Rabbi David Wilfond’s Message – Friday, June 23, 2023
June 22, 2023Rabbi David Wilfond’s Message – Friday, July 7th, 2023
July 6, 2023| Rabbi David Wilfond’s Message – Friday, June 30, 2023 The world shuddered this past Saturday, as a military leader with a private army launched his forces on a lightning assault against the capital of the world’s largest nuclear dictatorship. The rebellion was squashed within 24 hours, and now a brutal process of punishing the rebels has been unleashed. (continues here) Russians are asking “Are you loyal to Putin or Prigozhin?” As Jews we know this is the wrong question. The right question is “To what are you loyal? Not, “To whom are you loyal?” This week’s Torah portion is called “Hukat.” This is the Hebrew word for “The Constitution,” meaning a declaration of principles that guide our purpose and defines our task. From the moment of our inception, the Jewish community has declared its mission is to be a force of justice in the world, “Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof” (“Justice, Justice you shall pursue,” it says in Deuteronomy). In Judaism, we worship the message, not the messenger. One of the most important words in the spiritual vocabulary of Judaism is “Emunah.” Often translated as “Faith,” it really means “Faithfulness,” “Reliability,” “Loyalty.” Our faithfulness is to the message of Torah, and not to a person of flesh and blood. Not to a Putin nor a Prigozhin. Our faithfulness is to the Jewish Torah values of Justice (Tzedek), Hesed (Kindness), Kehilah Kedosha (living as a sacred community). The Jewish community endures when we focus on the core principles of Torah as our vision and mission. Our primary task is to “lift up the fallen, heal the sick, clothe the naked and feed the hungry.” The way of Judaism is to be loyal to principles, not to personalities. May we as a community focus our vision on our spiritual goals, and together may we formulate a strategy that infuses us with a sense of purpose to live by the ethics of Judaism and to pass these values on to the next generation (“L’Dor V’Dor, from generation to generation.”) Shabbat Shalom, R. David Wilfond |