I have been working from home this week since Carrie is back at school teaching and Ayelet is in virtual classes this week. On Wednesday, I was working in my home office on my weekly message for all of you to read. I was focusing on the words of the Torah portion and how it should impact our lives. As a history nerd, and someone who has always loved civics, I left my TV on in the background so that I could witness the process of the counting of the electoral votes. Before this year, we all knew that our votes went to elect electors who elected the president and vice president, but I don't think many of us were aware of the inner workings of the entire process. When I heard the news begin to change from the happenings inside the House and Senate chambers to what was happening outside, I left my article unfinished and went to look at the TV. I was devastated and I was angry. Those are the only words I know to explain how I felt at that moment.
I went to Washington, DC for the first time as an 8th grader on a synagogue trip. My parents were chaperones. I remember that we stayed at a hotel near L’Enfant plaza. I fell in love with Washington, DC on that trip and have been blessed to travel back there on numerous occasions. I love the monuments and the museums and the buildings. But above all else, I love the remarkable institutions that are housed there. Washington, DC became our capital out of a compromise made by our leaders. It was established on federal land so that no single state could claim to house the seat of our government. It has endured protests… it has endured struggles… it has endured violence… and it endured an occupation by the British in the time of war. And it will survive this as well.
Governing is not an easy thing. Governing is not necessarily a natural thing. People do not naturally join groups and leave their own best interests aside. When in 1787 “We the people” chose to introduce a radical new vision of self-governance, we did so knowing that it was an experiment, and that it was crazy. The reality is that it was an experiment that worked and continues to work and will work forever. We must trust our institutions, we must have faith in our leaders, and we must honor our people and legacy.
We have gone down a rabbit hole for some time now in our country. We have chosen to divide rather than unite. Use words of accusation rather than words of invitation. And to turn fellow countrymen into enemies rather than into people with who we build our nation. We have all heard the stories of how President Ronald Regan and Tip O’Neil worked together to get the business of the people done in DC. We have all heard about how our leaders used to eat together in the Senate and House dining rooms. Those things no longer happen. We have chosen a path of anger rather than a path of love and respect.
I had intended to write about a very important verse from this week’s portion, Shemot. The verse says ויקם מלך חדש על מצרים אשר לא ידע את יוסף – and a new king rose up over Egypt that did not know Joseph. These words introduce the beginning of the enslavement and the brutality to our people at the hands of Pharaoh and the Egyptian people. What’s so telling from these words is the failure of the new king, in his ascension, to not remember a hero of the people, Joseph, who had saved his kingdom from the famine years ago. To have a king who does not know the history. To have a king who turned on the descendants of the man who saved his people is something that cannot be overlooked. There is a commentary on this verse that questions if this was really a new king or merely the same king with new ways of doing and seeing things. This commentary comes from that place of great disbelief that someone in a role of power would not have a handle on the history.
We as a people need to make hard choices. Do we want to fight or do we want to work together? What happened yesterday was not patriotism. It was unlawful. What happened yesterday is the antithesis of all we as a people seek to build. It was wrong and it must be condemned by all people. We must do better. We must learn from our past and make a better future. We must do better. We must cut the anger and embrace our common humanity. We must do better and we can do better. History will guide us but the future will judge us. We as a people must make choices that will help us to build a legacy worthy of our children and our grandchildren. We as a people must embrace this collective obligation.
In Judaism we uphold the value of the debate and the value of the difference of opinion. We believe deeply in the need to hear and value opinions of all shapes and sizes. We must lead our community and our country with that in mind. We can differ in the way that we think but we cannot differ in the way in which we behave and speak. We are in this together. We must learn from that lesson and choose to make better and bolder choices for the sake of our nation’s soul.
Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Hearshen
D'var Torah
Click here to visit our Facebook page on Fridays for Rabbi Hearshen's D'var Torah. The Parashat this week is Shemot.
TONIGHT!
Candlelighting time this week is 5:28 pm. Shabbat ends at 6:28 pm.
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Sunday Morning Services Starting this week!
Sundays at 8:30 am Sunday morning Shacharit Services on Zoom will begin on January 10.
Monday Lucy Michelle Arogeti Seth Alhadeff Stuart Tuck
Wednesday Bradley C. Ladden Danielle Nicole Arogeti Galit Hearshen
Thursday Rael Grosswald
Friday Marilyn Rubin
Anniversaries There are no anniversaries this week.
Meldados
Shabbat Bob Israel for Grandfather Salomon Israel Esther Nerenbaum for Grandfather Haham Elia Israel Esther Zipperman for Father Nace Amato Isabelle Maslia for Brother-in-law Manuel Renov Jeannine Altmann for Grandfather Haham Elia Israel
Sunday Mimi Monett Maslia for Grandfather Wolf Shetzen Rosemary Levy Zumwalt for Husband Isaac Levy
Monday Esther Nerenbaum for Father Saul Alhadeff Joel Nerenbaum for Mother Sophy Nerenbaum Walter Diamond for Father Irving Diamond
Tuesday Lucy Levy for Father Eliezer Lereah Pearline Franco for Father Eliezer Lereah Sidney Tourial for Grandfather Sidkiya Tourial
Wednesday Ben Arogeti for Mother Bulissa Arogeti Esther Franco Gordon for Grandmother Behor Alhadeff Margie Franco for Son-in-law Morris David Franco Phyllis Arogeti for Mother-in-law Bulissa Arogeti
Thursday Barbara Meyer for Mother Helen Gold Gary Meyer for Grandmother Helen Gold Joel Marks for Mother Joanne Marks Joyce Elias for Mother Rose Elias Jules Greenblatt for Father Don Greenblatt Laurette Hanein for Brother-in-law Nissim Hanein Maurice Cohen for Uncle Jacques Levi Norman Maeroff for Mother Charlotte Maeroff Victoria Killeen for Mother Margo Malca Beda
Friday Lenny Franco for Uncle Sam Glass Tillie Glass for Husband Sam Glass
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