Dear TBZ Community:
Tuesday morning, I woke up bright and early and went to vote with my family. Growing up during the dictatorship in Chile, I only experienced democracy and first elections when I was fifteen years old. I shared this with my kids (who reminded me that I share this with them every time I go voting); I want them to know that I don’t take democracy for granted.
Wednesday morning, I woke up, not really bright, but still early, like many of you, in disbelief of the choices that the American people have made for the future of this country. After waking up my girls, with tears and apologizing to them for the results….
They asked, “Mami, why are you apologizing?” And added, “It is not your fault.” I responded that I was apologizing because we, the grown-ups, have done a pretty terrible job in building a world where justice, human dignity, and love are the central values of society.
…I had to prepare for my day. And my day included the celebration for the brit milah (covenant of circumcision) of Rav Leah and Yoni’s baby. A beautiful celebration for a day when many of us felt sad, disappointed, angry, scared, and so many other feelings.
Bringing this new baby to the covenant of the Jewish people, and welcoming him to our TBZ community, in a joyful and intentional celebration was exactly the reminder many of us needed first thing yesterday. The commitment to the covenant of the Jewish people to live a life following God’s attributes. To live a life of justice, of loving-kindness, of caring for one another, of caring for those most in need.
And today, early in the morning, I joined a gathering of interfaith clergy for a circle of prayer and connection. Being with fellow faith leaders from Muslim, Christian, and Jewish communities was the reminder I needed to hold onto faith and religious practice that embodies the values of our different scriptures. Reaching out and reminding myself that it is through relationships and alliances that I can mourn – and then organize for a better future – felt like a first step.
In this week’s Torah portion, parshat Lech Lecha, Abram אַבְרָם is given a new name: a new letter to his name is added, becoming Abraham אַבְרָהָם. This is followed by the commandment of circumcision as a sign of the covenant.
וְלֹא־יִקָּרֵא עוֹד אֶת־שִׁמְךָ אַבְרָם וְהָיָה שִׁמְךָ אַבְרָהָם.
And you shall no longer be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham (Genesis 17:5).
וַהֲקִמֹתִי אֶת־בְּרִיתִי בֵּינִי וּבֵינֶךָ וּבֵין זַרְעֲךָ אַחֲרֶיךָ לְדֹרֹתָם לִבְרִית עוֹלָם לִהְיוֹת לְךָ לֵאלֹהִים וּלְזַרְעֲךָ אַחֲרֶיךָ.
I will maintain My covenant between Me and you, and your offspring to come, as an everlasting covenant throughout the ages, to be God to you and to your offspring to come (Gen. 17:7).
זֹאת בְּרִיתִי אֲשֶׁר תִּשְׁמְרוּ, בֵּינִי וּבֵינֵיכֶם, וּבֵין זַרְעֲךָ, אַחֲרֶיךָ: הִמּוֹל לָכֶם, כָּל-זָכָר.
Such shall be the covenant between Me and you and your offspring to follow which you shall keep: every male among you shall be circumcised (Gen. 17:10).
Abraham’s name, as well as Sarah’s that is changed from Sarai to Sarah, gain a letter as a sign of the covenant, they receive the letter ה (“hey”), perhaps as a sign that God is with them, that the covenant between the Jewish people and God is one that demands from us to carry with us God’s name and presence in all the ways we live our life.
The Babylonian Talmud explains how that looks by asking how we follow God:
ואמר רבי חמא ברבי חנינא מאי דכתיב : ״אחרי ה’ אלהיכם תלכו״
וכי אפשר לו לאדם להלך אחר שכינה
Rabbi Ḥama, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, says:
What is the meaning of the verse: “follow Adonai your God,” . . . .
Is it possible for a mortal to follow the Divine Presence?
And the response is:
אלא להלך אחר מידותיו של הקב”ה
One should follow the attributes of the holy, blessed One (excerpted from Sotah 14a:3-4).
The text brings four examples of God’s actions that we should imitate in order to follow in God’s path:
Just as God clothes the naked (clothing Adam and Eve), so too, should you clothe the naked.
Just as God visits the sick (visiting Abraham after his circumcision), so too, should you visit the sick.
Just as God comforts mourners (comforting Isaac after Abraham’s death), so too, should you comfort mourners.
Just as God buried the dead (burying Moses), so too, should you bury the dead.
The four examples are rooted in empathy and in our capacity to see each other. Our capacity to see a person who lacks clothing and to understand and respond to this basic need. To see a sick person and be present for their pain. To see someone who has suffered a loss and offer comfort and be present for them. And to give a person their final rest on this earth. God manifests in this world through us and we become conduits and vessels for that manifestation of God.
Today, as many of us feel despair and hopelessness for the future of our country, I remind myself and remind all of us to carry God’s name with us. And that to walk with God is to see each other, to care for those most in need, to value life and see the humanity in all human beings, to care for the stranger, to support the needy. We commit and recommit ourselves to our values.
The future feels uncertain. But you are not alone, we are not alone. We, as a community, are here for each other, to support one another as well as we re-commit ourselves to the work that is needed and will be needed in the years to come to protect those most vulnerable in our society, including those from marginalized communities: our siblings who are immigrants or undocumented people, who are queer and/or trans, who are women, who have physical or developmental disabilities, who are people of color, and all who are considered minorities in our midst.
But in order to take that step, to re-commit to this important work, I’m going to remind us of something I frequently say and that we include in our services (on Shabbat and each morning with our Boker Tov TBZ minyan) – the kavanah, the intentionality, of loving our neighbors as we love ourselves.
הֲרֵינִי מְקַבֵּל(ת) עָלַי אֶת מִצְוַת הַבּוֹרֵא, וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ
I take upon myself the mitzvah (commandment) of loving my neighbor as I love myself.
And I’m going to add to it RuPaul’s interpretation of this Jewish value:
“If you don’t love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?”
This is not a theoretical mitzvah, this is practical. I encourage you to think very practically (tachles) of one thing you can do each day that will be about loving yourself, and one thing you can do each day that is about caring for others. We have all heard the airplane instructions to “place the mask over your own mouth and nose before assisting others.” These instructions help us understand this mitzvah even more: We need to breathe so we can be there for others. We need to love ourselves, be compassionate to our own selves, and see ourselves as worthy of receiving love and compassion in order to give love and compassion to those in need.
Come to TBZ, come as you are this Shabbat (and every Shabbat). Let’s pray together and let’s walk in the path of God, in God’s covenant, and carry God’s name with us.
May we find the ways to walk through this new future which feels uncertain and scary. May we do it together, intentionally, and build a world with love.
May God bring blessing and comfort to all of us and our loved ones. May we find strength, courage, and patience, and open our hearts with generosity. May all those who are ill find healing.
May the hostages soon be returned to their families and friends; may peace prevail and may the leaders of the world know to prioritize life. May those who are working for peace be granted strength and courage to continue their sacred work, and may we soon see peace and dignity for all.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rav Claudia