a level playing field that enables them to earn enough money to live and share with those left behind. To experience stable homes and safe communities. When I told my daughter about Marian and the CDF she responded, but not everyone has these things. She's right. And that is what Marian affirmed in her words of acceptance of the award as she emphasized the course to move towards full-filling long overdue goals.
In speaking of the United States, she reminded us that our money currency says IN GOD WE TRUST. From there she raised up the challenge, It's past time to define and follow which Gd we truly mean. The Gd of money or the Gd of all of our children and of all professed faiths. The prophet Micah told us what the Lord requires of us - to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with Gd.
It's not enough to look rich on the outside, amassing objects and properties. It is not enough to use wealth dispassionately. We must cultivate richness on the inside, practicing kindness and love to guide our actions and our commitments.
As we start this sixteenth week at home, we have entered the new Jewish month of Tammuz. While it sometimes feels like time is standing still, the calendar reminds us, that is an illusion. Time is moving forward. How are we to move with it? In the first of the psalms of praise/Hallel we offer on Rosh Hodesh, the 1st day(s) of the new month, we ask Who is like the Holy One enthroned on high, stooping down to see earth and sky, raising the poor from the dust, the impoverished from the dung heap, seating them with nobles, with the nobility of Gd's people..." (Psalm 113). Meekeemee ma'afar dal, raising the poor from the dust. This is our job here on earth. To raise up the impoverished from the dust, to invest in those in need so they may stand independently, freely and safely. Lest we forget, the creation story offers that the first human was created of the dust of the earth. That was our beginning. We are long past the starting point for the future. Our stance must always be to work collaboratively with the Gd of all our children and ourselves to create and maintain a world of justice and equity, of love and kindness, of peace and equilibrium. And, if you're looking for ways to share your funds, try Food Bank NYC, Foodbanknyc.org or the Children's Defense Fund, www.childrensdefense.org.
May the currency in which we deal with one another and our world, especially in these trying times, demonstrate commitment to fashioning a world that leaves no child behind. Let us live into our role as Gd's children and grow this world as it should be, as it can be and as it must be, free from poverty in all ways.
Shabbat Shalom
rg
