Vayigash 2020

This past week Jews and Christians were attacked in the midst of religious celebration and prayer.   What prompts such attacks on religion?   Though on a conscious level this hate seems to be about prejudice itself, and for Jews it seems to come from many sides of the political spectrum,  I believe that it says something about our society and our era generally.  As our congregant Deborah Lipstadt wrote in the Atlantic last week:  “No healthy democracy can afford to tolerate anti-Semitism in its midst. It is one of the long-term signs of rot in that democracy.”  

So what is the rot that causes this religiously targeted hatred and violence?  I believe that the hole in people’s lives which is filled by hatred and violence, is, ironically a God-shaped one.   Humans do not just need physical safety and emotional well being but also a sense of meaning, of greater purpose for which they live.    Religion is the one area of thought which addresses such big questions:  Why are we here?  What is our purpose?  How can a world over which we have no control and a life which is fragile and completely unpredictable also be one of deep meaning and fulfillment which humans so deeply need?    

In a world absent of purpose humans make their own purpose, but to little avail.    Thus our culture is suffused with entertainment which numbs but does not provide meaning; filled with partisan politics, which offers superficial feelings of belonging but is only truly valuable as a means to some greater end; desire is everywhere with its many false promises of fulfillment, but as the Mishnah in Avot says, “No one leaves this world with even half their desires in their hand.”

If people do not find meaning in its most conducive place, religion, individuals and societies will invent their own, to the detriment of us all.   I would suggest that the more robust our religious communities are, the more ultimately fulfilled and therefore peaceful, individuals in our world will be.  (Not as an opiate but as a manifestation of the human being’s real thirst for ultimate meaning).  It is upon us to ask how as Jews can join with other communities of faith to help interweave the fabric of our country and our world with a greater sense of ultimate meaning.  We must, through our actions and our learning, bring our Jewish values and general religious sensibility to the society in which we live.  

Here are some very practical ideas. 

1. Find ways to bring religious communities and denominations together for shared spiritual experiences.

2. Establish a class or discussion time at your workplace or school to read a Torah text that has universal appeal and to reflect on its values.

3. Find opportunities to do community service within a religious context on behalf of the greater society.  

May we together with other religions, and with God’s help, merit to bring more Jewish and religious thought, action, and light to this dark time in our world.