According to the midrash, when the Egyptians were drowning in the Red Sea after we were safe on the other side, the angels in heaven celebrated. God admonished them and told them that it was wrong to celebrate when all of these creations were dying. We use this text to explain the wrongness of celebrating at the downfall of our enemies and those we don’t agree with.
This week, as the jury’s verdict was being read, I continued to breathe and question what the appropriate response should be. Should there be mass euphoria in the country? Many of us believe that had the verdicts gone a different way, there might have been a different and awful response. I was relieved to find there wasn’t a violent response and there wasn’t an over the top celebration.
This trial should never have happened since George Floyd should still be alive. But the reality is George Floyd died and a reckoning was necessary. The reality in 2021 is we still have yet to figure out how we are to make peace with our past, and to learn to live with each other. The reality in 2021 is we still have not made it to the “promised land” that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. always spoke of. The reality is we still live in a country that is divided along numerous lines. We still live in a country where we judge those who are different than us. We still live in a country where we can live only 10 miles away from someone physically, but in reality, live on different continents. We simply don’t understand the worlds of those around us and we don’t work hard enough to better embrace the various worldviews.
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote “Morally speaking, there is no limit to the concern one must feel for the suffering of human beings. Indifference to evil is worse than evil itself, [and] in a free society, some are guilty, but all are responsible.” All too often in our world we find the reverse of this quote. People assume guilt by association and people assume the way we look determines the way we think and what we do. That doesn’t lessen our collective responsibility to be a part of the solution… a part of the conversation.
This week’s double portion is אחרי מות and קדושים. Those two portions mean “after death” and “holy.” What’s interesting is the word in the second portion that follows “holy” is תהיו “you shall be.” If we read those two sets of words together, we would get the sentence “after death you shall be holy.” I always like to explain to people it doesn’t mean death makes us holy. It means when we experience loss, we can choose to build or destroy in response. We can choose to love more or close ourselves off. We can choose to be more holy after a loss or we can choose to not be.
George Floyd should not have died but he did. Last summer we saw frustration and anger that was not holy as the response. Now, after the guilty verdict, we have the opportunity to find holiness in the form of confronting our society and our world. We have the choice to have hard conversations that make us uncomfortable, or to allow the status quo to move forward. We have the choice to build in holiness or destroy in profanity.
I do not believe in the collective guilt of the heroes who serve in our police forces. I do not believe in the collective guilt of white America. I do not believe in the collective guilt in communities of color. I believe deeply that every single person must be judged individually on their own merits and on nothing else. The opportunity is now in front of us to sit down and have the hard talks. The time has come for us to leave the old way of doing things behind and instead choose to build a better future. When we manage to do this, we will be able to see how, after a tragic death, we can make a better and more sacred community and country for all.
Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Hearshen
BIRTHDAYS Shabbat David Felix Gordon
Monday Elizabeth Ohana Helene G. Tuck Rachiel Berger Richard D. Franco
Tuesday Mikhail Akbashev
Wednesday Abby Lazarnick Alegria Kletzky Julius Joseph Berger Steve Alhadeff
Thursday Dalya Panbehchi Emma Hope Smith Phyllis M. Cohen
ANNIVERSARIES There are no anniversaries this week.
Meldados
Shabbat Ben Arogeti for Father Moshe Arogeti Janet Soriano Seligson for Grandfather Morris Soriano Jeanette Arogeti for Grandmother Siniuru Rahel Capelouto Morris (Moe) Soriano for Grandfather Morris Soriano Phyllis Arogeti for Father-in-law Moshe Arogeti Rosemary Levy Zumwalt for Father-in-law Jacob Levy Shelley Cooper for Grandfather Morris Soriano
Sunday Josh Hearshen for Grandmother Beatrice Hearshen Parvin Borna for Father Elazar Hakimian
Monday Alan Taranto for Grandfather Yehuda Benzion Taranto Iris Shemaria for Sister Joyce Smith Vicki Grosswald for Grandfather Yehuda Benzion Taranto
Tuesday Albert Tarica for Mother Esther Tarica Esther Franco Gordon for Grandfather Haham Yosef Hai Franco Georgette Cohen for Sister-in-Law Claudine Geduldig Laurette Hanein for Sister Claudine Geduldig Maurice Cohen for Sister Claudine Geduldig Phyllis M. Cohen for Sister-in-Law Claudine Geduldig
Wednesday Donald Benator for Father Max Isaac Benator Marie Babb for Father Max Isaac Benator Richard Benator for Father Max Isaac Benator Sylvia Benator for Husband Max Isaac Benator
Thursday Benson Habib for Grandfather Behor Haim Habib Blanchette Ichay for Sister Gisele Zamero Gary Orlin for Mother Rebeca Orlin Janet Soriano Seligson for Grandfather Behor Haim Habib Judy Chyatte for Aunt Baheya Gershon Louise Sinkoe for Father David Bobo Morris (Moe) Soriano for Grandfather Behor Haim Habib Rose Beton for Father Behor Haim Habib Shelley Cooper for Grandfather Behor Haim Habib
Friday Beth Arogeti for Mother Margaret Weiller Joel Arogeti for Mother-in-law Margaret Weiller
