Dear Rodeph Sholom Community,
Many of us are walking around in stunned disbelief this morning. Some are scared and dispirited, worrying about what this election means for crucial domestic and international policies, the shape of the Supreme Court, and, most particularly, the character of the country we all love.
Much of this will unfold in the coming year.
As a large, crucial, religious community, we will continue to stand for the values which Judaism wisely has imprinted on our brains and souls: the affirmation of human dignity for all of God’s children. We will fight hatred and division in every way we know how.
In a few days Rodeph Sholom will celebrate Mitzvah Weekend. On Friday night Rabbi David Saperstein will affirm our resolve to help desperate refugees, because, historically, we know what it means to be so endangered. At Havdalah, on Saturday evening, Imam Shamsi Ali, Reverend Carla Guzman and I will discuss how our faith traditions inspire us to protect and affirm people of all races and religions in the United States and around the world.
Sunday we will do hundreds of mitzvot to make our community a better place. This is what we can do. This is what we can control.
In this week’s Torah portion, Lech Lecha, we learn that our mission is to ensure that all the peoples of the world will be blessed through our vision. Together, we will pursue this path, because we realize it is not enough to be as blessed as we are. Our Torah commands us: be thou a blessing.
In the words of the beautiful Oseh Shalom, “May the God who brings peace to the heavens bring peace to our pained community, our divided country, the State of Israel and her neighbors and all the world.
B’Shalom,
Rabbi Robert N. Levine
Senior Rabbi
