Dear Lab/Shul,

Like many of you, I’ve spent agitated hours in front of screens these past days, engaged in complex conversations, trying to make sense and meaning of this moment, to find grounding and focus, to be helpful to myself and to others.

Perhaps history, as well as the night sky, can be helpful as we navigate these demanding times, recover from this relentless virus and heal our deepening political divide. We can learn from our storied past and our inherited wisdom, from our heroes, then and now,  to be more fully present and better prepared for what’s yet to come.

We are called today to show up and to look up. There’s a big weekend ahead, and a new moon arriving, bringing along the early promise of spring – and of dramatic shifts.

“We are not makers of history. We are made by history” is one of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s more famous quotes, originally written as a sermon in 1963.

King’s powerful words were not an admission of human passivity but a rebuke of those who did not join him in the fight for civil rights but rather let the world dictate their destiny. These prophetic words echo today, as we prepare to honor King’s life and legacy this coming weekend – and as we are deeply rattled by the callous violence that we’ve all experienced this past week and these past four years.

What King reminds us of today is that we do have agency. We have the privilege, duty and responsibility to respond to history as it unfolds in front of our eyes. It’s on us to claim our moral courage and imagination, to show up as we are able to and make a difference – with courage, compassion, determination, and patience. It’s on us to reckon, to resist and to rise.

But King also reminds us all to take a deep breath today, and then a few more, to gain perspective on this long road to justice, to remember how important it is to see the scope of history and what’s at stake, to look away from screen and the doomscrolling, to look within ourselves instead, and then – to look up.

Tonight, a new crescent will appear, and with it we will welcome the new month of Shevat. In our tradition this new moon is the first sign of spring. While it’s hard to imagine sleeveless shirts and blooming tulips as we’re deep in snow right now – our earth-wise ancestors knew to remind us that every night brings on the dawn, each season changes, even as history rolls on, and so it is for each and every one of us, and the social realities we are part of.

We have to look up to remember: Change is always who we are, and not everybody likes it when what’s familiar starts to shift.

The gradual movement toward progress is often gained through the narrowest, hardest, darkest pangs that birth what’s new and the yearned for. Just as the seasons change, so can people and nations – for better or for worse. The calendar is telling us hold on, friends. This winter is tough and this night is long, and this chapter seems endless, but dawn is on the way, and a new moon is coming, and so it is with change, and healing, and tulips. Look up.

Looking up and gaining perspective is one helpful step towards grounding and hoping. But as Dr. King taught us, we must also show up for each other’s struggles. The new moon needs eyewitnesses to be declared. Human agency in matters sacred and secular is how we are called to be partners in creation, to help each other bring on the light. The urgency is more compelling than ever.

A week ago our sacred civic center was attacked by far right militants and terrorists challenging the election results, furious by that morning’s news from Georgia. On the very day that a black Christian preacher and a white Jewish activist were elected as Georgia’s Senators, White Supremacy reacted with a fierce, racist and hateful violence. The shocking attack led to yesterday’s historical impeachment and today’s continued  concerns.

In a week – hopefully a non-violent one – we will welcome our new leaders, grateful for so many who have shown up to vote, and to get out the vote. We wish safety, health and success to our returning and emerging leaders – proud of their and our commitment to justice and healing, restoration of decency and dignity.

How else do we show up, today and on the days and nights ahead, to walk the talk of change-for-good, to not lose hope and to be even more helpful to each other?

How about a call of care for someone home alone? Reach out to someone tonight, family or friends, maybe even to someone ‘on the other side’, to breath deep and check in. Kindness helps bridge all divides. 

Find ways to nourish your soul and spirit, body and mind, and figure out how to nourish others. Show up for what’s most helpful.

  • Show up by joining us this weekend, along with Rev. Derrick McQueen and the St. James Community, to worship together, commit to continued anti-racist learning and action together. This is our fourth annual shared celebration of this weekend, our second annual preacher swap, and the first time on Zoom! Rev. Derrick will be giving the sermon on Friday night at our Sabbath King and I’ll be honored to preach at St. James on Sunday morning.
  • Volunteer! All ages are welcome to make cards, calls, and more ways to support some of us most in need. Read Sam Hipschman’s beautiful note with all details.
  • Sign up for our upcoming From Separation to Reparation course – making a commitment to the anti-racist world we want to help build together.

Don’t forget to look up. Let’s greet this new pre-spring moon with the optimism that has sustained us for millennia.

As always, please don’t hesitate to let us know of more ways for us to show up for each other and for better days ahead, for all.

Chodesh Tov – Wishing us all a brave new moon of changes for good, healing and hope. 

Rabbi Amichai