This week we commemorated the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage. Guaranteeing women the right to vote, the 19th amendment was a step towards gender equality and an equitable and impartial system of justice. How timely that this anniversary coincides with the reading of parashat Shoftim which includes the powerful commandment tzedek, tzedek tirdof/justice, justice, you shall pursue (Deut.16:20). From the very beginning of our preparations to enter the land, we were called on to create systems of equity and righteousness and to place those values at the forefront of our actions.
In Judaism, justice is never an afterthought; it is the place from which we lead. Why? ...so that we may live and thrive (Deut. 16:20). Without integrity and honesty our lives are incomplete.
The Hebrew month of Elul which began today is a time in which we are called to look honestly at and within ourselves. We ask, Who are we? Who are we meant to be? How have we gone astray from our soul's calling? How might we find our way back to our source? This work of heshbon nefesh/soul accounting leads us to t'shuvah/return which finds voice in one of the acronyms for this month of Elul - אני לדודי ודודי לי/Ani l'dodi v'dodi li/I am to my beloved as my beloved is to me (Shir HaShirim).
Ani l'dodi v'dodi li is foundational for the work of t'shuvah. Reciprocal love, mutuality. A deep searching of heart and soul. Opening to the self. Turning to face the Divine that reverberates within. Seeing oneself in the divine mirror can lead us to seeing the face of the other reflecting back. When we see ourselves in one another and measure our actions and the actions of the other by the same yardstick with love and generosity, we lift up justice.
Tzedek, tzedek tirdof. May we pursue what is right and just in all of endeavors, infusing the world with holy sacred action reflective of true humanity.
Shabbat Shalom, rg
Congregation Habonim 103 West End Ave New York, NY 10023
