Deep Thoughts for Summer

I recently finished reading a book that made me slow down and think--always an intriguing thing. The book is "To Heal a Fractured World: The Ethics of Responsibility," by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, who is Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth. His web site is http://www.chiefrabbi.org/

I read this book with post-it notes, just like I read back in my somewhat remote academic days. I typed out favorite quotations. Then I decided I need to write about why this book makes sense to me, and how I see what he has written. He writes for all sorts of readers, not just Jewish ones, and his thoughts are profound.

So my goal is to write about some of the quotations until I feel talked out about it. So here goes.

“Biblical faith is not a conservative force. It does not conceal the scars of the human condition under the robes of sanctity and inevitability. There may be—there is—divine justice in or beyond history, but God does not ask us to live by the standards of divine justice for if we could understand divine justice we would no longer be human. We are God’s children, not God. By teaching Abraham how to be a child, challenging, questioning, defending even the wicked in the name of human solidarity, God was instructing him in what it is to be human, keeping ‘the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice.’” (26)

This passage resonated for me, as a parent, a teacher, and a human being. Sometimes I have to remember that I can only do what is humanly possible, but that I have a responsibility to do exactly that as well--if something IS humanly possible, and needs to be done, then I have a responsibility to try. I may not succeed, but I should at least try. I also share the view that faith is not conservative. I work as a librarian at a Jewish Day School, and I see the reality of this both in my work community and in my synagogue. I have a duty to challenge what I believe is wrong, and I should work to change it.

Right now my community/synagogue is involved in trying to work for the rights of people our government has chosen to label "illegal aliens." I find it amazing how hypocritical our citizens can be, since none of us (excluding Native Americans) would be here if it weren't for our ancestors arriving from someplace else. Who knows how "legally" they entered this country? Most were doing exactly what these people are doing--looking for a better future, for themselves and their children. Yet somehow, this goal has become worthy of criminal prosecution.

So anyway, I find that this book makes me think about how such endeavors are completely appropriate, and completely within the scope of "Biblical faith." The Bible directs us to remember that we should treat all people fairly because we too were once strangers in another land.