A young middle school student told me recently that anti-Semitic comments were so bad in his school that his parents chose to move him to another school. Farther from home, the Pope recently “rehabilitated” Richard Williamson, a Holocaust denier. In communities around the country, anti-Semitic acts against synagogues and other Jewish institutions are growing more commonplace.
The tension in the world related to Israel and Gaza, compounded by the economic strife faced by millions, leaves less room for hope and more opportunity for scapegoating.
In our democratic system, we elect politicians we believe will help us over our challenges. Those who failed to elect their presidential candidate have acted out. Rush Limbaugh, the popular conservative talk-show host, scapegoated Obama. He said he hoped that Obama would fail. His comment raised the ire of many Americans who equated his comment with the hope that the country would fail.
All of us spend time with people at work who, like us, are also building for their family’s future. The pain of job loss is compounded by the disconnection from colleagues who are our friends. The powerlessness to save a job leads some to rage. There are tragic stories of job loss that contributed to loss of hope and then to murder-suicide. They break our hearts.
The anti-Semitic incidents are a symptom of pain and hate. The long history of anti-Semitism leaves an ample target for people who feel they have no control over their lives. So they punish and destroy. The terrible problems facing our nation are serious but it isn’t yet a time for hopelessness. Our elected leaders and their appointees are working for us and with us. It isn’t a time for hate and destruction.
Religious values can be an anchor. To the anti-Semite, I would say turn to your own religion and find the Truth to help you over your personal dilemmas and failures. To the Jew, I would say turn to the power of prayer and the wisdom of Torah for insights into the human condition and hope for tomorrow. To the non-religious, I would say trust in the goodness of man and woman that has been implanted within them; and, if you can’t, then be a role model, yourself, of what is possible in human life.
Congregation Beth Israel is uniquely prepared to respond to members’ needs. Each rabbi and cantor is a good listener. In private conversations, you can express your fears, your needs and your hopes. Your rabbis and cantor are not prophets nor are they financial advisors; but, they are role models of enduring values. Sometimes finding an anchor to hold onto can mean the difference between sinking and staying afloat. We also have resources that might lead you to the help you need or the job you’re seeking. Better to network than to not work.
I feel for the young man who had to change schools to find peace. I fear the lack of wisdom that prompted the Pope to restore an anti-Semitic man to his place among men. I pray for a glimpse of Truth that will enable us to live in peace, speedily and in our own day.
From my desk to yours, Shabbat Shalom.
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