Friday, January 13, 2012

BLASTING SOME TORAH!



It has taken me a while, but one of my New Years Resolutions (from Jan 1, not from Rosh Hashanah) was to get back into the blog-o-sphere. 

 And that brings me to today.  Sometimes, fate can have a funny way of prodding us along the paths we seek to travel.  I had written a piece for our Temple e-blast, but due to a mix-up, the link sends viewers to last week's Torah commentary by Rabbi Dinner (which is still a wonderful piece on resolution-making - trying to figure out how to link to it).  So, if you want to see THIS week's Temple Beth Or Blast of Torah - here it is!  Win-Win!



Get Up!  Stand Up!

            This weekend we honor a legendary hero in our society, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  The dream of Dr. King was of a world the way it could be – he had the courage to refuse to accept his society the way it was. He risked his body, his reputation, his freedom in order to stand up to a system that was unjust.  And it did, unfortunately cost him his life.  However, the changes he brought about have become his undying legacy and his message is a timeless one.
            So timeless, that we see echoes of Dr. King’s non-violent fight in this week’s Torah portion.  After the Pharaoh of Egypt declared that all male-born children in Egypt should be killed upon birth, the Israelite midwives, Shiphra and Puah also stood up to the perceived injustice of the decree. They risked their own lives by facilitating the delivery of healthy Israelite children.  And in doing so, they differentiated themselves from the Egyptian
            Our Jewish and American heroes teach us to stand up to injustice.  It is easy to complain about the ills of our society, and that is an important first step, but if we fail to take action, we become a part of the pervasive culture that facilitates the problems we see. We all know this, cognitively, but Life is busy for us all, but if those who came before us had not stood up for us, none of us would have the choice to ignore our societal problems.
            It is a New Year, a time for each of us to explore new opportunities.  With the amount of suffering just locally, we each can find a cause to rally around and stand up for.  We can get out and make phone calls in opposition of the proposed gay marriage ban, which threatens the rights of those who are living in loving relationships.  Volunteer with our Habitat for Humanity Abraham build on Sunday mornings, where we are not only building a home for a family in need, but we are also building bridges and dispelling myths amongst our Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities.  Spend time distributing food at the Interfaith Food Shuttle, so that we can experience first hand the importance of feeding those who do not have enough to sustain themselves. 
            There is no injustice too small or too large to stand up to.  Let us just not be complacent.  As Dr. King said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”  And it is why a slew of rabbis, including my own mentor, Rabbi Richard Levy, marched alongside Dr. King decades ago, praying a Shabbat service in a Mississippi prison.  Unfortunately, it is not hard to find such threats even here in our own backyards.  Let us use this long weekend as an invitation to start working to repair our world directly – either by volunteering right now, or by signing up to make a difference at a future date.  Then we will truly be honoring the legacy of a man and a movement whose dreams we all hope to realize.

-       Rabbi Ari N. Margolis
Parashat Shemot 5772