Nachamu Ami-Be comforted my nation. Two days ago we just observed the darkest day of the Jewish calendar, Tisha B’Av. We are now asked to feel comfort. Yet comfort cannot be felt on demand. The question for today is what is our role in comforting one another?

Why does the Mourners Kaddish require a minyan? When we mourn we do so as a community, as part of a family. We don’t ask what your politics are-when we say Kaddish, we do so with trust that we are all existing under one God, and that brings us strength.

The communal also becomes the personal. When someone loses a loved one, we say to them HaMakom Yinachem, may God comfort you. Yet is this what Yinachem really means? We see at the end of Parshat Bereshit וַיִּנָּ֣חֶם יְהֹוָ֔ה כִּֽי־עָשָׂ֥ה אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֖ם בָּאָ֑רֶץ וַיִּתְעַצֵּ֖ב אֶל־לִבּֽוֹ[1]

“And God was nahem because He made humanity and was saddened in his heart.” It certainly does not mean that God was comforted by making humanity as God’s about to create the flood! Rather what this means is that we recognize the chaos in people’s lives. By saying HaMakom Yinachem with the passing of a loved one, we recognize that your world will never be the same again but we are here to comfort you and help you walk on this very difficult path.

          The same can be said about Moses begging God to enter the Land of Israel. He is asking God to do an act of grace, חן and let him enter the land of Israel even though he has nothing to offer in return.[2] The answer he received from God is רַב־לָ֔ךְ אַל־תּ֗וֹסֶף דַּבֵּ֥ר אֵלַ֛י ע֖וֹד בַּדָּבָ֥ר הַזֶּֽה׃[3]

“Enough! Never speak to me of this matter again!” Not only that but he is told to look into the land that he will not be able to enter; which must have been torturous for him. Moses had led his people to the land flowing with milk and honey, a land which remains just out of his reach.

          I look at Monday’s vote in Israel on the Reasonableness Clause in light of this emotional story in the Torah. This bill is relatively minor in the greater scheme of things; this is about emotions. I have spoken with those who have felt a betrayal of trust, feeling sucker punched with the passage of an amendment on which no one had campaigned, some of whom feel that this will be the end of democracy in Israel. I have watched the protesters, the reservists and fighter pilots who didn’t show up for work and the doctors who went on strike except in emergency and critical care situations. I had a friend tell me, “I can’t imagine not coming into the Navy-I took an oath” and I had another say “I understand not being able to serve a government that does not accept the role of reason in making decisions.” I have spoken with celebrants who have felt this is a long time coming. I can identify with both yet only as one living outside of Israel and not facing the real-world implications of this decision. It is not over-the Supreme Court will hear arguments on it in September-but it is a major step in trying to take power away from the courts and put it in the Knesset.

          For many ויהפכו-things are upside down and topsy turvy. It is in the emotional lens as well as where we are in the Jewish calendar that leads to my framing of this situation. Sometimes one can pray, beg and entreat, as Moses did, and things do not go your way. Decisions can be made that you are powerless to stop that make it feel as if your world has come crumbling down, where you can find no comfort. What one can do, however, is to be present with what you feeling and honor your concerns. One needs to be able to fight for what s/he believes in while recognizing that there is so much beyond our control. We can entreat, protest, pour out our hearts, stand in solidarity with others. In the end, we are all inheritors of a history that goes back thousands of years whose future is unwritten. If there’s one thing we can agree on, it is that we cannot allow this to be the end.

          Maksim Smelchak sent me a video of someone asking passersby about their stance on the “judicial reform.” If they said they were against, he said “I’m in favor.” If they were in favor, he said “I’m against.” Each time he asked for a hug and each person gave him a hug. The message of this was to show that regardless of how we stand we need to remain united together. It’s easy to say that when things go your way, yet when they don’t we need to strengthen our bond with one another, to understand even when we vehemently disagree.

          Mosaic Law Congregation has been successful the past 123 years, and at the same time there is always room for improvement. Here at MLC we have an opportunity to model what it means to get to know the other, to listen to others’ stories, their hopes and dreams. By getting to know one another on a human level, we create a community where everyone is valued and appreciated for who s/he is regardless of his/her opinion on any given issue. I challenge each of us to set up a time to have a 1-on-1 meeting with a congregant we do not know or who we perceive as being on the “other side” of an issue of great importance to us. I ask us to first get to know the other as s/he is, listening carefully to him/her. Over the course of time and building trust, I hope that the two of you will be able to bring up difficult issues and listen to what the other is truly saying. In so doing, as a congregation we can be an example for others to emulate, and we can do a better job of bringing each other comfort in life’s difficult moments.

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[1] Genesis 6:6

[2] Rashi on Deuteronomy 3:23 ואתחנן

[3] Deuteronomy 3:26