Praying for Hope and Peace on January 6th
Friends,
Like many of you, my eyes welled up as we watched a mob descend on our most sacred national spaces. I felt nauseous seeing guards run from people wielding guns, watching them break down windows and desecrate the spaces where our lawmakers from both parties, chosen by citizens, work to create and shape the future of our country. Senators and Representatives hid under desks and were escorted to safer spaces, while our president declared his love for those rioting.
This week in our Torah we begin the book of Exodus and learn how fear affects those in power. Fearing that the Israelites will overthrow him, Pharaoh oppresses and enslaves the Israelites, and passes a law to kill their children. No one dares object until two women, Shifra and Puah, defy his decree. It takes moral courage to stand up to those who rule by fear, who seek to denigrate and dispossess those who are different, those who are vulnerable, the strangers in our midst. It takes moral courage to instead rule by hope to ensure that all people have access to life-saving medical care, children can sleep in safe, warm beds at night, and our planet is protected and preserved for the next generation. Desecrating our nation’s capital and undermining our election is not courageous, it is cowardly and rooted in fear.
As we went to the polls, I wrote to you attempting to capture the tense feelings shared by many in our congregation, feelings of anxiety, fear, and hope. As I wrote then, our sacred community is guided by the Jewish values of ahavah, chesed, anavah, and tzdakah, by love, compassion, humility and righteous acts. We will continue to love our neighbors and strangers, we will engage in acts of compassion by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick, and living our Jewish values, and we will find humility by recognizing that all people are created b’tzelem Elohim, in the divine image.
Next week we will celebrate our commitment to tikkun olam, repairing the world, at our 54th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, service. This interfaith service will feature prayers by over 20 clergy from the Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Unitarian, and Baha’i faiths. Our featured speaker will be State Representative Robyn Porter. This service serves as a beacon of hope to our greater New Haven community.
Tonight at 7 p.m. we will begin a seven-part series confronting racism in our country and community, the same racism that was on display yesterday in the capital. I hope that you will join us tonight to learn more about white privilege and how we can work to create a better society. Pre-registration for the rest of the series is required.
May our country be sheltered in a sukkat shalom, a shelter of peace, as we work and hold our leaders accountable for making our world a brighter, healthier, and more peaceful nation.
L’shalom,
Rabbi Brian P. Immerman