Finding G*d in Acts of Goodness
This past Shabbat we hosted a communal Havdalah in our backyard, a chance to come together before the day was completely over and enjoy the wine, spices and a twisted candle -which are the ritual elements - and ice cream in our backyard, which is optional. The Havdalah service with which Shabbat concludes separates the holy from the ordinary – a strained concept in these extraordinary times. Having congregants over meant that we heard the horrific news from Pennsylvania before night had fully fallen to end-Shabbat.The surreal and terrifying understanding that the former President was mere inches from the unthinkable, the great relief that he suffered only a minor injury and then the deep sorrow hearing that one man had in fact been killed. We returned as best we could to the sacred time of Shabbat, savored the last moments before three stars emerged and the blessings were said. The candle wicks sizzled as they were doused in the wine and we sang “a good week, a week of peace” as we marked the end of one day and the beginning of a new week and now, perhaps, a new era, emerging from Shabbat into anything but ordinary.
These times are also anything but ordinary in Israel. It has been more than 280 days since the attacks on October 7th and the abduction of over 200 hostages, plunging the lives of their families and countless others into limbo. This week the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who have been tirelessly pressing for a deal to get all the hostages home, have called on people around the world to dedicate our time to acts of goodnes
s, prayer and study of Torah - the three pillars upon which the world rests. Faced with unspeakable torment, the Goldberg-Polin and all of the families have decided to bring more kindness into the world.
After his ordeal, the former President echoed the voices of many who couldn't help but see a kind of Divine Intervention in his survival, a way of experiencing G*d that has long provided comfort and faith in the midst of terrible times. For me, it is hard to square this brand of Divine involvement with the countless tragedies that land without intervention. The question of why one suffers and another prospers is one that dwarfs even the weightiest issues of the day. To have faith or to have doubt are both powerful responses. To have certainty as to the nature of G*d’s role in our lives, however, goes too far. We see why in examples as close by as Corey Comperatore, killed in the bleachers at the rally, and as close to us in a different way as the suffering from the horrific assaults of October 7th..
G*d watches over everyone and everyone is susceptible to tragedy. So how do we find G*d in those moments when life and death rub against each other? We bring G*d to the fore when we act in a way that recognizes G*d's image in every human being and in a way that is worthy of G*d's image in us.
Rachel Goldberg-Polin, key organizer of the Week of Goodness, makes the point clearly for all of us whose hearts are held captive with her son and fellow hostages, and provides a direction for responding to the chaos here at home. “We are living in a fractured time, and our beloved hostages are in unimaginable darkness — this campaign is aimed at helping us bring more light into the world.”
When knowing what to do or how to help feels elusive, begin today with an Act of Kindness in their name and end this week with Shabbat in Shorts at Gesher L’ Torah where we will collect food products for Backpack Buddies to feed families in our community. More ideas for participating in this international initiative can be found at weekofgoodness.com