10 Days of Transforming Pain into Beauty, Day 8, Hope

 by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen

Like heat, hope is invisible. And just as science can make the impact of heat visible, so can artists make the power of hope visible. In fact we all can.

Violeta Noy for ArtistsForClimate.org

Hope is hard to define. I always remember that hope and optimism are not the same thing. Many famous people and many faith traditions have a lot to say about hope. After spending time with many of these definitions and descriptions, I came to think of hope as a state of being, as something that is critical for us humans in order to stay alive. 

I understand making the effort to turn our pain into beauty, even when we don't fully succeed, as an act of hope, an expression of our hope, a statement that life can be better. Given the history of the Jewish people, I see living as a Jew as an act of hope.

What does hope mean to you? How do you make hope visible in your life?

Rabbi Katy Allen is the founder and rabbi of Ma'yan Tikvah - A Wellspring of Hope, which holds services outdoors all year long and has a growing children’s outdoor learning program, Y’ladim BaTeva. She is the founder of the Jewish Climate Action Network-MA, a board certified chaplain, and a former hospital and hospice chaplain. She received her ordination from the Academy for Jewish Religion in  Yonkers, NY, in 2005. She is the author of A Tree of Life: A Story in Word, Image, and Text and lives in Wayland, MA, with her spouse, Gabi Mezger, who leads the.singing at Ma'yan Tikvah.