Moving into a new Gregorian year, I am grateful for the people (family and friends, especially) we have seen in our travels; people who are part of our expanding circle of community here and in other places; opportunities to teach, study, share music, and pray; and relationships and discussions that have helped me grow in various ways.
I have had moments in the last 80-plus days when I thought that all of my interfaith work in the communities where I served has been for naught, but I choose not to believe that.
I am hoping for the Israeli hostages to come home in the approaching days; for friends and family in Israel to soon be presented with reasons for optimism; for people who disagree to truly listen to each other and to begin to come to an understanding, based on mutual respect; for those trying to rewrite the history of America and the Middle East to expect that their efforts will be countered at every turn; for anyone who might tell me, as an American Jew, to “go back where I came from” to realize that I am quite where I belong; for leaders who believe they are more important than the people whom they serve, wherever they may be, to be held accountable for their misguided approach, whether it includes the pursuit of war or imposing their own perspectives that have no basis in truth; and for the desire to work for peace to unite people who don’t yet believe they are on the same side, even while they are seeking the same eventual outcome.
In my song “Rav Shalom,” I wrote this English version of Isaiah 54:13-14:
Can you hear the sound, the sound of justice
Driving out the hatred, calling off the warning
No need to fear the peace that will surround you
Which reads like this in the original:
You shall be established through righteousness/justice,
You shall be safe from oppression and shall have no fear
From ruin, and it shall not come near you…
All your children will be taught the highest values (taught of the Eternal One),
And great shall be the peace/well-being of your children.
Something to reach for in 2024.
Happy New Year, everyone!
No comments:
Post a Comment