This time of year, we read another set of stories each week. The book of Genesis is full of stories of our ancestors going on journeys, becoming a community, becoming a people. These stories bind us together and show us how to be there for one another. Sometimes, they provide cautionary tales about what happens when we fight, argue, and exclude, rather than work to overcome our differences and communicate openly.
So many in our community are now feeling a profound sense of loss: grief, fear, and disappointment for some; loss of a sense of community for others who may not agree with many of those around them. We are reeling from the communal loss of Jonathan Brostoff, a great leader and member of our community. We are still struggling with a long war in Israel and heightened levels of antisemitism characterized by more overt acts and statements against our people.
With the election now behind us, we renew our focus on the lessons of Torah, where the stories of Genesis gently guide us forward. Isaac and Ishmael seemingly put aside their differences and came together to bury their father, Abraham — although only after time had passed and their relationship had time to heal. The rivalry between Jacob and Esau can teach us that sometimes what divides us is as superficial as a costume, and that when we get to know one another, when we listen to each other’s voices, we can discover how much we have in common.
Rachel and Leah loved their family of origin, even as they journeyed into the unknown with Jacob. They were open to a journey that they didn’t expect, although they undertook such a shift on their own terms, with Rachel even bringing a relic of her past life into the new one. They took the journey together, and while they didn’t always get along, they were clearly united in supporting their family, their community, their people.
Dinah’s brothers stand up for her rights, even though they are not directly impacted by the way she was treated. They saw injustice, and they refused to let it stand. They stood up for what was just, and they took action to ensure her rights and dignity were safeguarded as much as possible.
The story of Joseph and his brothers can remind us that even when we disagree on seemingly everything, communication and empathy are the way forward. Joseph’s time in Egypt set the stage for our people to remain there for generations. Over and over and over again, the Torah reminds us to take care of the widow, orphan, and stranger in our communities—the vulnerable among us—because we, too, were once strangers in a land not our own. This refrain occurs throughout the Torah, giving us our drive towards justice, our repeated command to care for all those around us, especially those who might otherwise fall through the cracks. The foundation of this commandment is here in Genesis, when we journey to Egypt, and it continues to drive us forward today.
Our national rhetoric is divisive and often hateful, and our Jewish community needs to work to overcome that. In Pirkei Avot, we read, “Rabbi Tarfon said: the time is short, the work is plentiful . . . it is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.” There is much work ahead of us as a country, and as a Wisconsin Jewish community. We must work together to overcome divisions that tear us apart, to support the vulnerable, to protect the rights and dignity of all those who call this great country our home.
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Rabbi Jessica Barolsky is the spiritual leader for Congregation Emanu-El B’ne Jeshurun in River Hills.
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