In a Place Where There Is No Humanity

In a place where there is no humanity, strive to be human
Pirke Avot 2:5

At the end of this week’s Torah portion,
God says to Moshe, Aharon, his sons and the seventy elders,
Ascend, come up the mountain to me.

They prepared with a ritual
That included the whole community.
Gathered together the people listened to
Moshe relate the rules and laws
Meant to create a fair and just society,
And with one voice they answered--
         We will act in accordance with these statutes
         And we will come to understand
         How to live with sacred intent.

And then
Moshe, Aharon, his sons and the seventy elders
Went up.

And there on the mountain
         They saw God.

They gazed at God…
         They saw that under God’s feet was shining sapphire,
Like the very essence of heaven.

And then what?
         Did they fall on their faces?
         Did they shout kadosh, kadosh, kadosh—Holy, Holy, Holy?
         Did they turn away, trembling?

Moshe, Aharon, his sons and the seventy elders
Beheld God
And they ate and drank.
They beheld God and they sat down for a meal.

This response of embracing their humanness always surprises me.
And today I hear in the Torah’s story:
In a place where there is no humanity, strive to be human.

In a time when so much of what is
Decent, fair, just, compassionate, kind,
Is being ransacked—

Do not give into the temptation to be
Harsh, divisive, hateful,
In response.
Practice, every day to live with sacred intent.

In the words of my teacher and friend Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum:

Be a reason for people to believe in the goodness of humanity.

Let’s keep ascending together.
With much love,
Rabbi Yael