(This D'var Torah was delivered at a service open to the community after small bombs went off at two churches in Las Cruces on Sunday, August 2).
The Torah reading for this
week on the Jewish calendar could not be more apropos for our gathering
tonight.
The passage I will read
from Deuteronomy Chapter 11 is included on the parchment which is placed in the
mezuzah, a small container that is affixed to the doorpost of a Jewish
home. The mezuzah fulfills the
commandment also contained in Deuteronomy Chapter 6, “Write them on the
doorposts of your house.”
A quick story. Once upon a time in Manhattan – yes,
the BIG apple, a family moved into a condominium in one of New York City’s
famed high-rise buildings. They
saw this small box attached to the doorway. This particular family was not aware of Jewish custom
and practice, so they were puzzled as to what this strange ornament might
be. The mother of the household
told her husband she would ask. She
contacted the building owner, who said, “Oh, that is a mezuzah.” He told her what it was for, and
explained further, “It is a choice for someone Jewish moving out of a place
where they have lived to leave the mezuzah on the doorpost for the next
resident.” The woman
replied, “Oh – all right, thank
you. It thought it was some sort
of security system.”
Well, it IS a security
system exactly because of what it says on the parchment inside about the love
of God, which can translate in our lives into the love of humanity and all of
creation.
You should also know that
when the rabbis were deciding how to affix a mezuzah to the doorway, one rabbi
said, “It should be straight up and down.” A second rabbi said, “No, no, it should be parallel to
the ground, so that its top points straight into the house.” The decision that was finally made
was according to neither of those opinions. We are directed to put a mezuzah in the top third of a
doorway, on the right side as we enter, placing it at a 45 degree angle. It was an exact mathematical compromise
between the two opinions you heard before. So every mezuzah is a reminder not only of the home being a
Jewish home, but that compromise and taking a variety of opinions into account
is an essential Jewish value.
The passage from Deuteronomy
Chapter 11 that we will read in a moment sounds a lot like the paragraph after
the Shema that we chanted earlier, “V’ahavta – you shall love the Eternal your
God,” which is also included on a mezuzah parchment.
There is one more concept
that the Torah conveys here in Deuteronomy Chapter 11, a sort of moral and
meteorological calculus and balance.
It’s a simple equation, really:
If the people followed God’s commandments, they would gain a full range of
agricultural benefits because rain would fall in abundance. But if they served other gods and strayed
from their heritage, God would stop up the heavens and no rain would fall.
When we pray during a
drought, we know that the reason for a lack of rain is not so simply tied to
our behavior. Yes, there may be
some human habits that actually do affect the availability of water and the
possibility for rain to fall.
I believe that the best lesson we
can learn from this passage is not about rain falling or not and whether or not
we were the cause.
It is about whether or not
we show each other love and support and consideration.
We might say, poetically,
that we want kindness, goodness, and peace to fall down like rain upon us. The Jewish prayer for peace in a
morning service asks God to grant us peace, goodness, blessing, grace, and
compassion.
That is a tall order for
God if we aren’t doing that for one another.
We, as God’s partners, have
a major responsibility to grant peace, goodness, blessing, grace and compassion
to each other. If we don’t, it
feels like we are in the midst of a drought, but not one that is at all related
to rainfall.
This drought is one in
which we feel disconnected, alone, lonely, unsupported, uncertain, and
unsafe.
Events like those of last Sunday at Holy
Cross Catholic Church and Calvary Baptist Church have a way of not-so-gently
reminding us about the rains of love and mutual support that are ours to shower
down on one another so that we feel protected, connected, warm and loved.
And I know that many of us have
already felt this concern from the murders at the church known as “Mother
Emanuel” in Charleston, South Carolina, and other tragic events in our country
and in other places around the world.
No matter what our specific
beliefs might be, we know that the gifts of our character that we give to our
community can make a difference.
So may we rain down on one
another and our community the gifts of love, wisdom, understanding, friendship
and hope.
And may those gifts create the
security system that we need that will echo the Oneness that is intrinsic
within the universe – a Oneness which unites us all.
Recognizing that Oneness, and in
the spirit of this gathering tonight, we sing:
