disrupt our democracy and resulted in death.
Years ago, when studying Schenk vs. U.S. in my High School Constitutional Law Class with Werner Feig (whose archetype and name found its way into the television series The West Wing), I was introduced to the notion of clear and present danger in relation to speech. The power of not crying fire in a crowded theater cannot be underestimated. Words have power. The storming of our nation's Capitol demonstrated the way in which language designed to promote disinformation and incite violence (Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO, Anti-Defamation League) can upend lawful expression of democracy.
From the very beginning of our Torah, we learn the power of the word. Only 3 verses into Breishit, we read, Vayomer Elohim y'hi or, vay'hi or / Gd said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light (Genesis 1:3). According to our formational narrative, the speech of the holy one creates light, pulling order out of chaos, enabling us to see, distinguish and discern. These abilities are listed among our morning blessings and help set the intention of how we live our lives every single day. In this week's parasha, as we begin the story of our experience as slaves in the book of Exodus, we are again reminded of the potency of words as Moses names his son Gershom - גר שם/ger sham, for he said, I have been a stranger in a foreign land (Exodus 2:22). Moses invests his child with the experience of his father. We can imagine them speaking over dinner about how and why they received their names (you can find Moses' naming in Ex. 2:10) and what it means to carry that legacy in the way in which one introduces oneself and one's story.
In September, I framed our new Jewish year as invitation to chapters of love, writing, 5781 is תש"פא -
תתחדש שנת פרקי אהבה - may this be a year of loving chapters. Not long after that, the Capitol welcomed Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg z'l as the first woman and first Jewish person honored to lay in state at the U.S. Capitol. Statuary Hall was a space for sacred words of holy remembrance. They reminded us of the power of words that loved law and democracy, justice and the American people. In this new year 2021, I did not imagine myself feeling like a stranger in a strange land, watching the Capitol transformed into a place of unrest, unmasked bullies taking selfies in the hall, our nation's elected representatives barricaded behind doors, under tables and desks with gas-masks. The House Chaplain offered words of prayer before they were whisked away, bringing comfort in time of distress and also raising up the serious nature of what was unfolding in the sacred house of democracy.
Like Moses, we too are on a journey from slavery to freedom. It is on all of us to take these steps into the new year seriously. The Talmud reminds us kol arevim zeh bazeh/each one of us is responsible for the other (Shavuot, 39a). We don't have to agree. We must see ourselves as responsible for one another. The book of Proverbs is wise and clear, Death and life are in the power of the tongue (18:21). As we take hold of this new secular year, let us use our words to build up brick by brick, bring justice, embrace democracy and tell the next chapters of the story of our country as ones of generosity, responsibility, commitment and compassion. May each day this year be better than the one that came before. May Gd and we bless America.
Shabbat Shalom,
rg
