe especially in—this scary time. But it is too easy to walk by, rush through, or simply ignore the possibilities. I only take issue with one verse; after a morning of berry picking with my kids, I want to suggest that plucking the berry, and tasting its sweetness—this too acknowledges the miraculous.
This week is a week that our tradition devotes to sadness, to grief and loss. Even in—maybe especially in—this week, I invite you to commit to seeing “earth crammed with heaven”—to take off your shoes, breathe deeply, taste sweetness, and celebrate life’s small miracles.
— Rabbi Sari Laufer