Sometimes we have to start over.
As with Moses.
The old tablets were shattered in anger.
The new tablets needed be created with a promise:
To follow standards that could keep people close as a community
To believe in a God who is
Always present
Compassionate
Gracious
Slow to anger
Abundant in kindness and dependability.
Showing a generosity of spirit to
Forgiving what we do wrong
But holding us responsible
For the long-term consequences of
Of our errors in judgment
Borne out in misguided actions
So we would learn from our mistakes.
God wants us to treat each other
As God approaches us:
With compassion, kindness, generosity,
As we hold each other to a high standard
Of morality.
It’s not about making excuses for anyone,
But helping each other to realize our better selves
Even at a time when people have descended
Into a darkness of the soul
That reflects a foundation of
Anger, fear, selfishness, ridicule,
Dishonesty and hatred.
To everything there is a season, says Ecclesiastes,
There is a time to love and a time to hate,
And both give way, one to the other,
In relatively rapid succession
Over the course of many years.
We have it in our power
To turn the cycle back to where we want it to be.
The fragile Sukkah, as a shelter of peace and hope,
Reminds us that when hate and fear
Become prominent,
It’s time to work for love.
And when sowing conflict becomes a tool for control and power,
It’s time to work towards cooperation and peace.
Blessed are You, Eternal One,
Who reminds us to strengthen our shelters,
Even if they are fragile,
So that we can, under their protection,
We can move forward into the future
In unity
With renewed faith in ourselves and in each other
And with hope.
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