This week began a second term of resistance as the 47th president was sworn in the morning of the national holiday celebrating the birth of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I went about my usual observance of the latter, attending the rally at Garfield High School for the 42nd Seattle MLK Coalition. It was inspiring and joyful, and it recounted both history and a vision for the future.
And later that day, the reality of what happened in DC that morning started to sink in. I am coming to the 47th presidency with more wear. Fortunately, I recently had the opportunity to take supported time to connect with ancestors, blood and chosen, and this is buoying me as reality sinks in, as I ask what I will do to show up for those immediately threatened by the new administration.
Parashat Va’era begins the resistance to Pharaoh’s oppression of the enslaved Israelites, taking us through the first seven plagues brought forth upon Pharaoh and all of Mitzrayim. But before it all began, the Torah takes up half of a whole chapter going through the lineage of the leaders of this resistance. The grandparents, great-uncles and aunts, cousins, and parents of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam are listed leading to a reintroduction of these characters.
I am appreciative for this pause in the narrative as I read it this week. Perhaps Moses, Aaron, and Miriam – even the highest leaders and prophets of the time – needed to remember their lineage and on whose shoulders they stand. All the more so for me, with less proximity and immediacy of threat personally, but holy (and hopefully wholly) connected to our interdependence. I encourage us all to gather in our ancestors who gifted us life and resources and resilience and learning who can help us grapple with both our complicity and our ability to resist what is happening and what is to come.
Shabbat shalom,
R’ David
And later that day, the reality of what happened in DC that morning started to sink in. I am coming to the 47th presidency with more wear. Fortunately, I recently had the opportunity to take supported time to connect with ancestors, blood and chosen, and this is buoying me as reality sinks in, as I ask what I will do to show up for those immediately threatened by the new administration.
Parashat Va’era begins the resistance to Pharaoh’s oppression of the enslaved Israelites, taking us through the first seven plagues brought forth upon Pharaoh and all of Mitzrayim. But before it all began, the Torah takes up half of a whole chapter going through the lineage of the leaders of this resistance. The grandparents, great-uncles and aunts, cousins, and parents of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam are listed leading to a reintroduction of these characters.
I am appreciative for this pause in the narrative as I read it this week. Perhaps Moses, Aaron, and Miriam – even the highest leaders and prophets of the time – needed to remember their lineage and on whose shoulders they stand. All the more so for me, with less proximity and immediacy of threat personally, but holy (and hopefully wholly) connected to our interdependence. I encourage us all to gather in our ancestors who gifted us life and resources and resilience and learning who can help us grapple with both our complicity and our ability to resist what is happening and what is to come.
Shabbat shalom,
R’ David
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