Rabbi's Chayva's Chat

Am Tikvah, sometimes it’s hard to know what to say. Rabbis trade in words and ideas, and yet the roller coaster of this week has left me empty-handed in some moments and bursting in others.

My experiences in Phoenix, both as a private citizen and as a non-partisan poll chaplain, showed me a part of America that we rarely experience here. Residents felt assaulted by the barrage of door-knocks, text messages, and the walls of campaign posters installed at every street corner. Voters were often confused about when and how they could drop off their ballot or vote in person. But at the polling site where I was placed for chaplaincy, Election Day was beautifully quiet and smooth, and I heard the same from rabbinic poll chaplains across the country. I am grateful and proud that our election was peaceful and democratic.

Upon returning to San Francisco, I found our community experiencing a wide range of feelings, much like I have too. Perhaps, for this week, we can change the trope of “two Jews, three opinions” to “two Jews, three feelings.” Whatever you are feeling, you are welcome and part of Am Tikvah. 

We are entering a time of year in which the days get shorter and the rain starts to come - a time in which seeds are planted, but we will not see them grow for a little while. In this week’s Torah portion, Lech Lecha, God tells Abram (not yet renamed Abraham), “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them. So shall zar’echa, your offspring, be.” The word zar’echa comes from the root זרע zayin-reish-ayin, which means seed. Now is the time for planting seeds of hope, seeds of integrity, seeds of tradition, and seeds of love. As the rains come, those seeds will grow until they outnumber the stars. Shabbat shalom.