One of the many benefits of being part of Tikvat Israel, and one I think is often overlooked, is our proximity to Rock Creek Regional Park. Over the years I have enjoyed countless hours in the park, where I have satisfied my interest in the natural world, taken in the soothing sounds of Rock Creek as it meanders its way to the Potomac, admired gangs of deer from as close as I could get, and examined the first green buds of spring and the last multi-hued leaves of fall. I’ve stopped to marvel at the insistent staccato of a single-minded woodpecker, the mechanical roar of a billion synchronized crickets, and the unmistakable evidence of eager beavers at work.
I have occasionally biked through the park, but more often I have walked alone or with my wife Penina. Sometimes I take a leisurely stroll, and other times I stride briskly, trying to shave a few more seconds off the time it takes me to cover the 2-1/4 miles from my house near the park’s Oriental Street entrance to the front door of our synagogue. And, from time to time, I’ll plug myself into my iPod, tune everything out, and take in a podcast or some songs that I haven’t listened to in a while.
I have noticed that people are almost unfailingly polite in the park. Bikers call out “on your left” before passing, joggers wish you good morning, people ask total strangers what breed of dog they are walking. I have run into numerous fellow TIers, and on several Shabbat afternoons, while heading to the shul for mincha, I have met up with Rabbi Gorin just as he was entering the park from Greenspan Lane.
In her marvelous little book, God in the Wilderness, Rabbi Jamie S. Korngold notes that, as important as our synagogues are in our lives as Jews, connecting with the natural world provides equally abundant opportunities to awaken our spirituality. “When our biblical ancestors wanted to reach God,” she writes, “they climbed mountains, sought out streams, or sat beneath majestic palms. Along with all the sacred texts they passed on to us, this relationship with the outdoors is also our birthright. We must reclaim it. Today in our frenetic lives, where it seems impossible to get off the grid, wilderness, and nature in general, overflows with opportunities to deepen our spirituality and enrich our relationship with self, community, and God.”
If you have not visited our beautiful Rock Creek Regional Park just a stone’s throw away from our synagogue, I hope that you will take the opportunity to do so soon, especially now as April brings warmth, longer hours of daylight, and the abundant colors and sounds of spring. And, take time too, especially if you are there on Shabbat afternoon, to experience it as the sacred and spiritually enriching place that it can be.
- Sam Freedenberg
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