A Torah of Peace

It's easy to feel destabilized amidst so much upheaval and polarization in the world right now.

Especially for those of us who are connected to Jerusalem, Israel, Palestine—all facets of the Holy Land—the outbreak of such rabid violence there affects us, directly or indirectly, and is deeply troubling. We want to help, to voice our hearts, yet we have no agency, no impact. Malchut can be understood as Jerusalem — the most sacred spot where heaven and earth kissed, joining in holiness.

What can we do from across the globe to tip the balance away from destruction and hatred toward peace? What does it mean to complete the week of Malchut, to complete our Omer Count, as war breaks out? How do we approach the holiday of Shavuot so unsettled?

Paradoxically, it means to do everything we can to settle ourselves, using all the good tools we have been accruing all these years, not to dissociate from what is happening and not to let ourselves get hyper-aroused, but to face into the news, breathing, praying, and holding onto one another,

Standing again at Sinai, at the foot of the mountain this year means to ground ourselves on this good earth, and recommit to our people's highest principles, and to the Torah's unchanging values of tzedek, justice and fairness, tzelem Elohim, the inviolable dignity of all human beings, and emunah, faith, that our prayers, study, and good acts truly matter, have weight, and will have a ripple effect for good.

May we be clear channels for equanimity, wisdom, and a profoundly needed new Torah of peace.