Appreciating What We Have — Before It's Gone

Shabbat R Appreciating What We Have — Before It's Gone

“May we not need to experience loss in order to feel grateful and blessed.”

In this week’s parsha, Chukat, we learn the heartbreaking reality that all three of our great leaders — Miriam, Aaron, and Moshe — will die in the desert and not enter the Promised Land.

Each of them — siblings, prophets, and pillars of the people — dies not through struggle or violence, but by a Divine kiss.

A kiss so gentle that the soul quietly slips from the body and ascends to the higher spiritual worlds. What an image of holiness, intimacy, and love.

The midrash teaches us that in the merit of these three faithful leaders, God provided the people with the most basic physical needs: water, protection, and nourishment.

With each of their deaths, something essential is lost:

• When Miriam dies, the well that provided water dries up.

• When Aaron dies, the clouds of glory disappear — the divine protection surrounding the people is gone.

• When Moshe dies, the manna ceases to fall — no more food from heaven.

It was only when each leader passed away that the people truly noticed what had been sustaining them all along.

Before Aaron’s death, the Clouds of Glory had shielded the nation from all harm — including poisonous snakes in the wilderness. After his death, that protection vanished. Suddenly exposed, the people were attacked by venomous snakes, and many died.

It’s only when something is gone that we realize what we had. It’s only when protection is removed that we feel how deeply we were being held. It’s only when someone leaves us that we understand how much we loved them.

We often don’t see what or who is sustaining us.

We take for granted the people, the blessings, the unseen layers of care wrapped around us.

This week’s parsha reminds us that God is the source of all that sustains us — not just food and water, but love, protection, and shelter in every form.And God, in infinite kindness, invites us to notice now — not only after it’s too late.

May we learn to recognize, even in the ordinary moments, the extraordinary ways we are being carried.

May we not wait for loss to wake us up to gratitude.

May our awareness lead us to more humility, more joy, and a deeper appreciation for those who walk with us.

Shabbat Shalom,

 Elissa