Sitting in sessions all day long, it’s sometimes easy to forget that Asilomar is located right on the Pacific Ocean. However, there was no way to forget that when the entire community walked down the boardwalk to the beach so that we could all say the blessing upon seeing the ocean for the first time. The text goes:

Barukh Ata Adonai Eloheinu Melekh haOlam Sheh-Asah Et HaYam HaGadol

Which translates to Blessed are you our God, King o the Universe, who made the Great (or Big) Ocean.

As well gathered at the beach in smaller groups, we were led in song, after hearing the story of the two waves. The story goes: There were two waves, a big wave and a small wave, heading for the beach. And the big wave says, OMG, were going to crash and DIE!!!! But the little wave says, don’t worry buddy, we’ll be alright. But the Big wave says, NO! Don’t you see??? Were going to hit the beach and then well be bupkis (wave Yiddish for nothing). But the small wave responded, don’t fear, you know why? Because were not waves…were WATER!

The message was not to forget that we are all connected. We all think we are our own waves, doing our own things, in our own little paths of life. But really, were all connected and there is a bigger scheme and so much more beyond ourselves. As we prepared for Shabbat we thought about how it was time to slow down from the week and be a part of something bigger than ourselves – the Shabbat experience across the world. And in this case, our efforts to remember our connection to the great ecosystem that is earth, something much bigger than ourselves.

After hearing the story, we learned a new song or even chant, whose words were:
There is so much magnificence in the ocean, the waves are comin’ in, the waves are comin’ in…Hallelujah!

Look out for the video soon on ze Youtube!

We sang/chanted this together, said the blessing upon seeing the magnificence that is the Great Ocean, and then some of us, myself included, stripped down to our boxers and braved the very cold mikveh that is the Pacific, in our final preparations for Shabbat.