Shalom TBC….

Like many of you, I awoke this morning confronted by a cascade of emotions. Some of you may be feeling bereft, disillusioned, afraid of what comes next. Others may be feeling more optimistic, even satisfied. Regardless of how yesterday’s election results landed with you, there is no doubt that we have turned a never-before-seen page in the history of our country. We cannot control the results, only our reactions to them. What we can do is lean into the wisdom of our rich tradition. Pirkei Avot for example teaches, “Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief.  Do justly, now.  Love mercy, now.  Walk humbly, now.  You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.” In this week’s Torah Portion, Lech L’cha, God commands Avram to leave his father’s house and travel to a land that God promises to show him, assuring him all the while that he will be a blessing, that God will make of him a great nation. And Avram goes, walking, one step at a time beginning the greatest journey in the history of humankind. Avram goes on faith knowing that he is not alone.

We are not alone either, my friends. We have each other and this community, free will and faith, resilience and determination and the promise of change in the days, months and years to come. It occurred to me this morning at sunrise as I walked my two exuberant German Shepherds, they didn’t care at all who won the election, they were just thrilled to be alive and out walking on a gorgeous warm November morning. The sun will set tonight and rise again tomorrow, and we will carry on shaping our world in the very best way we can, because that is the human spirit we embody as Jews. 

I leave you with the prayer that began my morning – a teaching from those who walked this land long before we did:



A Prayer for these Times

  – Bishop Steven Charleston, Citizen of the Choctaw Nation, Native American Elder

When they hate, I will love.

When they curse, I will bless.

When they hurt, I will heal.

I am a servant of the light.

I am not afraid of darkness.

I will carry on with my work as a steward of the Earth

And of all her children.

When they divide, I will unite.

When they rage, I will calm.

When they deny, I will affirm.

I will simply be who I am: for that is what Spirit created me to be.