László Krasznahorkai, The Melancholy of Resistance
...all normal expectations went by the board and one’s daily habits were disrupted by a sense of ever-spreading all-consuming chaos which rendered the future unpredictable, the past unrecallable and ordinary life so haphazard that people simply assumed that whatever could be imagined might come to pass, that if there were only one door in a building it would no longer open, that wheat would grow head downwards into the earth not out of it, and that, since once could only note the symptoms of disintegration, the reasons for it remaining unfathomable and inconceivable, there was nothing anyone could do except to get a tenacious grip on anything that was still tangible…
What are the feelings raised by the disruptions caused by the novel coronavirus (Covid-19)? How are you allowing yourself to express those emotions? Are you seeking to suppress some of what you are feeling? If so, why?
רַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל אוֹמֵר, עַל שְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים הָעוֹלָם עוֹמֵד, עַל הַדִּין וְעַל הָאֱמֶת וְעַל הַשָּׁלוֹם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (זכריה ח) אֱמֶת וּמִשְׁפַּט שָׁלוֹם שִׁפְטוּ בְּשַׁעֲרֵיכֶם:
Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel used to say: on three things does the world stand: On justice, on truth and on peace, as it is said: “execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates” (Zechariah 8:16).
Justice - Mishpat
(א) מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִ֑ד יְהוָ֥ה רֹ֝עִ֗י לֹ֣א אֶחְסָֽר׃ (ב) בִּנְא֣וֹת דֶּ֭שֶׁא יַרְבִּיצֵ֑נִי עַל־מֵ֖י מְנֻח֣וֹת יְנַהֲלֵֽנִי׃ (ג) נַפְשִׁ֥י יְשׁוֹבֵ֑ב יַֽנְחֵ֥נִי בְמַעְגְּלֵי־צֶ֝֗דֶק לְמַ֣עַן שְׁמֽוֹ׃ (ד) גַּ֤ם כִּֽי־אֵלֵ֨ךְ בְּגֵ֪יא צַלְמָ֡וֶת לֹא־אִ֘ירָ֤א רָ֗ע כִּי־אַתָּ֥ה עִמָּדִ֑י שִׁבְטְךָ֥ וּ֝מִשְׁעַנְתֶּ֗ךָ הֵ֣מָּה יְנַֽחֲמֻֽנִי׃ (ה) תַּעֲרֹ֬ךְ לְפָנַ֨י ׀ שֻׁלְחָ֗ן נֶ֥גֶד צֹרְרָ֑י דִּשַּׁ֖נְתָּ בַשֶּׁ֥מֶן רֹ֝אשִׁ֗י כּוֹסִ֥י רְוָיָֽה׃ (ו) אַ֤ךְ ׀ ט֤וֹב וָחֶ֣סֶד יִ֭רְדְּפוּנִי כָּל־יְמֵ֣י חַיָּ֑י וְשַׁבְתִּ֥י בְּבֵית־יְ֝הוָ֗ה לְאֹ֣רֶךְ יָמִֽים׃
(1) A psalm of David. The Eternal is my shepherd; I lack nothing. (2) He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me to water in places of repose; (3) He renews my life; He guides me in right paths as befits His name. (4) Though I walk through a valley of deepest darkness, I fear no harm, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff—they comfort me. (5) You spread a table for me in full view of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my drink is abundant. (6) Only goodness and steadfast love shall pursue me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Eternal for many long years.
"Anthem" by Leonard Cohen
At the break of day
Start again
I heard them say
Don't dwell on what
Has passed away
Or what is yet to be
Yeah the wars they will
Be fought again
The holy dove
She will be caught again
Bought and sold
And bought again
The dove is never free
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything (there is a crack in everything)
That's how the light gets in
The signs were sent
The birth betrayed
The marriage spent
Yeah the widowhood
Of every government
Signs for all to see
With that lawless crowd
While the killers in high places
Say their prayers out loud
But they've summoned, they've summoned up
A thundercloud
And they're going to hear from me
Do you believe that while "there is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in"? How can justice also be a sense of perspective or balance, to allow us to see that through moments of pain we can allow "light" into your life?
Truth - Emet
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אמר רבא מריש הוה אמינא ליכא קושטא בעלמא. אמר לי ההוא מרבנן ורב טבות שמיה ואמרי לה רב טביומי שמיה- דאי הוו יהבי ליה כל חללי דעלמא לא הוה משני בדבוריה. זימנא חדא איקלעי לההוא אתרא וקושטא שמיה ולא הוו משני בדיבורייהו ולא הוה מיית איניש מהתם בלא זימניה. נסיבי איתתא מינהון והוו לי תרתין בנין מינה. יומא חד הוה יתבא דביתהו וקא חייפא רישה אתאי שיבבתה טרפא אדשא סבר לאו אורח ארעא. אמר לה ליתא הכא. שכיבו ליה תרתין בנין. אתו אינשי דאתרא לקמיה. אמרו ליה מאי האי? אמר להו הכי הוה מעשה א"ל במטותא מינך פוק מאתרין ולא תגרי בהו מותנא בהנך אינשי. |
Rava said: At first I believed that there was no truth in the world. One of the Rabbis, by the name of either Tavut or Tavyumi, said that if you were to give him the entire universe he would not go back on or change his word. Once I went to this place which was called Truth. They never went back on or changed their words, and nobody there died before his time. I married a woman from among them and I had two sons with her. One day his wife was sitting and she was washing her hair. Her neighbor came and knocked on the door. He thought, ‘this is not good manners.’ So he told the neighbor that his wife was not home. His two sons passed away. The townspeople came to him and said to him, “What is this?” He told them what happened. They said to him, “Please. Leave from our place so that you do not invite death on these people.”
תנו רבנן כיצד מרקדין לפני הכלה בית שמאי אומרים כלה כמות שהיא ובית הלל אומרים כלה נאה וחסודה אמרו להן ב"ש לב"ה הרי שהיתה חיגרת או סומא אומרי' לה כלה נאה וחסודה והתורה אמרה (שמות כג, ז) מדבר שקר תרחק אמרו להם ב"ה לב"ש לדבריכם מי שלקח מקח רע מן השוק ישבחנו בעיניו או יגננו בעיניו הוי אומר ישבחנו בעיניו מכאן אמרו חכמים לעולם תהא דעתו של אדם מעורבת עם הבריות
The Sages taught: How does one dance before the bride, i.e., what does one recite while dancing at her wedding? Beit Shammai say: One recites praise of the bride as she is, emphasizing her good qualities. And Beit Hillel say: One recites: A fair and attractive bride. Beit Shammai said to Beit Hillel: In a case where the bride was lame or blind, does one say with regard to her: A fair and attractive bride? But the Torah states: “Keep you from a false matter” (Exodus 23:7). Beit Hillel said to Beit Shammai: According to your statement, with regard to one who acquired an inferior acquisition from the market, should another praise it and enhance its value in his eyes or condemn it and diminish its value in his eyes? You must say that he should praise it and enhance its value in his eyes and refrain from causing him anguish. From here the rabbis taught, A person’s perspective should always be mixed with those of other people.
A Litany for Survival, Audre Lorde
Peace - Shalom
The Hebrew word שָׁלוֹם implies "wholeness" or "completeness" more than the absence of strife or being fully tranquil? What might it imply that we seek שָׁלוֹם in a moment of dislocation, uncertainty and trepidation?
"Yin-Yang Aleph", David Friedman
https://www.kosmic-kabbalah.com/product/yin-yang-aleph
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"All I Cannot Save", Adrienne Rich My heart is moved by all I cannot save So much has been destroyed I have to cast my lot with those, who, age after age, Perversely, with no extraordinary Power, reconstitute the world. |
10 guidelines for pastoral care during the coronavirus outbreak
Eileen R. Campbell-Reed
1. Monitor and follow the health guidelines.
2. Be a non-anxious presence.
3. Show up for people, even if its not in person.
4. Listen in love.
5. Find ways to make community.
6. Help people take the long view.
7. Keep values alive.
8. Don't be afraid to talk about death.
9. Pray.
10. Tag out [i.e. engage in self-care].
"The Christian Century", Blog (March 10, 2020)
I’m A Veteran Expert In Stopping Epidemics ...
Gary Slutkin, The New York Jewish Week (March 16, 2020)
After decades of working to stop epidemics, I saw many very tough situations and many hard days, weeks and months. Epidemics follow a curve up and then back down, and eventually they end. It is up to us and our most important and trusted institutions to stop the spread now — and to keep the curve of infections and deaths as small and short as possible.
Better days are ahead. Our synagogues will again ring with beautiful voices and much joy. We will get there with these strong and proactive steps to ensure as many beautiful voices as possible are there to join us.