There is a great old joke about a guy who is determined to learn the meaning of life from the greatest spiritual authority in the world.  He travels thousands of miles, spends a fortune, interviews spiritual leaders of every conceivable tradition and finds no satisfaction.  All along the way, he keeps hearing about this one guru who lives in an inaccessible cave high in the Himalayas who is purported to truly know the meaning of life.  Our guy is determined to get there.  He travels to the Himalayas.  He finds a guide who says he knows upon which mountain the guru resides . . . Three mountain treks later, they finally identify the right mountain.  They are pinned down to the side of the mountain for two weeks because of blizzards and then finally, finally reach the mouth of the guru's cave. 

Our searcher is informed that the guru only steps out of the cave to encounter spiritual searchers on alternating Thursdays . . . And this Tuesday of the "off" week.  Finally the great day has arrived, the attendants announce that the guru is about to emerge from the cave and our spiritual seeker dusts off his clothing, slicks down his hair and prepares to learn the meaning of life.  He hears a bit of a shuffling noise and a tiny little bald guy wrapped in saffron colored robes comes blinking out into the sunlight.  He contemplates his visitor and asks:  "My child, what do you seek?" our friend straightens up and responds:  "I've searched the world over, explored every spiritual tradition, I am driven to learn what life is...". The guru sits cross-legged on the ground and goes into a trance.  Three hours later he opens his eyes and declares:  "Life......life is a fountain."

The spiritual seeker stares aghast at the guru and exclaims:  "Life is a fountain??!!!?!!?"

The guru focusses on his visitor and asks: "You mean, it's not??!?!?!"

All of that is to say that I don't believe that life is meant to be a fountain, either.  I believe that our tradition teaches us that life is a journey.  

Our annual cycle of biblically-ordained festivals (Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot) steep us in "journey":

This time next week we will be putting the finishing touches on our family sedars, Passover is upon us.  This is, of course, the festival during which the journey begins.  We begin the journey feeling the bitterness of slavery as we bring tears to our own eyes by eating the maror/bitter herb.  We experience the urgency of the rush from Egypt as we eat the dry, unrisen matzah.  We wonder at the miracles of the plagues and join in Psalms of praise to God as we contemplate our gift of self-determination as a people and set off for the uncharted journey through the wilderness.

In seven weeks, we will mark the encampment at Sinai and stand together once again to accept The Torah as God's greatest and most loving gift to us.

In the autumn, we will gather within the trembling walls of the sukkah to experience the vulnerability of our ancestors' journey through the wilderness and acknowledge the same vulnerability as we journey through our own lives.

It's all about the journey:  from where do we draw our values and inspiration?  To whom do we make and keep commitments?  How can we find unconditional love and an eternal source of strength?  We are meant to grow in soul as well as in cognitive knowledge and maturity as we make our way through life's journey.

May this Pesah to come next week serve as inspiration for us to keep our hearts and souls moving and growing in our life journeys.

This Shabbat is particularly joyful as we are celebrating Rosh Hodesh Nissan, the first day of the Hebrew month of Nissan.  The beginning of every month on the Jewish calendar is observed as a special day, but this particular month holds special significance for us.

Indeed, the first Shabbat of the month of Nissan (whether it is also Rosh Hodesh or not) is celebrated as a special Shabbat . . . it is called "Shabbat HaHodesh" / The Shabbat of THE Month.

THE Month:  the best of months, the paragon of months, our favorite month.  What is so "THE" about Nissan?

A hint lies in the name itself:  ניסן (Nissan) includes the word נס (neis).
Those of you who are dreidl aficionados, may recognize this powerful little word.  Remember the letters on the dreidl?  
נ = neis / miracle
ג = gadol / great
ה = hayah / was
ש = sham / there
"A great miracle happened there!"

So נס (neis) means "miracle!"  And the word נס (neis) is the basis of the name of this month of Nissan.

There are a lot of miracles associated with Nissan . . . we learn in the Torah that this month is also referred to as חודש האביב / hodesh ha'aviv / the month of Spring.
My dear Rabbi, teacher and friend, Rabbi Neil Gillman, recollects a powerful moment he experienced when still a rabbinical student at The Jewish Theological Seminary of America in Manhattan.  One spring, student Neil Gillman was walking in Riverside Park with Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (one of modern Judaism's greatest theologians). Suddenly, Rabbi Heschel stopped short, pointed to a tree and declared:  "There is God in that tree!"

Understandably, Mr. Gillman was a bit disconcerted and confused, until Rabbi Heschel continued:  "look at the buds on that tree, there is God, generating new life right in front of us!"

Hodesh Ha'aviv / Nissan, the month of Spring, is full of miracles for us to savor if we just stop to notice them.

Our month of miracles, ניסן / Nissan, also contains Hag Haheirut / the Festival of Freedom.  Passover, of course.  There are so many miraculous events involved in our people's redemption of Egyptian slavery:  Moses' very survival as an infant was miraculous.  Our people's survival as a functioning ethnic community in the face of centuries of slavery was miraculous.  The intervention of the Israelite God in the natural order of Egyptian life was miraculous.  And, of course, the miracle of miracles:  the actual Exodus . . . our redemption from slavery and the splitting of the Sea of Reeds.  A miracle so vivid, so awe-inspiring, so breath-taking we revisit it every single day in our liturgy.

No wonder Nissan is referred to as THE month, a month packed with large and small miracles . . . what other month could possibly compete?!?