BAMIDBAR SHAVUOT 5777
MORE THAN A NUMBER
May 27, 2017
29 Iyar 5777
The Rabbis taught that God loved the Children of Israel and he commanded that they be counted several times during the forty year desert sojourn. They likened this to a person who has many diamonds, and enjoys looking at them and holding them. Thus the Rabbis insisted that in the Divine eyes each human being is a precious jewel.
I reflect on this teaching following the tragic Manchester bombing. The first reports highlighted the number killed and wounded. Yet each victim is a person survived by parents, children, a spouse, siblings, family members, friends–each has a name. There is Saffie-Rose Roussos, age 8, whose parents are devastated by her death. Olivia Campbell, age 15, eulogized by her mother as "taken far far too soon … mummy loves you so much." Angelika and Marcin Klis, waiting at the entrance of the concert hall to pick up their two daughters were tragically killed in the blast. The two girls emerged to discover to their horror, that they were orphaned in the blink of an eye.
This tragedy was especially devastating because it claimed the lives of many children, and the death of the young is the death of a future.
Each death was the loss of a precious jewel. Not only to a loving family but also in God's eyes. No death should be reduced to a statistic.
At Yad Vashem, in the Children's Hall name after name of the 1.5 million child victims is simply intoned. This ongoing litany challenges us to focus on the immense loss of the future that is reflected in the ghastly statistic of the murder of 1.5 million children.
We are thus cautioned that in our tendency to focus on numbers when discussing the Holocaust or reporting on tragedies such as the Manchester bombing, we not lose sight of the individual.
This perspective was beautifully articulated by Jon Donne in his well known poem, "For Whom the Bell Tolls":
No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
…Each man's death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.
May every victim of violence fueled by causeless hatred rest in peace, and may their families be strengthened by the knowledge that their beloved are a jewel in God's and our eyes.
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From Chicago where I am visiting my great-grandson Caleb and his parents, Joseph and Sara Anne, my best wishes for a Shabbat Shalom u'Mevorach – a Shabbat of peace and of blessing and a wonderful celebration of our Tradition's Festival of Torah, Shavuot.
Rabbi Arnold M. Goodman
I appreciated the opportunity to spend last Shabbat at the Ahavath Achim Synagogue. It was a delight to see old friends and to be introduced to new ones.
BEHAR B'CHUKO'TAI 5777
DETACHED AND IMPOVERISHED
May 18, 2017
22 Iyar 5777
The sound of a driven leaf shall put them to flight. Fleeing as though from the sword. [Leviticus 26:36]
Why do You hide Your face and treat me like an enemy? Why do You harass a driven leaf, will You pursue dried-up straw? [Job 13:24, 25]
In the "tochecha," Leviticus chapter 26, the Children of Israel were warned of the terrible catastrophes that surely awaited them if they continued to sin, how bad would it be? Even a soundless "driven leaf" i.e. a leaf torn from its tree and easily buffeted by the wind, will cause panic and arouse fear in the hapless community.
While the tochecha describes a national and group tragedy, for Job the driven leaf is an apt metaphor for being abandoned by God. Job who suffers a total breakdown in his ability to function, bemoans that like a driven leaf he is powerlessness to control his destiny. Once so reduced, an individual has been stripped of the capacity to control his/her destiny.
A driven leaf is one suddenly cut off from his group or community. Becoming a persona-non-grata in our former community, can be a devastating experience. For example teenagers, suddenly cut off from their peer group do testify to a resulting disorientation and sense of worthlessness. There is an intense human need to feel attached to a social entity. While there is great truth that "people who need people are the luckiest people" it is also true that "people who are embraced by people are the luckiest people."
Throughout the centuries Jews have found support and strength in community and in its institutions and traditions. Shiiva visits surround mourners with family, friends and general members of the community. Bikur cholim (visiting the sick) was elevated to a highly regarded and beloved mitzvah. Free loan societies were available to aid those in need of financial support.
On a deeply personal level, death often triggers the driven leaf syndrome. When we are nourished and enriched by a loving relationship, its termination through death renders us with deep sense of loss. We miss the energy that flowed from an irreplaceable love and togetherness. The harsh reality of our beloved being physically detached from us, does, at first make us feel impotent and impoverished.
When as individuals or as a community we come to the side of family and friends who suffer the detachment triggered by a great loss in their lives, we are engaged in doing God's work here on earth.
—
From Atlanta my best wishes for a Shabbat Shalom u'Mevorach– a Shabbat of peace and of blessing.
I look forward to my forthcoming visit to Atlanta and to the Synagogue this Shabbat; and to the wonderful delight to see old friends and to be introduced to new ones.
Rabbi Arnold M. Goodman
