Dear Lab/Shul,
Today the Jewish community celebrates Lag BaOmer, the 33rd day of the counting of the Omer, which begins on the second night of Passover and ends on the holiday of Shavuot. This holiday has both historical and mystical significance and is observed in a variety of ways all over the world.
Today is also the Hebrew date of my 26th wedding anniversary. Lag BaOmer is the one-day break from the 49 semi-mourning days of the Omer when traditional Jewish law permits celebrations such as weddings, lighting bonfires and getting haircuts. Aside from trying to force our teenage children to watch our wedding video on the last standing VHS machine on the planet, my husband and have a ritual of making toasts for each year we’ve been married. It’s a practice of gratitude for having made it this far in our matrimonial journey. A celebration for the work we’ve done to wake up and choose each other all over again each and every day.
And if you hadn’t noticed, there’s another significant milestone on my mind these days – Lab/Shul’s 10 year anniversary. I know it sounds hokey, but I truly wake up every morning and choose to do this work. I choose to be in community with the thousands of you who are also searching for a renewed sense of spiritual connection, and who are also working toward a more kind and just world. I wake up every day and choose to work side by side with some of the most prolific, creative geniuses and change makers I have ever met. I choose, with them, to take risks, and to fail and to learn and to grow, and to celebrate every single success. Every single one of them.
On Monday, June 12th, we will celebrate 10 years of Lab/Shul at our annual spring Gala. Arguably the best ten years of my career and my spiritual journey. At the Gala we will be recognizing a “Milestone Minyan” — ten categories of community members who have helped shape the very essence of Lab/Shul. The evening promises to be spectacular, filled with artistic ritual, enchanting music, sumptuous cuisine, and inspiring conversations. We will celebrate all of our collective accomplishments and toast to Lab/Shul’s next chapter.
Won’t you join us?
**And join us this Friday for our final Zen Shabbat of the programmatic year!**
With love,
Sarah Sokolic
Co-Founder & Executive Director
