By Rabbi David Jaffe
As the intensity builds towards the election next Tuesday I find myself alternating between feelings of overwhelm and despair on one hand, and deep motivation to keep doing my part knocking on doors, writing postcards, donating money, and more. I know this is true for many of you as well. How do we continue taking initiative while not getting overwhelmed by what is at stake these next few days and weeks beyond the election? Join us on Sunday evening, November 10th at 8:00 PM ET for a webinar on spiritual resilience and continue reading for guidance from our Biblical ancestors.
The Biblical characters of Noah and Abraham offer us guidance on navigating our responses to this political moment. What I want to share here is adapted from a teaching by Rabbi Menachem Nachum Twersky (d. 1787, Ukraine), also known as the Chernobyl Rebbe.
A striking difference between these two characters is their response to societal violence and injustice. Noah’s world was filled with theft and violence and yet, he did nothing. He responds when God tells him to build the ark, but he doesn’t seem to do anything on his own initiative. In contrast, Abraham organizes a rescue team for his nephew who was taken hostage during war, argues for justice for the wicked city of Sedom, and goes out of his way to offer hospitality to strangers.
Noah’s name is related to the Hebrew words for “rest” and “comfort.” While these are important qualities at the right time, in a time of harm and violence some may find themselves pulled to separate from reality and indulge in comfort. By “comfort” I don’t mean taking care of oneself. It is always important to take care of oneself. I mean compulsions and addictions that numb our feelings of the harshness of reality. This numbing or distancing is a Noah response.
An Abraham response to a harsh reality is to cry out, to hold God and humanity accountable, and to take action. Indeed, earlier in the Book of Genesis (5:1) a play on words hints at the Abraham approach being essential to Creation itself. The early account of human life on Earth describes how people make bad decisions and hurt and steal from each other. For life to flourish in a world where people have the free choice to make bad decisions, an Abraham approach is essential. There must be people who will constantly cry out and mobilize action against oppression. In the absence of this, God brought the Flood to reset and start over. Noah’s passive, and distant approach only hastened the destruction.
Here we are, in an anxious moment before a major election in the U.S. and after an anxious and incredibly painful year of destruction and death in Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Sudan, and beyond, along with deepening divisions between and within communities here in the U.S. I don’t begrudge anyone the desire to distract and numb themselves from these realities. And yet, that approach will not sustain us. We need to follow Abraham’s example. When feeling overwhelm or despair, the Abraham approach is to reconnect to our Ratzon (our deep yearning for a better world, for connection to HaShem, or whatever that looks like for you). Let that yearning turn into taking initiative in some way to address the brokenness, no matter how small. In the language of Jewish mysticism, this yearning-initiative is called “arousal from below” and brings increased energy and abundance to the world.
Over the coming days, and in the weeks following the election, no matter what the outcome, may we follow the path of Abraham and create an “arousal from below” with our initiatives so that we evoke an “arousal from above” to sustain and energize us and eachother for whatever world we will inhabit in the months to come.
Chodesh tov,
David
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