Remarks - Southern New Mexico Islamic Center Iftar meal - May 6, 2021

   Thank you for opening up this Iftar gathering to the greater Las Cruces community.   It’s an honor to be here.   The diversity represented here truly reflects our community and our nation.  

   Sadly, some political leaders persist in asserting that “multiculturalism” is not what America is about.  Even the idea of a “Melting Pot” did not mean for us to give up our religious and family customs and traditions. It DOES mean that we appreciate the opportunity we have in the United States to do what we can to give back to the community, through charitable acts and working for equality and freedom based on our respective traditions. 

   In Jewish congregations throughout the world, this week’s reading from the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, comes from the book of Leviticus.  It begins with the commandment to observe a Sabbatical year every seven years, letting the land lie fallow so it could regenerate itself for the future.   This passage also established the Jubilee year, to be observed every 50 years, when the land would lie fallow, debts would be forgiven, slaves would go free, and land would revert to its previous owners.  

    We are not sure whether the Jubilee year was ever totally observed as presented in the book of Leviticus. 

    However, the idea of the Jubilee year teaches us that we are stewards of the land, doing God’s work to tend to it and preserve it.  Moreover, the Jubilee year taught that slavery and indebtedness should not persist for more than two generations.  At some point, economic systems and the land on which we live need a reset, which illustrates the divine perspective on our intrinsic equality. 

   So, to do God’s work, we create partnerships that can assure that people in financial straits can find assistance, that the homeless can find shelter, and that those who are hungry can find nourishment. We do what we can to promote clean air and clear water, and, at a time like this, we promote health and well-being for everyone.  God granted us the ability to do all of these things by giving us wisdom compassion so that we will, without hesitation, help our neighbors in need.  

    Judaism and Islam share common teachings, including the one that notes that if we preserve even one soul, it is as if we have saved an entire world.    May we continue to work together to sustain this world in which we live, a world that we all share as partners, as companions, as friends, and as brothers and sisters in faith and hope.   Blessings to you all.