Va-yikra Elohim La-or yom v'la-chodesh kara laila, Va-y'hi erev va-y'hi boker yom echad.
And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night, and there was evening and there was morning, one day. (Gen 1:5)
I have recently become rather enamoured with sunsets.
I can't really explain this new-found infatuation other than to say that residency here in the Southern Home does afford the opportunity for me to gaze upon some of the most vivid and spectacular twilights. It would be easy to become complacent about the majesty, but so far I have not.
Watching the sun do its daily disappearing act to the other side of the world has raised a myriad of existential questions for me, but rather than bore you all with my mid-life panic attacks and angst, I thought I might focus on just one.
Why is watching a sunset so captivating?
So, as is my habit, I turned first to my religious roots.
The highlighted verse above from Genesis is commonly used to explain why we Jews view our days as beginning at sunset rather than at sunrise.
There was evening and there was morning...
Evening comes first.
Some rabbinic scholars have used this text as a metaphor for life itself. We begin our days within the darkness of the womb and burst forward into the light. (A bit too cheesy and grade school for my liking, but what's a good religion without a few heavy-handed metaphors?)
But what if rather than secularly thinking of sunrise as the beginning of our day, we paused to consider that dusk could actually be that point in time when things renew. Perhaps my infatuation with the sunset is less about reflections on the day that has passed and rather it is a rumination on what lies ahead in the coming of the light
As I began to post some of my photos on social media, a friend shared her thoughts with me.
"I finally figured out in part what my fascination is. It has to do with seeing the beauty in transition. We are often fearful of transition in our lives but the shots remind me of just how beautiful it can be."
And then she sent me this....
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| Photo: Elaine P |
I know...right???
I think that there is merit in her idea. We all seem to struggle with change, but the setting sun seems to reassure us that there is beauty in the struggle and excitement in the coming darkness. The new day is always filled with the possibilities.
I would also like to think that there is a modicum of hope splashing around in there somewhere. These are trying times. Each day lately seems to bring new fears, new anguish, new-found anger, new divisions, new misery. The glow of the sky in the early evening seems to suggest to me that things can get better. Even at my most pessimistic (and believe me when I say that the last few months have seen me at the depths of my cynicism) the renewal of the sunset hints at a confidence and an optimism.
I can't end this rambling without a nod to my own name. Dawn literally means beginning and it is synonymous with the first light of day. I'm am not discounting the optimism that could very surely lay in the rising of the sun nor am I dismissing the beauty of a sunrise, but I do think that both I and the time of day my name is borne from are slightly less mesmerizing than dusk.
I will leave you all with several photos from my travels. These are all originals and were taken by either The Husband or myself. I ask that if you share them, please give due credit.
Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech Ha-olam, oseh ma-aseh v'reisheet.
We praise you Eternal God, Sovereign of the universe, who makes the work of creation.
Send me your best sunset photos. I would love to see them.
Shabbat Shalom
We praise you Eternal God, Sovereign of the universe, who makes the work of creation.
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| Key West |
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| Sydney Australia |
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| Uluru |
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| Ketchikan Alaska |
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| Vancouver British Columbia |
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| Bahamas |
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| Key West |
Send me your best sunset photos. I would love to see them.
Shabbat Shalom
