Susan Berrin

“Teach us to treasure each day, that our hearts are open to Your wisdom.” “Limnot yameinu kein hoda v’navi l’vav chochmah.” I’ve circled around Psalm 90:12, “Limnot yameinu” for decades, wondering what it would mean for me when my time came: Had I measured my days by the love, the wisdom, the opportunities surrounding me? Especially in dark times, like this political moment, had I remembered to layer optimism over cynicism?

For the past 48 years, readers have turned to Sh’ma to find the widest range of voices in conversation about difficult issues. During that time, as diverse as our themes have been, all of our issues have had one thing in common: They have been published in print, as a stand-alone journal, and since 2015 as an insert in the Forward.

I’ve never been one for following commandments strictly — without some personal adjustment — especially those that prescribe emotional states. Though I observe the laws of kashrut and have only recently relaxed my notion of Shabbat, I recoil from the implied obligation to be happy — as suggested in the Mishnah in reference to the month of Adar ( “Mi sh’nichnas Adar, marbim b’simcha,” “When Adar arrives, we (make) much joy”).