As I emerge, more and more often, from my basement lair - and as so many of us are beginning to gather, sometimes even without masks - I feel a sense of trepidation. Although naturally gregarious, I am unaccustomed to being around people. Maybe you can relate. What was once normal, now seems weird - or even a little threatening.
Social scientists define "awe" as a combination of fear and wonder. That is precisely what I feel when I imagine spending time in a crowd. It's a new level of awareness, and an unfamiliar blessing, to be awestruck by seeing and being with more than a minyan of God's children.
