Two numbers have been ringing in my mind this week: 20 billion, the newly approved number of US government dollars for military aid to Israel, and 40 thousand, the now surpassed official number of murdered Palestinians since Hamas’ October 7 attack.
This week also serves as a calendric and liturgical move from destruction – the reading of Eicha for Tisha B'Av – to the first shabbat of consolation – the seven shabbatot between Tisha B’Av and Rosh HaShanah (October 2, save the date!). This first special haftarah of this cycle is read this shabbat and begins with the words “comfort, comfort my people.”
But the hasty move from destruction to comfort is not coming as quick for me as this week’s transition would have us turn the Tanakh page. After deciding it could not work for me to be in DC last month to protest the arrival of Netanyahu to congress, or in the coming weeks for potential additional actions (I’ll leave it at that), I was remembering my plea ten months ago that This. Is. An. Emergency.
And, I was unable to persist with my living in a mode of emergency. This has gone on so, so long.
As the calendar suggests we shift from destruction to comfort, I will be considering this shift to comfort not as a way to be comfortable as in complacent and numb, but to find comfort as in a sweet spot of resilience-to-persist amidst grief, shock, horror, and anguish for what continues to occur in my/our name. If you need that too, may you find it as well.
Shabbat shalom,
R’ David
This week also serves as a calendric and liturgical move from destruction – the reading of Eicha for Tisha B'Av – to the first shabbat of consolation – the seven shabbatot between Tisha B’Av and Rosh HaShanah (October 2, save the date!). This first special haftarah of this cycle is read this shabbat and begins with the words “comfort, comfort my people.”
But the hasty move from destruction to comfort is not coming as quick for me as this week’s transition would have us turn the Tanakh page. After deciding it could not work for me to be in DC last month to protest the arrival of Netanyahu to congress, or in the coming weeks for potential additional actions (I’ll leave it at that), I was remembering my plea ten months ago that This. Is. An. Emergency.
And, I was unable to persist with my living in a mode of emergency. This has gone on so, so long.
As the calendar suggests we shift from destruction to comfort, I will be considering this shift to comfort not as a way to be comfortable as in complacent and numb, but to find comfort as in a sweet spot of resilience-to-persist amidst grief, shock, horror, and anguish for what continues to occur in my/our name. If you need that too, may you find it as well.
Shabbat shalom,
R’ David
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