Dear Lab/Shul Community,
America held its breath as clocks struck midnight on New Year’s Eve 1863, and President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation went into effect, mid-civil war, freeing all slaves in the Confederate states. Tears of joy and prayers of praise filled the night across the nation as the traditional Christian WatchNight Service became Freedom’s Eve.
The Freedom’s Eve tradition continues to this day, and I’m deeply honored and excited to join our faith siblings from St. James Presbyterian and Mount Morris Ascension in co-creating WatchNight on the eve of 2021.
Freedom’s Eve is based on the Biblical account of the first Passover, linking that Exodus midnight of Egyptian rage and Hebrew release to the gospel of American history.
Likewise, Christmas is an adaptation of the pagan Roman Solstice, marking the midnight of the longest night of the year as Sol Invictus – the birthday of the sun and the triumph of hope over mid-winter blues. Over time, The Sun as God became The Son of God, as the sacred season was reinvented, and continues to be today.
Midnights are rhythmic reminders of life’s biggest truths, helping us to craft and condense momentous meanings into tangible moments we can grasp, grow with, and pass on.
I invite you to join me on Christmas Eve and on New Years Eve, with stellar guests and co-leaders, in solidarity and joy, to make meaning of this moment, to unmask the myth and history of these traditions and celebrate the power of the midnight threshold.
The nights are growing shorter, and as the darkness ebbs, the start of vaccination and a new administration on the horizon give us reasons to hold on to hopes for healing and justice.
Whether celebrating or hibernating, may you find moments of hope and happiness, healing and kindness, midnight to midday, 365 days a year.
Best Wishes for a Sacred Season,
Rabbi Amichai
PS: I’m taking some time off grid and offline through January to recharge and focus on writing. See you in 2021!
