Rights and Responsibilities are Very Different - Column for Las Cruces Bulletin on June 5, 2020

Some of the discussions swirling around the COVID-19 pandemic have focused on “rights” in relation to “responsibilities.”

      One of the central teachings from my tradition, which I have shared in previous  columns, relates to both rights and responsibilities.  It comes from the ancient Jewish sage, Hillel.

      He said, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me?  If I am only for myself, what am I?  If not now, when?”

       My fifth grade teacher in my religious school at the Temple where I grew up asked us to interview family members about this saying.     

      Mostly, the responses that I heard from my family back then, and interpretations that I have heard since, have viewed this saying as a progression. 

      First, advocate for yourself. 

      Second, don’t just advocate for yourself, because you don’t live in this world by yourself. 

      Third, there is always an urgency to do both, and to properly balance them. 

      Another famous statement from Hillel declared, “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor.”   That teaching seems to complete his message of self-confidence that leads to mutual respect and consideration.  

       For me, our current situation calls on us to identify these and other values that are the most important to us, perhaps more than ever before.  Hillel’s declarations are a good start. 

     I recently asked members of all ages at Temple Beth-El to share the moral principles which they view as central to our lives at this time.

 Their responses were instructive and inspiring: 

•  Taking care of your body and health
• Togetherness/community/connection 
• Kindness
• Remembrance for loved ones, and for those who have died in recent months during this pandemic. 
• Peace in our homes and staying connected with family near and far. 
• Generosity: supporting people going through a hard time. 
• Acceptance and patience
• Being helpful and showing compassion
• Finding joy amidst everything going on. 
• Gratitude: finding something for which to be thankful at any time.
• Visiting and staying in touch with people facing illness and health challenges, and praying for their recovery. 
• Treating everyone as equally valuable in this world. 
• Resilience
• Saving a life (or saving lives), so as not to jeopardize our lives or the lives of others. 
• Altruism: showing - selfless concern for the well-being of others.
• Noticing the wonders still happening around us in nature. 
• Truly trying to understand someone else’s viewpoint. 
• Remembering and (hopefully) learning from the past.
• And leaving the world better then when we got here.

    I received a request from the American Jewish Archives, which houses important historical documents from individuals and communities, to submit my sermons and articles that I have shared during the COVID-19 pandemic.   They hope to chronicle, for the future, what we are thinking now, and the messages that clergy and community leaders are trying to convey to guide their communities in the best way possible. 

     You are now reading what I hope will be a part of that collection.   We are living in a time that will be studied and discussed for decades to come.   

    So, every day, may we act in ways the reflect hope, peace, and even love. 

    If not now, when?