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Rabbi
Driving to Mount Sinai by Rabbi Billy Dreskin In 2014, New York Times columnist Charles Blow authored a memoir entitled “Fire Shut Up In My Bones.” He describes a seminal moment in his life where he had to choose between his past and his future. The incident involved a relative who had mercilessly bullied him as a child. While in college, he hears the cousin’s voice after many years and, grabbing a gun, points his car in the direction of the voice, with the dual aim of ending a human life and quenching the fire that had raged for a decade within. As he drove, he writes, “I thought about who I was now, and who I could be. Seeing him in a pool of his own blood might finally liberate me from my past, but it would also destroy my future.” Our lives are filled with countless choice. Many of those choices are mundane and insignificant. What do I want for dinner tonight? What should we do this weekend? While other choices can powerfully affect our lives and those of others around us. Which career should I choose? With whom do I want to build a family? Should I drive home even though I drank heavily this evening? We’re in a period of Jewish time right now that’s known as the Omer — the Counting. Its purpose is to number the days between Passover and Shavuot, but it carries a deeper message for us. With Passover representing our release from those things in life that oppress or enslave us, the days that follow our seder are given to us by Jewish tradition as time to consider from what or whom we are running and to what or whom we journey. Because we are human, we don’t always get life right. I have hurt people and people have hurt me. Those hurts can be difficult to release. But many (perhaps all) of them should be. My dad, of blessed memory, stumbled a lot in his parenting. As a child, he scared me. As a young adult, I pushed him away. But towards the end of his life, I forgave him for being human, acknowledging and honoring that he was doing the best he could. I let him know I loved him and appreciated his presence in my life. It was a whole lot nicer liking the man than disliking him. I’m glad I was able to get there. Shavuot marks the end of the counting of the Omer. Are there people and events in your life that keep you anchored to Egypt? Are you unable (or unwilling) to let go of an unhappy past? Shavuot celebrates our ancestors’ receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai. This was the true moment of their liberation, when they traded in the tortured narrative of their past and began to live by the teachings and the values of a hopefilled future. Israel’s Promised Land was always about something bigger than a parcel of real estate. Reflecting on his decision to stop the car and to let go of his anger about the past, Charles Blow writes, “Daring to step into oneself is the bravest, strangest, most natural, most terrifying thing a person can do.” In truth, it’s probably much easier to hang onto the past, to nurse old resentments, and to stand still. Ours is a tradition that believes life is worth the work. Sanctifying it rather than cursing it can be the hardest choice of all. But it is likely the best choice of all. May all our journeys lead us to the high places, the exalted places, the precious places in life. As we come to understand just what we’re each about, may we make the hard choice to leave Egypt behind and to welcome ourselves into the Promised Land that awaits.
Just Israel
In Case of Emergency, Build Relationships by Jason Fenster It turns out, tectonic plates don’t care about arguments over political boundaries. Recognizing the potential risk of earthquake in the Jordan Rift Valley, Israelis, Jordanians and Palestinians are coming together to train locals as first responders in the (God forbid!) case of an earthquake in the region. The project, “Community Emergency Response Teams,” is a joint venture of Ben Gurion University and the Peace Partnership of the European Union. With Magen David Adom, Jordanian Red Crescent, and the Green Land Society of the Palestinian Authority, people from communities are collaborating to be ready in the case of emergency. Teams, regardless of nationality, religion, or the town they live in, are trained to provide emotional support and basic treatment for all affected people until EMS arrives. Professor Limor Aharonson-Daniel of Ben Gurion University leads the project and says, “Above all, the project has sparked personal relationships and friendships that prove that regional collaboration is indeed possible.”
While Israel struggles with the challenges of establishing peace with her neighbors, good news does emerge. This column provides a brief glimpse of something taking root there that firmly aligns Israel’s values with Judaism’s. We hope you share our pride and admiration for these Arab/Israeli achievements.
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