Keeping the faith: Summer is a time to recharge but also to continue healing the world
With only a few days left in the school year, the thoughts of children and their parents around central Ohio turn to a term that makes some elated and others filled with dread: summer vacation.
On the whole, I try to be a person who is excited by the onset of summer as I am a firm believer that our children deserve a prolonged break from their in-school education. I have many happy memories from my own childhood of travel and camp — memories that we do our best to replicate for our own children.
For many, summer also presents an opportunity to escape from work, if only for a little while. Whether it is a long weekend or a couple of weeks away, a staycation or international travel, it is healthy to take a step back from our professional lives. This chance to get out of town also affords us the opportunity to recharge our batteries as we continue the fight against the many challenges that our world faces.
But let us not act as if this time of year is easier simply because parents do not have to wake their children for school each morning. If anything, the lack of regular structure can cause its own problems, and the immense cost of camps and travel further brings to light the economic disparity in our area.
And much as it is critical for our own mental health to have time away, vacationing is expensive if not cost prohibitive. Between travel costs, food and lodging, a chance at time away can quickly become out of reach.
We must also remember that just because we might be out of town, the issues in our world never take a moment off. If anything, the problems are only worse once we return. Climate change continues to affect our planet and cause more extreme weather patterns. The political divide within our country grows wider each and every day. And locally, we continue to struggle with gun violence and a lack of affordable housing among other issues.
It reminds me of an ancient teaching of Rabbi Tarfon, who taught in the "Ethics of Our Sages" that “the day is short and the work is plentiful.”
What Rabbi Tarfon means to teach us is that we must find a way to multitask. If given the chance, our children must use every opportunity to enjoy time with other kids and time outside. They need these months to play, grow and interact with each other. And if we are blessed to be presented with the opportunity, we must use these upcoming summer months as a chance to rest and recharge because we are going to need that energy at work and with the work of fixing our world. But let us not forget that the task ahead of us is great and we cannot afford to be away from it for too long.
Let those who are able to take a break come back recharged and energized to heal our world. And may those who are not afforded this chance find continued strength and more than a few moments enjoying what will hopefully be a beautiful summer.
Rabbi Hillel Skolnik is senior rabbi at Congregation Tifereth Israel on the East Side.
Keeping the Faith is a column featuring the perspectives of a variety of faith leaders from the Columbus area.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Keeping the faith: No time for summer break for healing the world
