“A rising tide lifts all boats.” That’s a nice phrase, isn’t it? I looked it up, and discovered it was
popularized by President John F. Kennedy in 1963, though there’s also
an ancient Chinese proverb that expresses the same sentiment.
It’s been used in many contexts over the centuries; for example, in 2010, President Obama famously used this phrase to advocate for equality of opportunity and prosperity in America. But it’s also painful to talk about it, right? Since we know that across this country and around the world, rising tides have NOT lifted all boats, but have sometimes mainly raised up the proverbial super-yachts, oil tankers, and military vessels of society. I don’t want to flounder around for too long in this one metaphor, but the concepts of “raising up” and “elevating” actually permeate our Torah portion. And so I want to “lift up” an essential teaching for us all at this crucial time in our country and in the world.
The name of our Torah portion is “B’Ha’alotecha,” which literally means, “when you raise up” (Numbers 8:2). In context, however, it is *merely* referring to mounting
lamps on the Menorah in the ancient Tabernacle. So not all that meaningful, right? But then I also noticed a couple of crucial things. First, the
parashah goes on to use various synonyms at least five times in our reading; dealing with ‘raising up‘ the Levites, the Cloud of God’s Presence ‘lifting’ off the Tent of Meeting, an ‘elevation’ offering, and Moses imploring God to “STAND UP!” and fight on Israel’s behalf. Ultimately, the text circles back to the same word used for the portion’s name, though this time it’s talking about God’s Presence (9:22), which arguably ‘heightens’ its significance.
Ok, but so what? What does it matter if this term repeats, and how does it connect to yachts and dinghies or a rising tide???
Well, let me bring us back to the first reference, the name of our Torah Portion, “B’Ha’alotecha.” It literally means, “when you raise up.” And there’s a key difference there from the Chinese proverb or JFK’s vital speech. The Torah is saying YOU need to do it! You can’t wait for the tide to rise or for anyone else to engage in this work. You, me, we, all of us; we are the ones who need to lift up important issues, bring attention to painful problems in our community, and raise our own voices - and the voices of others - to make sure they are heard. AND, when you do that, when you put in the effort, God will respond in kind... but you gotta go first.
Back to our overworked metaphor: The tide simply goes up and down. It just is. We are the ones who need to partner with each other and with God, to make sure that
everyone benefits equally. It is aspirational. It is not an objectively true statement, or one that can even be achieved without hard work, sacrifice, and solidarity. Right now, a small group of people in this country and throughout the world hold a tight grip on power, wealth, and influence. So very many others are being left behind, and are suffering and dying. Yet we are all stakeholders. We are part of this infrastructure and this society, and if we want things to be different than they are, WE have to take action. So let us resolve to ‘raise up’ the brokenness in our world, and do everything in our power to bring about change. Whether our own boat is going up or down, we are all responsible. And it is most definitely time to influence the tide.
CC images in this blog post, courtesy of:
No comments:
Post a Comment