The great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn was a wondrous event. This celestial phenomenon was visible to anyone who was willing to gaze, even if just for a moment, towards the western sky.
On December 21, when the two planets appeared to be “touching” in the sky, I recited a blessing from my tradition, praising “the One who makes the works of creation.”
As I posted my Jupiter-Saturn photos on Facebook over the course of several days, some of my friends living in cities with cloudy skies were very grateful to see images of this amazing sight.
This marvel offered a brief diversion from the earthly concerns that have arisen in 2020 and will continue into the new year. We still face uncertainties about the coronavirus, as we hope that COVID-19 vaccines will bring us greater protection and widespread healing.
Our commemoration of incredible events in the sky should remind us to join together mark the lives of the victims of COVID-19 in a meaningful way. We should thank front-line workers of all types and show appreciation to medical personnel, who have risked, at least, their health, if not their lives, to fulfill their tasks at a challenging time.
The worldwide cooperation among scientists/medical experts that created the coronavirus vaccines in record time demonstrates what we human beings can accomplish when we share a common mission and purpose.
We do, most certainly, have it in us to overcome even profound ideological differences enough to engage in coordinated action to sustain our mutual well-being.
There is a parable that has found its way into a number of cultures that offers a poignant perspective on consideration and cooperation.
One version was told by Rabbi Haim of Romshishok.
He dreamed that he was taken to a room with a large banquet table with the best foods imaginable. The people sitting at the table each held a two-foot long spoon, but no one was eating. Their arms were attached to wooden splints so that they could not bend their elbows, and, even then, the spoons were too long for them to be able to place food in their own mouths.
He was then taken to another room with a large banquet table, filled with similar delicacies. Each person held a two-foot long spoon. Their arms were attached to wooden splints so that they could not bend their elbows. Yet, in this room. the people were eating their fill. They had figured out that they could enjoy all that food if they fed the person across the table.
Rabbi Haim saw their solution. He ran back to the other room and told one of the still-hungry people sitting at the large table what they should do. The person replied, “It would better for me to see and crave the food on the table than to see these other people sitting with me, whom I despise, end their hunger because I helped them.”
Upon hearing that response, Rabbi Haim screamed. Then, he woke up from his dream.
This chilling tale teaches us that the best way to live with others is to empathize with them, and to help, without bias or limitations, whenever our assistance is needed.
After all, we are, in truth, from one year to another, sitting at the same table.
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