KoREH News

I once heard a fable about a thirsty raven who flew far and wide looking for water in the middle of a drought. At the edge of despair, the raven flew over a cottage and saw a pitcher of water left on a table outside. She eagerly dove down, landed on the table, and reached into the pitcher with her beak, but it was too narrow for her to reach.

Utterly exhausted, she rolled off the table onto the rough gravel path. She kicked at the gravel in frustration and one of the pebbles landed into the pitcher with a large splash. She added another pebble and another, until she could finally reach the water with her beak. She drank deeply, until she was full and satisfied.

When I first heard this fable as a child, my first reaction was, “Who puts rocks in their water and then drinks it?!” But as it turns out, thirsty people do. When we are thirsty enough for that thing that is so important to our survival, we have the most amazing ability to look into the world and find extraordinary new ways to reach goals that in the past, had been ordinary, commonplace and easily achievable.

More than ever, this story holds resonance for me. We are now living in a moment where so many things once were simple. Our social interactions, schooling, work, and leisure have become difficult or even impossible as we used to do them. So, like the raven, we adapt. We find new uses for the tools at our disposal and we use them to meet our communal needs.

Our Kol Rinah Education Hub (KoREH) leaders have been working throughout the summer to adapt and change our lessons and educational models to meet the needs of families during this pandemic. As of this writing, we are still planning to meet starting after the High Holidays in a largely modified format once a week, with smaller class pods to limit exposure, everyone masked and strict procedures governing our interactions. We are also supplementing our classroom learning with virtual 1-1 tutoring, as well as virtual learning, for any famlies who are unable to be with us in person for any reason.

We know any of these plans may need to change given new information over the next few months. We will continue to adapt together through the challenges ahead. Just as in any other year, your community is here for you, to nourish and guide you, to help and to hear you, to sustain you and to enable you to reach each new part of your journey.

I know many of us feel like the raven in the story: lost, struggling, tired, or frustrated. But I have been encouraged to see so many of us becoming people who put the pebbles into pitchers for others. That is what we are here for, building ties that support one another, and that is what will bring us through these times of struggle and into a better tomorrow.