This week, I would once again like to dedicate my blog post. Unfortunately, this is not the joyous dedication of last week, when I was thanking everyone who helped celebrate my fifth anniversary at Ohev
Shalom. I would instead like to dedicate my thoughts (and prayers) this week to a good friend who is just beginning a long battle with cancer. Staci Zemlak-Kenter is married to my college roommate and colleague, Rabbi Eytan Kenter, and three weeks after giving birth to their first child, Boaz, Staci was diagnosed with cancer. These past few days, I have been marveling at her strength and bravery, while also wrestling with how something so unfair could be happening. And so, with that in mind, and with much love, care, and praying going out to Staci, Eytan, and Boaz, I would like to share with you a thought on this week's Torah portion:
Ours is a parashah of struggles. Several rebellions and coups are launched against Moses and Aaron, and the reading is filled with strife and antagonism. Yet even as we feel frustrated with the entire Israelite
community, when they simply REFUSE to accept God's power, or God's choice of Moses as their leader, we might also feel some disappointment in God for being unable - or unwilling - to reason with them. It all feels so heavy-handed. When the people rebel, God threatens to wipe them out, twice! And when Moses and Aaron intercede on their behalf, God instead strikes the people with a plague, killing scores of Israelites. Looking at the story before us, I feel lost and overwhelmed. I feel saddened. Everyone here SHOULD be working towards the same goal, and yet there is no communication, no compassion. And then, a plague.
We do see this in the world though, don't we? Violence, shouting, bullying; and often between people who should be on the same side, who should be supporting one another. And we also see plagues and illnesses, inexplicably devastating the ones
we love. The Torah purports to explain these things with simple cause and effect solutions: The people rebel, so they get punished. There are good guys who thrive, and bad guys who suffer. If you're battling a disease, it means you did something wrong. Easy, right? But it isn't that straightforward at all; in fact, it never, ever is. Life is murkier and more complex, filled with unfairness and unanswerable questions. And even the Torah knows this to be true. In reality, the Torah is actually challenging us to look deeper, to NOT accept the surface-level reading, but be more discerning. Go beyond.
First of all, savor and value every precious moment in life, because no one is immune, no one is impervious. You can choose to let this fact depress you, or you can let it inspire you and compel you to make the most of each and every second, and treasure the people around you. And second, sometimes adversity brings out the best in people.
Moses and Aaron, in the midst of being attacked by the Israelites, continue to defend the people and beg God to forgive them... even when their own lives are being threatened. If that isn't leadership and self-sacrifice, I don't know what is!! And sometimes when a friend is battling cancer - at a moment in life when she should be allowed to just celebrate, and maybe worry, as a new parent, about getting more sleep - it is awe-inspiring to see her community rally to her side. Letters, calls, and posts filled with encouragement, care packages, incredible contributions to help her family prepare for the long journey ahead, and just so much love and support. It is still a sad situation, and we all feel sympathy and pain. But it also demonstrates our ability to care and nurture, to step up and be better.
Eil Nah, R'fah Nah Lah - Please, God, heal her - please (Numbers 12:13).
Photos in this blog post:
1. Image courtesy of Staci Zemlak-Kenter. You can read her story, and contribute if you wish, on her CaringBridge site: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/kenterskicklymphoma/journal/view/id/53a223058b5cd313471d6751
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