Peach Fuzz Lishma (for its own sake):(“Peaching, Not Preaching”)
Who picks peaches in August? Certainly not people like me, a rabbi who always anticipated the Jewish High Holidays by beginning to think about writing sermons as early as May. And by August – don’t ask!
But this year is different – now I’m semi-retired (and my husband retired 6 months earlier) and we are out on a weekday (!) in August picking peaches at Larriland Orchard in the countryside not far (but very far psychologically!) from D.C. Perfect sunny day, not humid, breathable air unlike much of the rest of the summer.
The two young women who are handing out the baskets for peach retrieval explain how to select the best peaches. No green on the flesh, a little hard (they’ll ripen in 3-5 days), these rows over here, not the ones farther back. For a born-and-bred city girl like myself, these directions are invaluable. And next to apples (for which I’ll return in a month), peaches are the easiest fruit to pick. The basket fills quickly, long before I’m tired or bored.
As we return to the vending stand to pay for our peaches, we find the two young women (interns? members of the family?) discussing the problem of their sensitivity to peach fuzz, how their constant exposure causes a kind of allergic reaction. Who knew?
Returning to the car, I begin contemplating this phenomenon, heretofore unbeknownst to me. Peach fuzz… the dark side of nature… environmental hazards?.. and suddenly, I realize what I’m doing. I’m thinking “sermon”; how can I possibly use this anecdote in a sermon?
7 comments on “Peach Fuzz Lishma (for its own sake):(“Peaching, Not Preaching”)”
Comments are closed.
Good decision to forgo a sermon on this subject. Why risk being accused of fuzzy thinking?
Wish we could hear what you would do with a sermon on such a peachy topic.
I am one of those people who can’t touch peaches because of fuzziness, but I like them when they are ripe and peeled, and the juice runs out of them. Yum!
Oh how I miss Rabbi Portnoy’s sermons!
She does know how to grab your attention — and hold it!
Best wishes to her on her impending retirement…
Maybe it be as juicy and fulfilling as that peach.
— A former congregant, now living in Atlanta
A Proustian moment….
In grad school I spent a summer picking peaches……I can still feel the fuzz!
Lishma and Proust….so much to think about.
Merci
Retirement is peachy- I published one volume of poetry, many poems in journals and working on a second volume of Jewish-inspired themes. I am sure someone with your talents will find other things to do that relate. Mazel tov!
What a lovely reminder to find and delight in moments for their own sake–a challenge always