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The Righteous of
All Nations On October 11th, the 30-day anniversary of the September 11th attacks, we had an extraordinary interfaith clergy service here at Temple Emanu-El. It was an amazing experience that epitomized much of what religion, at its best, can mean. The service brought together clergy representatives of more than 20 congregations in our Tucson community, crossing all boundaries of race, ethnicity, and creed. Everyone who spoke or sang or played brought something unique and special and wonderful, a gift of heart and mind and spirit. Each religious tradition, and each religious leader, was extraordinarily good, and each sought to sublimate his or her own differences to advance a central idea: we are all part of the human race, brothers and sisters, who seek healing, consolation, unity and peace. And we are all Americans. While our service did not include every religious tradition represented in Tucson, it did include Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Islamic, Sikh, Methodist, Baptist, Hindu, Jewish, American Methodist Episcopal, and Bahai clergy, prominent leaders in their communities, while the music ranged from gospel to sitar to cantorial. At the risk of sounding presumptuous, it was impossible to be there and not to feel God's presence. When we concluded singing America the Beautiful, with our arms around each other, no one wanted it to end. This is what America is really all about; this incredible diversity is what we must love and defend. On the practical side, the event raised a significant sum of money for both the college fund of the children of victims of the World Trade Center attacks, and for the family of the Sikh man killed in Mesa, Arizona in an act of ignorant rage. Also on the pragmatic side, the service raised the consciousness of all of us to try a little harder to see the tzelem Elohim, the image of God, in each face around us, no matter the color or the clothing or the headcovering. For those of you who were able to attend—there were about 500 people there, the Star said—I am personally grateful. But if you weren't there, there is still something special to take away from the experience. For what it taught was that, as the Talmud assures us, the righteous of all nations truly do have a place "in the world to come." And we can begin to build that world right here, in Southern Arizona, by our acts of openness, respect, and love. If we wish to make this 5762 year grow to goodness from its challenging beginning, acts of positive religious identification and action are crucial. Some of these will be interfaith, crossing the boundaries. Others must be distinctly Jewish, but which we can share with others: our educational outreach, or contributing to our Temple Emanu-El Mitzvah Corps, which will widen and deepen our Social Action initiatives locally. In a time of crisis the right way to respond is to act positively, for good. Evil can be contagious—but so can good. Let's create an epidemic of goodness through our own conduct. May we each, by our own actions, choose to make this a season of goodness for our temple, our community, our city, and our world. L'shalom, v'reiut - in peace and friendship, |
