Praying Together

Friends,

This past Sunday I was honored to offer a prayer alongside many other clergy about our need to participate in the liberation of people of color in this country. Many of them were Baptist or Pentecostal preachers and built into their prayers was the familiar phrase “can I get an amen?” to which the crowd replied “AMEN!”

The Hebrew word amen means “I agree” and in Judaism and American culture we use amen to indicate our agreement with what someone has just said. The word amen is the root of the word ‘emunah’ – faith. When we declare amen we are professing our faith in the words just spoken. One of the first instances of emunah in our Torah is found in Gen. 15:6. “Because [Abraham] had faith in God, God accounted to his righteousness.” Abraham’s faith through ten trials confirmed that he would be the father of the Jewish people.

The value of emunah, faith, is different in Judaism than belief. While emunah often implies a belief in God, one can have faith without belief. We can have faith that miracles will happen, we can have faith that love will prevail and that our children can dream, we can have faith that this virus will end, we can have faith in equity for all, and we can have faith that through acts of g’milut chasadim, loving kindness, our world will one day be complete.

In this week’s Torah portion, Sh’lach L’cha, the Israelites are standing on the precipice of the promised land. They, like Dr. King and so many who came after, can see how great it could be if only we have faith in the future. Yet the Israelites, like so many generations of Americans, were afraid of the risks and potential consequences. So much so that we have joined the Israelites wandering in the wilderness.

Dr. King, like Moses, did not lead us into the promised land, instead they entrusted those who came after them to take the next steps. We must have faith in ourselves and others, faith that we can create a society based upon full equity and equality for all, faith that we will endure physical distancing and mask wearing, and faith that one day we will only know shalom, wholeness and peace. 

With blessings of health, peace and courage,

Rabbi Immerman