A little Torah for 1.23
Parashat Bo
Exodus 10:1-13:16
Locusts, darkness and the killing of all firstborn Egyptians - marking the end of the 10 plagues. Freedom is now only a sea crossing away. A new beginning is on the horizon.
The good news; the Israelites are no longer enslaved. The bad news; [as the reader we know] the journey to the "Promised Land" includes tremendous hardship, suffering and loss.
And, unfortunately, even though we are still a free people today, there is still tremendous hardship, suffering and loss.
The events over the past couple of weeks and months in Israel and around the world are heartbreaking (and inconceivable). We extend comfort and strength to those who have lost loved ones. Tel-Aviv, Paris, Yemen, Nigeria, Boko Haram, and the list could go on. Is violence becoming the norm and not the exception? Are acts of terror becoming mainstream?
The injustices in our own country, a nation of free people, established on the principle that "all men are created equal", are intolerable. Is ultimate power the goal no matter the cost? Has personal comfort created a tolerance for inequality?
What will it take? What needs to happen? When will freedom for all replace freedom for some? When will justice for all replace justice for some?
It is a critical time in our world and in our country. The problems seem overwhelming and impossible to solve. I often wonder if it is a matter of desire and will? Could we solve the problems if we really wanted to? I believe the answer is "yes". If our leaders, our politicians and we regular citizens, wanted to eliminate poverty and racism, intolerance and hatred we could. If we really wanted a nation where everyone had equal opportunity and equal access, we could. It wouldn't be simple and it wouldn't be quick but it's not impossible.
Each of us has to decide that's what we want, more than anything else. And then we need to decide to take some action to help get us there. Our sages teach; Lo aleicha ha'melacha ligmor. V'lo atah ben chorin, l'hibatel mimenah. "It is not up to you alone to complete the task. Nor are you, as a free person, permitted to desist from it."(Pirke Avot, 2:16)
Mekor Ha'chayiim, Source of Life, as we move into another Shabbat, where we will hopefully experience rest and peace, may we make the decision to do something (no matter how small), to bring tolerance, compassion and equality to our nation and our world.
As I was writing, the following phrase kept running through my head: olam chesed yibaneh, "We will build a world on/of kindness." Imagine the possibilities if each of us choose one act of kindness?
Rabbi Menachem Creditor wrote a beautiful melody to this phrase.
"I wrote this song for my daughter, born right after 9/11. This world will be built by love: ours and God's. In the best and worst of moments, non-fundamentalist "believers" and "atheists" are reaching for the same hope using different language. Amen to both." www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHp-jcPlKIY
Shabbat shalom u'mevorach,
Laurie
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